M&A and Recruitment | Our thoughts on the Accountancy Age Report

Accountancy Age recently released a report on the accounting industry for 2024-2025, and the key problem areas for accounting firms struck a chord with us. These areas are core to our business’s offering. The survey at the core of the report was answered by a range of firms varying from small accounting practices to the big four, and the results speak for themselves.

We've been at the forefront of these conversations for a while now, and we have been collating the responses from experts in the office. We would like to discuss the key areas of development accounting firms have raised: talent acquisition and M&A activity. AJ Chambers ? is an accounting and legal specialist recruitment firm, in addition to offering mergers and acquisitions consultancy - we are in an unrivalled position to comment on these concerns for firms in 2025, offering our own views and experience. For the full report, please visit the Accountancy Age website.

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Mergers and Acquisitions: 70% of firms anticipate a rise

The survey reported that the vast majority of accounting firms anticipate a rise in M&A. James Gosling Managing Director of AJ Chambers ? , had this to say on the statistic:

“M&A activity within the sector has been increasing year by year, over the last few years, especially with the wave of private equity coming to the market. However, from speaking with our clients, practitioners are more open to discussions than ever before due to factors such increased costs across all areas of the business, succession issues, an extremely competitive talent market and increased compliance and regulatory admin.

"Increasingly, the adoption of technology and keeping apace of the influence of tech and AI is a major concern, with many practitioners worrying about being left behind their counterparts due to lack of resource or expertise.

"We certainly have seen an uptick in enquiries or owners wishing to understand their options better over the last few months.”

The report also considered the development of technology. Respondents raised it as the second largest concern for mid-sized businesses, with firms of all size continuing to struggle with the rapid adoption of tech, but more significantly, these firms are challenged by talent acquisition.

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Talent acquisition: 67% see this as a top challenge

Ever since the alarm bells began to ring for the current skills shortage, talent acquisition has been at the forefront of accounting discussions. It is no surprise, therefore, that 67% of firms see this as a top challenge. Breaking this statistic down by size – a staggering 82.4% of mid-sized firms see this as a key concern. With dwindling applicants for jobs, accounting firms see this as a continuing pain point for the industry.

Helen Lovering is our Associate Director, and heads up our London recruitment team, with an extensive knowledge of the London accounting recruitment market. Scott Golding , our Associate Director, has a deep understanding of recruitment in East Anglia and Essex, and Jodi King , our Principal Consultant, has strong knowledge on the Berkshire and Surrey recruitment markets. This was their thoughts on the talent acquisition statistic:

“These concerns are of no surprise to me or the team, who cover London and the surrounding regions, as we have seen this for a number of years now.? Organisations are still competing for top experienced talent across most disciplines in practice, this coupled with people wanting to join either the Big 4 or a Top 10-20 firm can make recruiting very challenging for the mid tiers.

Many London based clients are attempting to combat this by increasing the number of their early career applicants and essentially 'growing their own talent'. This however will be several years before it has an impact on the market."

"This unfortunately is not as feasible for some companies in the regions due to salary levels and the added burden of the cost of employing a more junior team rising significantly with recent changes to minimum wage and national insurance from April, so we might see a decrease in trainee intakes in some firms/regions."

"It is important for organisations to acknowledge and understand the drivers for somebody to move companies as these have changed quite substantially post pandemic.?In the past salary and career progression were the main factors, there has certainly been a shift more recently?towards flexibility and work life balance coupled with career progression.

"On a positive, we do see a number of accountancy professionals wanting to join smaller organisations where they can develop a broader skill set, gain more exposure and career progression opportunities in a less corporate environment.”

It’s also important to note that the overwhelming majority of accounting firms are optimistic about this year. We may not have a crystal ball, but we do have experience in this industry, and these top challenges are something that we at AJ Chambers ? are directly tackling.

Our consultants are divided into specialisms and regions, allowing for a wealth of specific knowledge on the talent market. We would be delighted to help your firm navigate these challenges or discuss your exit or growth plans.

AJ Chambers provide specialist recruitment, mergers & acquisitions services and expert market intelligence across the Accounting and Legal practice sectors.

If you would like insight on careers guidance, talent attraction or M&A advice, please email us at: [email protected]