Keryn Stack

The country’s crème de la crème of female-led accounting and financial industry operators has been officially revealed during a glittering red-carpet event held in Sydney last Saturday, when the 2023 Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards culminated in spectacular style and celebration of female business trailblazers.

The only national awards programme of its kind created specifically to spotlight the rising success of female-led small businesses from all corners of the country – spanning all capital cities as well as rural, regional and suburban towns – the second-annual Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards crowned a total of more than 60 Champions this year, across a vast spectrum of industries.

In the category of Accounting Services, NSW-based Accounts All Sorted directed by Keryn Stack (pictured) took top-gong for its specialised small business services in bookkeeping, payroll, business advisory, Xero and BAS agent services. The trophy for Financial Services went to Moneyquest Penrith & Blue Mountains which is also NSW-based and directed by Peita Davies.

The vast array of categories featured in the programme makes the Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards among the most diverse awards programme in the country. Free to enter, more than 2500 nominations were received this year, serving as a mark of the incredible influence of Australian women in small business today.

In-fact, according to the most-recent Australian Government data: of the 3.3 million small businesses operating in Australia today, more than one-third are run by women, and by all accounts, that figure is soaring.

“There’s no doubting the rising success of female-led small businesses,” explains Steve Loe, Awards Founder and Managing Director of Precedent Productions, which coordinates the Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards.

“While female equality is gradually shifting in the right direction, the reality is that stereotypes and a ‘boys’ club’ mentality in traditionally male-dominated sectors is still a factor. Australian women are still contending with a gender pay-gap that favours men; and so many Aussie women today are part of a ‘sandwich generation’, tasked with caring for both their children and their ageing parents – all while working and running successful businesses.

“As a small business owner, myself, I take my hat off to these women. Precedent Productions has been running national awards programmes for more than 40 years now, so we’re generally in-tune with the best-performing businesses. It’s high-time we better recognise the outstanding calibre of our country’s female entrepreneurs.

“Just as the Matildas shone during this year’s World Cup, attracting the nation’s admiration and highlighting the positive contribution of women in sport, the Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards honour the rising economic, cultural and social contributions of women in small business, and those who are inspiring future generations,” adds Mr Loe.

The Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards 2023 National Presentation Evening Gala Event was held at the new Western Sydney Conference Centre, and was hosted by accomplished journalist and popular broadcaster, Deborah Knight.

The 2023 Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards were sponsored by Nine Plus, CUB, NOVA Employment, Castaway Forecasting, Xcllusive Business Sales and Big Clean.

Entries for the 2024 programme will open before mid-next year.

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The only national annual awards programme of its kind created specifically to shine a spotlight on the rising economic and social contributions of women in small business – spanning all capital cities as well as rural, regional and suburban towns – the Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards is arguably the most diverse in terms of the breadth of represented industries and sectors.

Now in its second consecutive year, the 2023 Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards features more than 65 categories, judged by an independent panel of representatives who have relevant experience or an understanding of the operations of small business.

Among this year’s most competitive categories, Accounting and Financial Services are proving among the most challenging categories to judge, says Steve Loe, Awards Founder and Managing Director of Precedent Productions, which coordinates the Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards.

“The quantity and quality of entrants in the Accounting Services and Financial Services categories in particular is truly remarkable and so the ultimate selection of this year’s finalists has by no means been an easy feat.

“When the Champion Judges evaluate entries, they consider all aspects of a small business: its strategies, innovative initiatives, customer service, vision, growth, charitable and community support – to name but some of the judging criteria.

“We’re simply blown-away by the incredibly high calibre of Australia’s female-led small businesses in the accounting and financial services sectors and – while it’s certainly a welcome challenge – the next round of judging is bound to be even more challenging, as we continue to nut-through the impressive finalists to reach one winner per category,” adds Mr Loe.

The 17 Accounting Services category finalists are:

• Accounts All Sorted (NSW)
• Alena Bennett (NSW)
• AveSol Accounting Services (VIC)
• Citrine Advisory (VIC)
• DS Accountants And Advisors (NSW)
• Easy Super (NSW), KRM & CO (NSW)
• Omnia Business Solutions (NSW)
• Palfreyman Chartered Accountants (NSW)
• Platinum Business Administration Services (NSW)
• PLH Accountants (NSW)
• Rainsford Financial Services (NSW)
• Smart Business Solutions (VIC)
• TaxLeopard (VIC).

The 10 Financial Services category finalists are:

• Action Home Loans (NSW)
• Debt Angel Solutions (NSW)
• Dynamic Brokers (TAS)
• Gaia Financial (VIC)
• Grape Vine Finance (NSW)
• Ladies Behind the Tradies (NSW)
• Lendpire (NSW)
• Loan Market (VIC)
• Moneyquest Penrith & Blue Mountains (NSW)
• Resolve Finance Derrimut (VIC).

In addition to honouring business category winners, the 2023 Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards also showcases the achievements of four individual category winners – Young Small Business Champion Woman Entrepreneur (aged 30 and younger), Small Business Champion Woman Entrepreneur (aged over 30), Australian Small Business Champion Influential Woman and Australian Small Business Champion Icon.

“The success of female-led small businesses in this country is absolutely on the rise, especially during the past decade and even during the current challenging economic climate,” says Steve Loe.

“Since our inception more than 40 years ago, Precedent Productions continues to present a multitude of state and national award programmes, so we’re generally in-tune with the country’s best performing business operators.

“We simply could not look past the spiking number of female small business trailblazers – such as this year’s Accounting Services and Financial Services finalists – and so deemed it only appropriate to present a standalone awards programme that really celebrates our nation’s women in small business,” adds Mr Loe.

Free-of-charge, entries closed on 21 July and the 2023 Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards is sponsored by Nine Plus, CUB, NOVA Employment, Castaway Forecasting, Xcllusive Business Sales and Big Clean.

Winners of the 2023 Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards will be announced on Saturday 23 September at National Presentation Evening Gala Event.

With a mounting reputation as the ‘Logies’ of small business, the red-carpet event will be hosted by accomplished journalist and popular broadcaster, Deborah Knight, at the newly-built Western Sydney Conference Centre at Penrith in NSW.

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