The chief executive of a Cumbrian accountancy firm has judged his peers in leading industry awards for the fifth year.

Graham Lamont, of Lamont Pridmore, was asked to judge accountancy practices in the Independent Firm of the Year category in the prestigious British Accountancy Awards.

He has just returned from the awards ceremony at the Grosvenor House in London, which saw almost 1,000 chartered accountants from across the UK attend.

Mr Lamont said: “The entire process was very enlightening this year, with the independent firms focusing more on technological developments, while the mid-tier firms concentrating on developing a wider range of added value services to provide to their clients.

“This included helping clients to improve their profitability, tax planning before significant transactions and before their financial year-end together with a holistic financial planning service to protect the business and the family together with developing their personal wealth tax-efficiently outside the business.”

Lamont Pridmore is a recipient of several British Accountancy Awards, including Independent Firm of the year for the whole of the UK and Best Tax Practice in a Regional Firm, but the firm gave up its chances of entering again after Graham was invited to become a judge.

He added: “To be included in the judging process is a real privilege, particularly as the President of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) was in my group this year."

Chris Lamont, a partner at Lamont Pridmore and managing director of the firm’s office in Carlisle, added: “We are honoured that the organisers of the British Accountancy Awards continue to hold Graham and our firm in such high regard. We are delighted that we can play a role in these important awards and promote our profession.”

Karl Burrell, managing director at Lamont Pridmore’s Kendal office, added: “These awards play an important role in highlighting the excellence and expertise in the UK accounting profession. It is fantastic that Graham has been able to judge these awards once again.”

Stuart Edger, managing director at Lamont Pridmore’s West Cumbria offices, added: “Being asked to judge the British Accountancy Awards is a real honour and I know Graham had a hard task helping to select the winners in these two categories.

"As previous recipients of these awards, we appreciate the difference that winning can have on a practice.”