Deloitte reveals Ireland’s Best Managed Companies

Deloitte, the leading business advisory firm, in association with Bank of Scotland (Ireland), has announced the winners of this year’s Deloitte Best Managed Companies Awards Programme. Twenty companies who demonstrated superior business performance were recognised at an awards Gala dinner in the Burlington Hotel in Dublin, which was attended by the Taoiseach, Mr Brian Cowen T.D., on 5th March 2010.

Tour America, the holiday specialists on North America and worldwide cruises, was singled out from among the winners to receive a special accolade for exceptional performance in business strategy. Given the importance that a company’s strategy has in overcoming the challenges that the current economy brings, this was an area that was of particular focus for the judging panel. A place on their Masters of Business programme was presented by the Irish Management Institute’s (IMI) Chief Executive, Dr Tom McCarthy to Mary McKenna, CEO of Tour America.

The winning companies are located throughout the island of Ireland. Of the twenty winners, ten companies are based in Leinster, four are based in Munster, five in Ulster and one in Connaught. The winners came from a variety of different industries including the tourism, hospitality, technology, food and beverage, medical, automotive, wholesale, distribution and logistics sectors, among others.

The independent judging panel, chaired by Denis Brosnan, reviewed a broad range of criteria including strategy, capability, commitment, financials and growth potential across all key functions of the business. Given the turbulent economic environment, the judging panel recognised that business and management success can no longer simply be measured by increased sales, profit or turnover. For that reason, a holistic view of the companies, their performance in relation to their peers, and the industries that they are operating in was considered in order to determine management success.

Speaking at the awards, the Taoiseach, Mr Brian Cowen T.D., commented: "In today's challenging business environment, Irish companies and their management teams need to be more entrepreneurial, ambitious, creative and skilled than ever before. Indeed, for our companies competing in global markets, world-class management teams are absolutely critical to achieving success. Awards programmes like this help bring out the best in Irish companies and are hugely beneficial to all participants."

This year’s process found that there were a number of common traits across the winning companies. These included an increased focus on international markets for growth and the recognition that retaining key members of management despite the pressure to reduce headcount was extremely important – it will be these people who will see the company through the period of turbulence. Many of the winning companies are also dedicating much of their time to forecasting and budgeting – recognising that they are working in a fast moving environment and planning needs to be revised on an ongoing basis to ensure a complete understanding of financing needs and key cost drivers in addition to what variables most influence the business and how to control these.

Commenting on the winners of the Deloitte Best Managed Companies Awards Programme, Pat Cullen, Managing Partner, Deloitte said: “To be recognised as a Best Managed Company is a tremendous achievement, given the challenges that companies in all industries are currently experiencing. Our judging panel takes an in-depth look at each company - therefore to be chosen as a winner is testament to the sound management practices that are being implemented across the entire business. It is this thorough approach that will help these companies to take advantage of the upturn when it arrives.”

David Latto, Head of Corporate Banking, Bank of Scotland (Ireland), and judging panel member said: “The twenty winning companies are an inspiration for all Irish companies by managing to show great focus and dedication in what has been a difficult year. Bank of Scotland (Ireland) is very proud to be a part of recognising and supporting their achievements and we hope these companies will continue to flourish and succeed in the years ahead.”

The twenty winning companies are:

The Deloitte Best Managed Companies Awards Programme is open to companies from all 32 counties on the island of Ireland. It is the only awards programme that considers a business’ performance from every perspective. Details of entry for the 2010/2011 Awards will be issued in the coming weeks on www.deloittebestmanaged.ie.

The ’Best Managed’ designation is an important marketing tool for the winning companies – but, perhaps most importantly, the awards provide a reason to celebrate the efforts of the entire company.
All companies in this year’s awards programme also received complementary IMI Corporate Membership. This entitles them to access a range of resources and networks to support them in maintaining their proven high levels of organisational performance.

Notes to Editor

Requalified Companies
Winners of the awards can apply to requalify as a Deloitte Best Managed Company for the next two years, following receipt of the award. Companies applying for requalification must satisfy the programme eligibility criteria and go through a requalification review process in order to ensure that the companies continue to uphold the standard of a Deloitte Best Managed Company. This year, 22 companies who won the award last year requalified. To view a list of these companies, please visit www.deloittebestmanaged.ie.

About Deloitte Best Managed Companies Awards
The Deloitte Best Managed Companies programme, in association with Bank of Scotland (Ireland), promotes and recognises excellence in Irish owned and managed companies. It is the only awards scheme on the island of Ireland that considers a business’ performance from every perspective. Entrants to the programme compete for this designation in a rigorous and independent process that evaluates the calibre of their management abilities and practices.

Programme sponsors include Bank of Scotland (Ireland), the Irish Management Institute and the Sunday Business Post.

For further information, visit www.deloittebestmanaged.ie.

International History of Best Managed Companies Programme
The Best Managed Companies Programme originated in Canada in 1993, where it has been run successfully ever since and is the country’s leading business awards programme. Ireland is the third country to run the programme following the launch of the awards in The Netherlands in 2007.

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