Macro trends and growth: confidence, discipline and selective ambition

ICAEW’s 2026 Evolution of Mid-tier Accountancy Firms research points to a sector growing with confidence while navigating significant structural change. Private equity (PE) investment, artificial intelligence (AI) and a more complex economic and regulatory environment are continuing to shape mid-tier firms’ strategies, but the findings also show that growth remains widespread and is increasingly being pursued with discipline and selectivity in deciding which areas to expand.

Private equity and AI remain the dominant forces

Among the macro trends impacting the profession, PE investment, cited as one of the top three by 89% of respondents, continues to stand out as the most significant driver of change for mid-tier firms. This reflects the ongoing prominence of consolidation across the market and the growing range of ownership models now embedded within the sector.

The perceived impact of generative AI has also increased sharply. Two-thirds of firms now place it among their top three macro trends, up from 42% in 2025, with over a quarter identifying it as the single most significant driver of change. This shift signals that AI is no longer viewed as an emerging or peripheral issue, but as a technology with increasingly direct implications for service delivery, skills and operating models.

Other pressures have receded at a macro level. While regulatory and compliance changes continue to shape decision-making, this is cited far less frequently than in previous years as a leading driver of change, and no firm identified it as their top trend. Talent challenges have also declined in prominence as a macro trend, reflecting a move away from acute recruitment pressures towards longer-term structural considerations around skills, roles and career pathways.

Growth remains widespread

Despite ongoing uncertainty in the geopolitical landscape environment, growth expectations among mid-tier firms remain strong. Almost all respondents (94%) report fee growth in their most recent financial year, and a similarly high proportion expect growth to continue over the next three years.

Increased spend from existing clients is now a joint leading contributor to growth, alongside new client acquisition. While new client wins remain important, their relative significance has declined compared with earlier years. Growth driven primarily by increases in charge-out rates has reduced more noticeably over time, suggesting that firms are relying less on price-led expansion and more on deeper client relationships, service mix and capacity.

Independence, technology and AI-enabled change as growth opportunities

For a minority of mid-tier firms, independence itself is framed as a source of opportunity with it enabling them to differentiate their firms in attracting both clients and talent, in an environment where consolidation and PE investment are increasingly visible.

Technology and AI-enabled change are also widely viewed as opportunities for growth. Firms highlight the potential to re-engineer service delivery, create capacity for higher value work and offer technology-enabled solutions to clients.

Limited change in service line mix

Although growth expectations remain high, there has been relatively little change in the core service lines offered by mid-tier firms. Tax, accounting, audit, advisory and payroll continue to dominate, and around one fifth of respondents identify expanding existing tax or audit offerings as their single largest growth opportunity.

Sustainability-related services continue to develop gradually. More firms (43%) now offer these services than in previous years, with advisory work most common, followed by assurance and third party verification. A further 23% of firms plan to introduce sustainability services over the next three years, while around a quarter neither offer nor plan to offer them, most often citing limited client demand or internal capability constraints.

Outside sustainability, appetite for expansion into new service areas remains modest. Planned entry into consultancy or technology/app advisory services including cyber is limited, reinforcing the overall picture of disciplined growth that builds on established strengths rather than rapid diversification into unfamiliar areas.

Regulation as a constraint on ambition

While regulation features less prominently as a macro trend overall, it continues to exert a material influence on growth strategies. Audit regulation is most frequently cited as a constraint, particularly audit majority and control requirements, which many firms view as increasingly misaligned with more diversified business models where audit represents a smaller proportion of total activity.

Beyond audit, firms highlight anti-money laundering requirements and employment regulation as constraining growth, primarily through the cost and resource demands associated with compliance and administration.

Iain Wright, ICAEW’s Chief Policy and Communications Officer, observes “mid-tier firms are not seeking lower standards, but a more proportionate, risk-based and growth-conscious regulatory framework”.