TaxAssist Accountants has named James Sheard its Franchisee of the Year award winner for the second year running at its National Conference.

The awards, which were held at a gala dinner during the Conference and were hosted by comedian Hugh Dennis, recognised the hard work and successes of over 180 of the network's franchise owners, including Most Successful Start Up, Growth and Franchisee of the Year.

Sheard set up TaxAssist Accountants Stalybridge in 2008 with his wife Julia and they now have two additional offices in Stockport and central Manchester and provide a dedicated service supporting more than 400 small businesses.

The couple met in 1991 while working for Chartered Accountants Moore Stephens in London. Sheard said: "It seems only yesterday that I was spending all my time on the road travelling the country as Finance Director of a logistics company and wishing I had more time to spend with my family. Four years later here we are with three offices, over 400 small business clients and two Franchisee of the Year awards."

Mrs Sheard added: "It was a big decision to make with three children to support, however after nearly 20 years' working as accountants for other firms, we decided to build a business that we were proud of, that delivered excellent client service and added real value. TaxAssist Accountants seemed like a natural fit; we have the accountancy and small business expertise and they were able to offer us the back end support we needed."

"We only opened our central Manchester office last year and see significant differences in the territories we work across," continued Sheard. "However, whatever the challenges and benefits of an area, the thing that always remains the same is the satisfaction of using our specialist small business knowledge and accounting skills to make a real difference for owner-managers."