PwC’s Claire rewarded with Young Accountant of the Year accolade

Ms Mulholland, 25, from Morley, undertook a placement with professional services firm PwC in 2008 and joined the firm in 2010 after graduating from university.

She impressed the judging panel with “a superb exam record and demonstrated leadership and initiative and work and technical competence in addition to bringing an extra element of star quality to her role”.

The competition, which is in its thirteenth year, is run by financial recruitment specialist Sharp Consultancy, which has offices in Leeds and Sheffield, in conjunction with West Yorkshire Society of Chartered Accountants and the Leeds Chartered Accountants Student Society.

It aims to recognise the best of the region’s accountants who are either training to be qualified or have been qualified for up to two years.

An awards ceremony was held at the Royal Armouries in Leeds to mark the occasion.

Lee Sweeney, regional director at Sharp Consultancy, who sat on the judging panel alongside Robert Seldon, from Deloitte, and Robert Butler, from Zenith, said: “The quality of entries this year was exceptionally high and the judges found it very difficult to narrow the field down to the final shortlist.

“When it came to the final interviews in front of the panel, Claire excelled in each of the assessment areas, clearly demonstrated a commitment to furthering her career and shone as a brilliant example of the young talent that the accountancy profession is looking to attract and nurture in order to create the next generation of outstanding business leaders.”

Ms Mulholland, who won a weekend for two to Dubrovnik in Croatia as her prize, said: “It is a real honour to be named as the Young Accountant of the Year.

“It is a huge confidence boost to be recognised by your employer as making a valuable contribution to the business and be nominated for such a prestigious title.

“The finalists are all extremely talented and demonstrate the strength and depth that there is within the financial and accountancy industry in the West Yorkshire area.”

Shaun Sawyer, from Zolfo Cooper, was named runner-up with Natalie Bull, from KPMG, claiming the third spot.

The other finalists were Lizzy Garry, from Grant Thornton, Peter Cubbon, from RSM Tenon, Alex Hird, from Garbutt & Elliott, and James Marshall, from Dow Schofield Watts Corporate Finance.