Jayne Waugh, winner of Xero’s People’s Choice Award in 2022

Jayne Waugh, winner of Xero’s People’s Choice Award in 2022

Our very own Jayne Waugh won the People’s Choice Award at the annual Xero Gala on the 27th of April 2022 polling the most votes ever in her category. We could not be prouder of her, she truly deserved this award for all the hard work and dedication she puts into the clients’ experience with Xero.

The Xero Awards celebrate excellence among the partners who help small businesses thrive in the UK. They announce the opening of the entry every year for multiple categories rewarding different sizes of practices, the most valued professional, firms with the biggest community impact and the accountant of the people’s choice.

The People’s Choice award was an opportunity for the clients to show their appreciation and thank their accountant for the invaluable support by nominating him/her to win. The winner is the Xero partner who received the most nominations from the public.

Xero was looking for an accountant who has provided excellent customer service consistently within the past 12 months and has gone above and beyond to help customers during challenging times.

The clients could nominate their Xero accountant in 250 words describing how the accountant helped them with anything from enquiries, their journey onto Xero as a new platform, problem-solving, advice and so on. 

Xero has made a live announcement on the TOP 3 on the 16th of February 2022.

We asked Jayne, how it made her feel when she figured out that she was not only nominated but shortlisted as well;

“I was shocked as I didn’t know about the nomination. I was working downstairs when Phil came to tell me that I have been shortlisted for an award. I didn’t even know what he was on about, I thought he was just joking…But turned out it was true…My first thoughts after realising I am in the final 3 were: Why me? Everybody else is so supportive. But it was also nice to feel special.” 

She always thinks about others and not herself…typical Jayne.

The long waited Gala Event was held on the 27th of April in the fabulous Troxy in London with Xero putting on a Rock Star-themed evening with Jayne and the Senior Management team travelling down in support.

So did Jayne have any expectations to win?

“I was overwhelmed that I got shortlisted, but due to personal matters on the week of the Gala, it was only in the back of my head till we got on the train in the morning. Being around the team and their encouragement and hype helped me to relax and enjoy this fantastic event. Honestly, it was so well-organised, I was very impressed with it. All the food and drinks were amazing, as well as the location too.”

The team was very excited to hear the news from Courtney, who was an emissary, journalist and reporter for Mesi, our marketing guru. We had a flood of pictures of free drinks and extremely happy faces, even though the ceremony had not even started yet. But soon enough the awaited text message arrived from Jayne: “Mesi, I WON!!!! xxx”

No need to say how proud all of us were, as we all know how hard Jayne is working and how dedicated she is to providing her best every single day no matter what.

“It is absolutely no f*cking surprise that she won this award. Clients love her, she is everything the industry epitomises and I genuinely think she is everything everyone should aspire to be.” – Phil’s words from the stage after the announcement of the winner.

Here is the video of the announcement and Phil and Jayne’s speech:

How did you feel when they announced you are the winner, Jayne?

“I was more relaxed because of the few drinks I had at that point, but I did not think we are going to walk away with this award, unlike Ben and Phil. They were very confident about winning, but still, I was not. My heart was in my throat and it was still nerve-wracking, especially the knowledge that I had to go up on the stage and even give a speech too. I was genuinely shocked by how big the win was, by how much I have won. I think at that moment in time I was not able to realise what it means, I was just under the moment and could not really believe it.”

Coming back the next day, we must have had a few sore heads, but it was all worth it!

Thank you to Xero for organising such an excellent evening! The music, the atmosphere, the location, the food and drinks were fantastic and it was so lovely to meet other accountants and suppliers as well. Thank you to Kadie Walker-White and Elaine McManus from Xero for your kind words and for making us feel so welcomed.

What does it mean for you to win this award, Jayne?

“I feel proud to be part of Northern Accountants. After winning the award other accountants and suppliers came up to congratulate me. I have received a lot of lovely emails and presents from clients and other suppliers as well. I just cannot describe this feeling.

One of the biggest things for me is my son Ryan’s post on Facebook. He is quite an introvert and shares only professional posts, so it made me feel extra proud: ‘Incredible work Mother! Proud of you, thank you for initiating your drive & work ethic into me.’ As a mother, you cannot ask for a better compliment. 

At our May client social event, a countless amount of clients came over to express their gratitude, admiration and congratulations. They were all so sweet telling me that they cannot imagine anyone else who would have deserved it more than me. I almost cried… the words that people said to me face to face hit me with the realisation…not the big stage, fancy lights or the shiny award. These meant the world to me!”

Looking forward to what the next Xero award holds for us! See you in 2023!