About the Awards Process
A substantial recovery on behalf of creditors in a fraud case can qualify as a turnaround. To qualify for the 2026 award, the last key event you wish the award to be based on must have occurred between January 1 and December 31, 2025. That would typically be the closing of the transaction to be awarded; the confirmation or effective date of a plan of reorganization implementing a financial restructuring; the effective completion of an operational restructuring; or an event (such as a litigation recovery) that crystallizes major recoveries for creditors. You do not need to wait for the closing of a bankruptcy case or the completion of work that is immaterial to the award. The Committee may, in its discretion, defer consideration of a turnaround or transaction, such as to see if operational improvements stick.
For the turnaround aspect, please describe the improvements to a business by implementing effective operations, establishing solid management, generating positive cash flow, or effecting other operational enhancements leading to recovery of a struggling business or a significant and difficult recovery for the creditors, even if operations were forced to cease. For the transactional aspect, please describe the orchestration of a non-operational restructuring, including merger and acquisition, sale, loan, liquidation, debt restructuring, or other capital reorganization, to preserve value in a struggling business. In a change from prior practice, the Awards for 2026 will be made to firms involved in the winning turnaround and transaction submissions.
Judging Criteria
Each application undergoes a rigorous and comprehensive review process including undertaking due diligence, which may include interviews of key individuals at firms identified in a nomination to determine whether additional firms involved in the nominated turnaround or transaction should be considered.Entries are judged on individual merit; not all award categories will derive a winner in a given year. As judges review all components of the entry, they look for well-defined, measurable outcomes.
The decision of the Awards Committee is final once releases to the press are made.Press releases will not be amended to add any additional firms.
Part 1: Award Category
Part 2: Company Information
Part 3: Nomination Contact Information
Part 4: Key Contacts
Part 5: Narrative Description
Part 6: Timeline
Part 7: Finanical Information
Part 8: Information Release
Categories for BothTurnaround and Transaction Awards Include:
Small Company (Revenue < $50M)
Mid-Size Company ($50M–$299M)
Large Company ($300M–$1B)
Mega Company ($1B+)
International Company (Cross-border operations)
Pro Bono (No fees, must demonstrate financial stability)
Non-Profit (Tax-exempt organization)
Pro Bono (no fees in exchange for services)
Notification
Confirmation of receipt of each entry will be emailed after each submission, with a follow-up email requesting payment in protech. All nominees will be notified of the judging outcome by July 30, 2026. Award recipients will be recognized at The 2026 TMA Annual, October 27-30, 2026 in Houston, Texas conference to accept the award is expected. If a nominee selected by the Awards Committee cannot attend, the nominee’s firm is expected to send an appropriate representative.
Publicity
TMA will distribute a national press release of the 2026 award recipients/firms in each award category. TMA requests that firms/award recipients refrain from distributing press releases before TMA’s national release. When the press release is finalized the nominator will receive a preliminary copy of the release, at which time they are encouraged to customize and distribute their release to local media outlets. TMA Members of the press are invited to attend The TMA Annual. The Awards Committee reserves the right to revoke the award winner status if controversy or negative news comes out after selecting an entry as a winner.