The region's top financial teams and professionals have been recognised at the 2018 West Midlands Finance Awards.

Ten separate awards were handed out the ceremony at the ICC in Birmingham which welcomed more than 500 people to the third annual event.

The ceremony is the only of its kind to recognise the work and achievements of the region's top finance professionals and businesses.

The awards were hosted in partnership with Robert Walters, Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, ICAEW and RSM.

The 2018 winners were:

Finance Director

Andrew Parris, Tarmac

Rising Star of the Year (Non/Part-Qualified)

Jayne Crathorne, Birmingham City University

Rising Star of the Year (Qualified)

Chelsey Joanne Bird, Tergbeg RosRoca

Finance Team of the Year (over 20)

McDonald's

Finance Team of the Year (20 people or fewer)

Rehability

Not-for-Profit Finance Team of the Year

Millennium Point

Shared Service Centre of the Year

Jury's Inn

Excellence in Diversity

Mondelez

Business Innovation

Student Roost

Business of the Year

Student Roost

Habiba Khatoon, associate director of Robert Walters in Birmingham, said: "We are immensely proud of another successful year for the West Midlands Finance Awards.

"This ceremony is a chance for us all to celebrate the outstanding work done by finance professionals in the region and promote the contribution they make to the economic and business landscape of the region.

"The awards also raised over £2,000 on the night for our chosen charity Birmingham Children's Hospital."

Paul Faulkner, chief executive of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, added: "This awards ceremony comes at an important time for the region as it starts to really showcase itself as a financial hub.

"More and more we are seeing the relocation into Birmingham of primary and secondary offices for international banks and corporations who have rightly now turned their attention onto the talent that already exists within our region."

Student Roost collects the Business Innovation award
Student Roost collects the Business Innovation award

Big winners on the night included accommodation provider Student Roost which walked away with the Business Innovation and Business of the Year awards.

Group finance manager Steve Towler said: "We are delighted to win these awards.

"There has been a huge amount of effort and time that has gone into the last 12 months in terms of taking the business from where we were to where we are now.

"The biggest achievement has been that we have created a finance department out of nothing in Birmingham.

"We completely internalised our entire finance function and the team have worked incredibly hard for a number of months to bring it all together."

Chelsey Joanne Bird, winner of the Rising Star of the Year (Qualified), said: "This recognition means so much to me and is the first award I have ever received.

"I had my child at 18 years old and, at the same time, was undertaking my accountancy training.

"I hope this award gives other young people the belief and encouragement to go forwards and achieve in their career. This award will only push me further.

"I've worked at Terberg RosRoca Group for just over a year and they are sponsoring me for an MBA which means a lot to me."

Chelsey Joanne Bird, from Terberg RosRoca, won Rising Star of the Year (Qualified) award
Chelsey Joanne Bird, from Terberg RosRoca, won Rising Star of the Year (Qualified) award

Rising Star (Non/Part-Qualified) Jayne Crathorne, from Birmingham City University, added: "I'm absolutely shocked and stunned to receive this award.

"I've been rewarded for doing a job that I've absolutely adored and done for 23 years so thank you to the West Midlands Finance Awards."

All applications were judged by a panel of business leaders from the region, as well as representatives from Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, ICAEW, RSM and Robert Walters.

For further information about the awards please contact Rum Gill on rumandeep.gill@robertwalters.com or 0207 509 8178.