Unlocking Growth: What Services Do Businesses Really Need from Their Accountants?
In today’s fast-evolving financial landscape, businesses have diverse and increasingly complex financial needs. While accountants offer a wide range of services, there remains a significant gap between what’s provided and what’s truly utilized or understood by businesses. Our latest analysis sheds light on this dynamic, revealing intriguing patterns:
- Tax Planning is the most commonly offered service (53%), yet it sees peak adoption primarily among medium-sized businesses, reflecting the sweet spot where complexity and business maturity align.
Surprisingly, Sole Practitioners outperform larger firms in delivering Business Advisory (56%) and Software/App Advisory services (45%), highlighting their strength in personalized, value-driven relationships.
Larger businesses increasingly require sophisticated Planning, Budgeting, and Reporting services, showcasing their evolving financial management needs as they grow.
But here’s the key question: Do businesses fully appreciate the value these services can add? And are accountants clearly communicating what’s possible beyond traditional compliance?
Explore our detailed analysis and strategic recommendations to bridge the service-awareness gap—empowering accountants to deliver more value and helping businesses ask for services that drive genuine growth.
Service Offerings Analysis
Understanding how accounting practices serve clients across different business sizes
Key Insights
Tax Planning emerges as the most commonly offered service overall (53%), with strong adoption among Medium-sized businesses (62%).
Sole Practitioners lead in Business Advisory (56%), External Reporting (51%), and Software/App Advisory (45%).
Large businesses demand more reporting services, with 48% using Internal Reporting and 40% External Reporting.
Planning & Budgeting sees higher adoption among Large businesses (53%) compared to Medium (43%) and Small (37%).
Service Adoption by Business Size
Top Services by Client Segment
Detailed Analysis
Tax Planning
Overall: 53%
Peaks with medium-sized businesses, suggesting optimal complexity for tax planning services.
Business Advisory
Overall: 46%
Sole Practitioners lead significantly, possibly due to their personalized service approach.
Reporting Services
Overall: 35% avg
Large businesses need more internal reporting, while Sole Practitioners excel in external reporting.
Strategic Recommendations
For Sole Practitioners
Leverage your strength in Business Advisory and External Reporting to differentiate from larger firms. Consider bundling these services for small business clients.
For Medium/Large Firms
Develop specialized tax planning offerings for medium businesses and enhanced reporting packages for large clients to meet their distinct needs.
Service Packaging
Consider creating tiered service packages that combine planning/budgeting with performance analysis, as these services show complementary adoption patterns.
Tech Advisory
Despite lower overall adoption, Sole Practitioners show strong Software/App Advisory offerings - this could represent an underserved market opportunity.
Source data: Xero UK 2025 | Accounting and Bookkeeping Industry Report