A PARTNER in the Business Services Group at Worthing chartered accountants MHA Carpenter Box has been shortlisted in the 2018 Accounting Excellence Awards.

Nathan Keeley is in the running in the Software and Technology Pioneer of the Year category.

It is unusual for a Chartered Accountant from an accountancy and business advisory firm to be considered for this award, which is usually reserved for prominent individuals within technology companies.

Nathan, however, has always been a strong advocate of cloud accounting.

He has been at the forefront of the practical application of this technological advance and key to helping the firm achieve significant success and growth in this area over recent years.

As well as adopting cloud accounting software, Nathan has led development of MHA Carpenter Box’s own portal system, which clients can use to receive and send data confidentially.

It includes digital signatures for online approval and the firm now has a total of 4,598 active accounts and over 48,000 documents have been uploaded since the portal was introduced.

Nathan said: “I am delighted and surprised to be shortlisted for this award.

“Although I know that we have made tremendous progress at MHA Carpenter Box in developing our cloud accounting offerings, it is still a tremendous honour to be nominated.

“Our approach is based on a real in-depth understanding of the choices available and being able to talk knowledgeably regarding the solution that would best fit a client’s particular circumstances.

“We now have 1,550 cloud accounting clients as a result.

“We also have open dialogue and collaboration with software providers and fellow accounting professionals, feeding back where we think products could be improved or in areas that may not have been considered.

“The next big challenge will be the Making Tax Digital roll out which we’ve been planning for.”

Nathan now has to wait until 20 September when the winners of all the awards are announced at a glittering ceremony at the Intercontinental London, Park Lane.