Private equity-backed Ryan breaks with billable hour tradition as AI reshapes sector June 9, 2026 Private equity-backed tax specialist Ryan says its value-based pricing is built for the age of AI, unlike competitors that depend on traditional hourly billing. Most of the professional services sector operates under the billable-hour system, in which the specific amount of time spent working on client tasks can be invoiced. But the rise in AI [...]
Kroll chief Jacob Silverman: AI won’t kill ‘mission critical’ advisory work June 9, 2026 Jacob Silverman arrives at Kroll’s vast City office for our interview fresh off a delayed flight from Atlanta, but you’d never know unless the bright-eyed New Yorker hadn’t mentioned it. Between sips of diet coke, the firm’s global chief executive offers City AM an upbeat assessment of AI’s influence on the consultancy sector that seems [...]
Professional services firms’ future hinges on private equity, Kroll chief says June 4, 2026 Private equity has been rewiring the professional services industry over the last few years, and with the sector undergoing enormous disruption from AI, stagnant growth, and a highly competitive market, PE investment is increasingly becoming a lifeline for firms to stay afloat. According to Jacob Silverman, chief executive of advisory and consultancy firm Kroll, private [...]
Staff burnout soars in professional services due to inefficiencies and outdated IT June 3, 2026 More than a quarter of client-facing staff at professional services firms are wasting a large portion of their working week on manual administrative tasks rather than core client work, according to new research by Unit4. The report, commissioned by Pierre Audoin Consultants (PAC), on global mid-to-large professional services firms, including those in the UK, revealed [...]
Deloitte UK appoints first chief AI officer in drive for ‘AI-enabled’ services June 1, 2026 Deloitte has appointed its first chief AI officer in the UK in a push to become the country’s leading professional services firm, integrating AI into both client services and internal operations. The Big Four giant said it has selected Hayley McKelvey for the newly-created role where she will be responsible for “accelerating the firm’s progress [...]
Private equity-backed Ryan triumphs in bidding for European tax adviser Svalner Atlas June 1, 2026 Private equity-based US accountancy firm Ryan has reportedly agreed to acquire European tax adviser Svalner Atlas Advisors in a deal reportedly worth $400m. Headquartered in Texas and with a presence in London, Ryan specialises in tax services and has BP and BAT among its clients. The firm was valued at about $7bn earlier this year, [...]
Private equity boom slows down as the deal bar rises for City firms May 29, 2026 Private equity interest in professional services remains, but the era of easy deals is over as most attractive targets have already been acquired, and investors are now more selective, writes Maria Ward-Brennan. The bubble around private equity interest in the professional services industry has started to deflate, as most of the “low-hanging fruit” has already [...]
‘Outdated’ consultancy sector faces a reckoning as AI rips up the old model May 27, 2026 For years, the consultancy sector has relied on a traditional model and profitable formula: retained clients, billing time and upselling clients. Another crucial element has been the blend of ‘senior counsel’ supported by a team of juniors carrying out research and compiling reports. But the rug is being pulled from under this model and a [...]
Top City law firm slammed for ‘misleading’ AI letters sent to court May 26, 2026 A well-known London-headquartered law firm has been criticised by a High Court judge after a lawyer sent the court AI-generated letters containing false legal information. A judgment handed down on 22 May found a junior solicitor at Pinsent Masons used AI to draft two “misleading” emails containing so-called hallucinations sent to the High Court [...]
Accountants ‘still in high demand’ despite AI impacting sector May 22, 2026 Accountants in the UK are still in high demand despite the impact of AI on the sector, according to new research from the Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAEW). The body, which regulates and supervises around 12,000 accountancy and audit firms in the country, said that accountants “are still in high demand” even as AI reshapes [...]