East Midlands Finance Awards
Summer 2024, date TBC
Nottingham city centre, location TBC
Our annual awards celebration will be back once again in the summer of 2024. Founded in 2019, the East Midlands Finance Awards (EMFA) is the only event that celebrates finance and accountancy professionals across the region.
At Distinct, we believe that the East Midlands is the best place in the UK to build a career in the finance industry and in recognition of this, we wanted to create an event. Over recent years, we’ve been delighted to host the heroes who have navigated local and national businesses through tight reporting deadlines, furlough schemes and economic uncertainty.
We promise a wonderful evening where local businesses can come together to celebrate their staff and let their hair down. Our informal event includes food, drink, live music or entertainment, guest speakers as well as the award presentation itself.
2024 award categories
Stay tuned for coming details on our 2024 award categories in the new year, including information on how to enter. We typically host between five and seven awards, but we’re always looking to do something different. So if you have a new idea, please let us know.
Last year’s categories:
- Finance team of the year (less than ten staff)
- Finance team of the year (more than ten staff)
- Finance leader of the year
- Rising star
- Unsung hero
- ED&I breakthrough award
Event partners
Our award winners are not decided by Distinct. Instead, we bring together a small group of business leaders and industry contributors to decide on all of our winners.
Tickets
Tickets will be on sale from April 2024 and available to purchase via Gigantic.
The EMFA is a non-profit event and any money made is donated to our annual charity partner. In 2023, this was Operation Orphan.
Sign up to be notified when EMFA tickets are on sale.
Hear from previous attendees
“The ‘Finance Team of the Year’ award was full of outstanding nominations from great businesses, so to hear “Rutland Cycling” was an incredibly proud moment for me, knowing how much this means to the team. It means a lot to the whole business, we are very proud and grateful”. – Mark Gilbert, Rutland Cycling
“A huge thank you for a fantastic event last night. Those of us who attended from Capital One really enjoyed it and we all felt that it was a much nicer atmosphere and event than a formal sit-down awards dinner. Nice job!” – Alison Allsopp, Capital One
“First and foremost, I was really pleased to support Distinct Recruitment’s East Midlands finance awards. Celebrating the wealth of talent amongst the finance professionals in the East Midlands is really important, and I’m happy to see Distinct stepping forward and creating this event.
Having no less than 4 finalists from SDL across all 3 categories was particularly gratifying, and then alongside that, seeing the sheer quality and talent amongst the other businesses really brought home just how many talented individuals and teams we have on our doorstep.
It was a real privilege to win the ‘Finance Director of the Year’ award. With the growth SDL has gone through over the last few years, it has allowed me to build a finance team bursting with talent and hunger, position them at the centre of the business, and then let them get on and do what they do best. They make me look good and they give me the foundation to drive the business and the finance team forward. A big thanks to them and a big thanks to Distinct for my recognition and for creating a platform for wider recognition of finance teams across the Midlands.” – Colin Anderton, SDL Group
“Receiving the ‘Rising Star’ award at the East Midlands finance awards was a wonderful surprise and a touching celebration of both my own work, and the incredible work of my peers within the Finance profession. Distinct Recruitment hosted the fantastic and pioneering awards ceremony in the Nottingham Contemporary and did an incredible job in recognising and celebrating finance professionals within the East Midlands. Thank you! – Jeremy Croad, Capital One
Your FAQs
How do I nominate someone for an award?
Entering a nomination for the EMFA is really straightforward. Simply download the short entry form from this web page (when available) which contains guidance and two questions regarding who you’d like to nominate and why. Once completed, email your entry form to Ryanj@distinctrecruitment.com and we’ll be in touch to acknowledge your nomination and outline the judging process.
Can I enter myself?
Absolutely. Personal entries for the individual award categories are welcome.
How are nominations judged?
Distinct play no part whatsoever in the judging of any nominations for the EMFA. We’re proud to partner with a range of distinguished event partners (previously including HSBC, the ICAEW and the East Midlands Chamber of Commerce) who take on the unenviable task of judging all nominations.
Our event partners usually work in pairs to judge one-to-two award categories each, working to an agreed judging model to ascertain who they believe are the worthy winners & runners up. This judging model typically involves a meeting to understand each nomination with the individual, team, person that nominated for the award.
When do I find out the results?
Shortlisted finalists are usually announced around four-to-six weeks before the awards celebration & presentation evening. Winners & Runners Up are announced on the night itself.
How much does it cost to enter?
It’s free to enter the EMFA.
How much are tickets to attend?
Tickets for the awards celebration & presentation evening usually cost around £50 per head. In previous years, this includes a welcome drink, two course meal featuring street food from around the world, a drink on us to celebrate after the awards have been presented and a dedicated seat to hear from our Keynote speaker (past events have included a Team GB Olympic Gold Medalist and a globally recognised Award Winning CFO).
Is there a minimum / maximum ticket allowance?
No, the EMFA is a more relaxed & informal awards event, not typical of black-tie formal sit down dinner events you may have been used to. There is no minimum or maximum ticket allowance.
What’s the dress code?
Imagine you going for dinner & cocktails with your friends on a Saturday night. No bow-ties or black tie, we want you to be comfortable and enjoy the occasion – one particular award winner attended wearing shorts & flip-flops!