Welsh businesswoman Lucy Cohen is a finalist in one of the most prestigious accounting awards in the UK.
Lucy, co-founder of Mazuma, is one of five finalists selected in the Practice Pioneer category of the Accounting Excellence Awards. She is the only woman finalist in the category.
The awards reward excellence and innovation in accountancy. The Practice Pioneer category looks at the creative thinkers and innovators who are driving innovation in their accounting practices.
Mazuma, based in Bridgend, is the UK’s leading online accountancy firm for freelancers and micro businesses.
It combines the technology of online accountancy with a human-focused approach, making things simple and clear for clients and being a friendly ear for the self-employed and business owners.
Lucy is also a mentor who offers help and advice to start-up businesses through the 5 to 9 programme at Welsh ICE. She won Accounting Personality of the Year in 2009 and was a finalist in the Institute of Directors Awards 2019, after being named Wales Director of the Year in the innovation category.
This year Lucy was appointed as a Specialist Advisor to the Economic Strategy Board for the Swansea Bay City Deal; a £1.3bn project to invest in the area.
Lucy said:
It’s an honour to be selected as one of the finalists in these UK-wide awards, particularly in a category which combines passion for business, leadership, and accounting innovation, and alongside so many talented leaders.
It’s a testament to our whole team that we’ve been able to realise our vision. At Mazuma, we want our clients to feel they have someone on their side, so we advocate for microbusinesses and campaign for freelancers with #freelancersfirst. They are so important in our economy.
We’ve also created a partnership network; a business community which helps start-up and growing small businesses and microbusinesses get the advice and support they need.
The awards judging panel includes Richard Hattersley, Editor at AccountingWEB; Richard Sergeant, MD of Principle Point; Natasha Wallace, Founder and Chief Coach at Conscious Works; Yogesh Patel, Founder of Telic; and speaker, strategist, and author Steve Pipe.
This year special awards categories were included to reflect the hard work of the accounting sector in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. They are: Covid-19 Hero award: Supplier; Covid-19 Hero award: Accounting firm; and Covid-19 Hero award: Individual
The winners are due to be announced at an awards ceremony in London on February 2.
