For Dubai lawyers, loyalty is now being judged Opinion Dubai has long been seen as a flexible market where lawyers can reside for a few years before coming back. That could be changing.
BDO culls senior partners to clear path for younger staff Prof Services Leading mid-tier advisory firm BDO is set to cut around 6 per cent of its total partner headcount, targeting older partners. The firm is set to axe 31 partners, mainly older staff who were expected to retire soon, or hires from rivals, as it seeks to open space for younger staff, according to the Financial [...]
As KPMG looks to cut hundreds of staff, expect more layoffs at the Big Four Big Four The Big Four giants, after hitting pandemic-era highs, are currently navigating a perfect storm of challenges: a harsher market, a surge in AI investment and a stagnant economy. These pressures are forcing firms to take a pair of shears to their workforces as the industry’s traditional “attrition model” fails to keep pace with reality. Over [...]
Reeves’ £1.2bn consultancy savings plan in doubt, watchdog warns March 11, 2026 Despite Rachel Reeves’ focus on cutting government spending on external consultancy services, a damning report stated that the government is unable to set meaningful targets to reduce its reliance on external firms. The UK government has said it wants to put an immediate stop to all non-essential consultancy spending and halve consultancy spending in future [...]
War in Iran sparks professional services remote work boom in Gulf March 5, 2026 Professional service giants have triggered emergency business continuity plans, shifting hundreds of staff to remote work across the UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia amid deepening conflict in the Middle East. Since Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu’s surprise attack on Tehran in the early hours of Saturday morning, Iran has retaliated with strikes on major cities [...]
Service sector profits continue long decline February 26, 2026 Profitability in the UK’s service sector declined for the seventeenth consecutive rolling quarter, according to new data, with businesses reporting few signs of improvement on the horizon. The Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) latest survey on the service sector showed that rising costs put businesses’ bottom line under pressure. A weighted balance of -28 per [...]
Accountancy firms face margin squeeze as AI disrupts compliance services February 25, 2026 Most UK accountancy firms admit margins on traditional compliance services are under pressure from automation, as professional services firms rethink strategies in the age of AI. According to a report shared exclusively with City AM by Ravical, while most British firms believe margins have increased over the last three years, the majority (63 per cent) [...]
Big Four consulting giants pivot to ‘high-growth verticals’ amid AI disruption February 24, 2026 Following news of Deloitte’s latest expansion, experts predict a wave of restructuring and a “high-growth vertical” focus across the Big Four giants. On Monday, Deloitte revealed its plans to launch a Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) firm, aiming to build a regional powerhouse that keeps pace with rapid technological change. The new firm will [...]
Big Four giant Deloitte forms $20bn EMEA unit amid tech disruption February 23, 2026 Deloitte, one of the Big Four, plans to launch a Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) firm, aiming to build a regional powerhouse that keeps pace with rapid technological change. After a successful partner vote, Deloitte announced on Monday that the new EMEA firm will launch in June 2026. Deloitte EMEA will bring together 16 [...]
Most people have no idea how good AI is – and they’ll be the first to go February 12, 2026 A viral post from an AI investor warns most people have no idea how good AI is, or how quickly it will come for their jobs. Will it come for mine? Maybe. A couple of weeks ago I looked at the essay written by Anthropic’s co-founder in which he expressed his fears that humanity won’t [...]