February 01, 2024

Reaction: Spring Budget 2024

One of the fascinations of Budgets is the way they balance economics with politics. Chancellors of all political stripes will deny it of course, saying they are only doing what is best for the economy, but it is inevitable that in such a big set-piece occasion they will take the opportunity to score points off their opponents. Personally I don’t have a problem with this – it is part and parcel of the democratic...

August 01, 2023

The fastest-growing services tax firms are offering

LexisNexis recently spoke to tax professionals to learn more about the fastest-growing services accounting firms are offering. We also looked at the 2021/2022 Global Advisory Trends report for insight into their confidence providing advice outside core accountancy and bookkeeping services, and what fees accounting firms would like to grow in the next 1-2 years. This article will summarise some of the findings. Services...

August 01, 2023

The growing number of tax firms turning to advisory work

Although core compliance work is threatened by increasing digitisation plans from HM Revenue and Customs, the growing complexity around tax and corporate finance is spurring a need for premium advisory services. Accountants, often considered a business’s most trusted advisor, are uniquely placed to take advantage of this situation. Many firms have already embraced this change. As technology and self-service tools...

August 01, 2023

The increasing complexity of corporate tax work

LexisNexis recently spoke to tax professionals about how the tax profession is changing. What is abundantly clear in the Tolley tax thought leadership report is that corporate tax and finance are becoming increasingly complex, and the need for specialist advice is increasing. As the need for specialist advice is increasing, boutique or specialist firms are growing in importance. Specialist accountancy firm, Finerva...

August 01, 2023

The pros and cons of advisory work

Moving into advisory services is not for everyone. Sometimes it is better to stick to what you know. For other firms, branching out to advisory services could offer huge opportunities. LexisNexis recently spoke to professionals in the industry about the risk of digitisation and offering advisory work. This is what we found. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” Some firms already have successful...

May 26, 2023

How accounting firms should charge for advisory work

Tolley recently spoke to tax professionals who have already embraced the trend towards offering advisory services to discuss the challenges that firms face to provide higher-value advisory services and the steps they need to take to overcome them. The Tolley tax thought leadership report gave great insight into the difference between charging for advisory work and compliance work and how to go about it. As technology...

May 20, 2023

Growing your advisory business

Tolley recently spoke to tax professionals about providing advisory services and what's needed to grow your advisory business. In theory, any accountancy firm can offer advisory work (indeed, some may already be doing so without realising it). In reality, some may be better placed than others to take advantage of this trend — particularly regarding the size of their business or the type of clients they're...

May 12, 2023

How accounting firms can bring in fresh talent

Tolley recently spoke to tax professionals at firms who have already embraced the trend towards offering advisory services and discussed some of the challenges they face when offering higher-value advisory services and what is needed to overcome them. An interesting aspect that emerged from the report is that the more interesting advisory work may attract new talent to your business. Some respondents in the Tolley tax...

May 06, 2023

What do clients want from accounting firms?

The growing complexity of the tax and business operating landscape means clients need more advice than ever. In a Sage 2020 report , 82% of accountants in the survey said clients are demanding a more comprehensive service offering, regardless of any technological or societal factors. As this need for more complex advice increases, in-house accountancy teams face a choice: mix and match advice from specialists or offer...

February 26, 2022

Demystifying Tax Apprenticeships

Have you ever wondered what a tax apprenticeship is and where it could take you in your career? Read on to find out more… What is a tax apprenticeship? An apprenticeship is a genuine job with the opportunity to gain a professional qualification as well as to develop the transferable skills that employers look for in their future employees. We refer to these as knowledge, skills and behaviours and each have...