UK accounting firms have rarely looked stronger on the surface – with compliance margins increasing across much of the market, and revenue per client also on the up. But beneath these positive indicators, lies a more complicated picture, explains Joris van der Gucht, co-founder and CEO of Ravical.
Our latest research, which polled 500 senior decision-makers across UK accounting firms revealed that that, on average, businesses now purchase more than a third (36%) of advisory services from providers other than their primary accounting firm. Nearly half admitted that between 26–40 per cent of their clients’ advisory spend goes elsewhere, while a further 31 per cent believe more than 40 per cent leaves the firm entirely.
This is striking when you consider that most accounting firms already hold the primary client relationship, which is the strongest position any adviser could hope for. They understand the financial history of the business, see transactions in detail, and interact with management regularly.
So why does such a large share of advisory revenue end up elsewhere?
I think the answer comes down to structure. The profession is currently navigating several structural shifts that expose weaknesses in how advisory services are delivered, which I’ll explore one by one.
- Advisory is still accidental rather than systematic
A great deal of advisory begins with small signals inside everyday client interactions – maybe a business owner mentions hiring plans, asks about financing options, or queries the timing of a major purchase. These conversations often contain the seeds of valuable advisory work.
Yet in most firms, these signals remain buried in inboxes, calls or personal notes, and opportunities are captured only if the right adviser notices them at the right time. I always think back to something I once heard one managing partner say, explaining that advisory is “everywhere in theory, but accidental in practice.”
When advisory depends on individual awareness rather than shared systems, it becomes inherently inconsistent. That leaves the door open to competitors (who specialise in a particular service, or who spot the opportunity earlier) to step in quickly.
- People closest to the client are not always structured to surface advisory opportunities
The people interacting most frequently with clients are often compliance professionals focused on deadlines, filings and reporting accuracy. These workflows are essential to running a firm, but they are designed around efficiency and risk management rather than commercial opportunity.
What is the result of this? A gap emerges between proximity and capability, whereby those who see the signals may not feel equipped to convert them into advisory engagements. Even when compliance automation frees up capacity, the advisory revenue does not automatically follow.
- Advisory remains constrained by senior capacity
Unlike compliance delivery, which can be standardised and scaled through process improvements, advisory typically depends on experienced professionals. Senior advisers must interpret context, apply judgement and manage client relationships.
This creates a structural bottleneck, because more advisory work requires more senior time, and senior expertise is one of the scarcest resources in professional services. In many firms, experienced advisers spend a significant portion of their time on preparation work rather than applying judgement with clients, limiting how far advisory can scale.
- Clients themselves now have access to more knowledge than ever before
Artificial Intelligence is accelerating this shift. We know, again from our own research, that as recently as last year two thirds of businesses (64%) were consulting tools like ChatGPT before contacting their accountant, with many arriving with their own interpretations or questions already prepared.
Previously, much of the profession’s value rested on access to specialist knowledge. As that knowledge becomes widely accessible, the differentiator shifts towards judgement, context and trusted guidance. In my view, firms that still position advisory primarily around information rather than interpretation risk seeing clients turn elsewhere.
Three layers of industry disruption
Taken together, these factors reflect a deeper transformation within the profession. The way we view this is in the form of three layers of disruption reshaping the foundations of the accounting industry.
The first layer is economic. Compliance remains essential, but it is unlikely to be the primary growth engine in the years ahead. Firms recognise that advisory represents the future, yet advisory is inherently difficult to scale within operating models built for compliance delivery.
The second layer concerns knowledge. For decades, intermediaries existed to interpret legislation and technical rules for professionals. Today, AI systems can interpret much of that information directly, often at negligible cost. This changes where professional value sits.
The third layer involves business logic itself. Traditional accounting software encoded rules into rigid workflows, whereas modern AI models increasingly reason through those same rules dynamically, meaning the technology stack itself is becoming more flexible and capable.
Together, these shifts make us question, if knowledge and technical logic are becoming widely accessible, what distinguishes the trusted adviser?
In our view, the answer lies not simply in working harder to identify advisory opportunities, but in building the infrastructure that allows advisory to emerge consistently across the firm.
Most firms are not lacking ambition – our research shows 89% of accounting firms believe advisory services will be the primary driver of growth in the coming years – but the challenge is that advisory is still being delivered through systems designed for another era.
Until firms rethink how advisory opportunities are detected, prepared and delivered, the gap between intent and reality will persist. And as the market evolves, that gap is exactly where competitors will continue to capture the revenue that might otherwise have stayed within the firm.
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