The Accountants Club reveals which UK accountants are most highly rated by their clients and contacts. Based on the number of positive testimonials 1,068,692 accountants have received on LinkedIn, Mark Coyle is the most highly rated practicing accountant in the UK, and AVN's Steve Pipe is the most highly rated accountant anywhere in the world.

Coyle runs Rochdale based firm MCA Accountancy and Taxation Advisers. His 67 “recommendations” (the LinkedIn label for testimonials) include “a pleasure to work with”, “a true professional”, “always on the ball” and “a breath of fresh air”.

Leeds based Pipe is an adviser to the accountancy profession and Founder and Head of Research at AVN, the association of independent accountants. His 223 testimonials, many of which come from other leading players in the global profession, are littered with phrases such as “inspirational”, “unsurpassed”, “a power house”, “visionary” and “outstanding”.

This new research shows that UK accountants are leading the way when it comes to making use of professional networks such as LinkedIn to demonstrate the expertise they can bring to clients.

Commenting on the findings Accountants Club Chairman Mark Lloydbottom said:

“LinkedIn is a hugely powerful tool that many business owners and professionals are using to find the best people to do business with. So it is crucially important that your LinkedIn profile supports your brand and reputation, as it does for Mark and Steve, by providing evidence that you really are good at what you do in the form of a high number of really positive testimonials. Having few or no testimonials on your profile, on the other hand, may lead prospective clients and referrers to draw a far less helpful kind of conclusion – i.e. ‘they can’t be very good since so few people have recommended them’. And that is not a risk that any accountant should take with their brand.”