Peter Cowan and Aileen Rollo have been recognised on the 2020 list which is compiled following a global competition. The ICAS Top 100 Young CAs recognises the brightest and best in the accountancy, finance and business world.

For Hall Morrice, this is the third consecutive year that young CAs from the firm have reached the Top 100. Peter and Aileen are the latest, following three of their peers in 2019 and two CAs in 2018.

The CAs selected in this year’s list all faced an anonymous and rigorous judging process focused on finding young professionals who are outstanding in their field. An overall winner - the One Young CA 2020 - will be chosen from the Top 100 list in October. CAs were nominated in three categories - technology, trust and talent.

Aileen Rollo, assistant manager, was nominated in the talent category. Beginning her career at Hall Morrice with a university placement, Aileen then took up her place as a trainee. Beginning in the audit and accounts team, Ms Rollo’s talent and aptitude for business advisory was clear from day one and, for the first time ever, the tried and tested graduate scheme at Hall Morrice was restructured specifically to harness her talent and drive and to give her experience within this team.

Colleague Peter Cowan, manager was also successful in the talent category, described by his managers as efficient, incredibly accurate and possessing natural ability and excellent technical skills. His promotion from senior analyst to manager was a reflection of the confidence that Hall Morrice partners have in his abilities. Mr Cowan used to juggle his full time CA role with a hands-on role at his family’s dairy farm. This experience is credited with giving him the aptitude to grasp quickly what is important to a business both from an accountancy and a management viewpoint.

Both Mr Cowan and Ms Rollo now mentor other young CA students at Hall Morrice.

Shonagh Fraser, partner at Hall Morrice who also has responsibility for recruitment and talent, said: “Aileen and Peter have rightly been recognised as leaders in the field of young CAs from both industry and general practice. For us all at Hall Morrice, this is a wonderful acknowledgement of our collective dedication to training and professional development. We’ve always put great emphasis on the importance of this, and with this being our third year of having some of the world’s top Young CAs on our team, it demonstrates the value to a practice of our size and scope of investing significantly in all of our talent, but particularly in our young talent.”

Bruce Cartwright, ICAS chief executive, added: “I would like to congratulate all of the exceptional CAs who made it on to this year’s Top 100 Young CAs list. It is a great achievement to make it onto the list and it presents a wonderful chance for these talented young CAs to be recognised by their peers. This year’s awards take place against a backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic. The world will need accountants, of all ages, experience and diversity of background, as we navigate the challenging economic and personal impact of this crisis.”