Bringing together senior leaders from across the professional services landscape, our latest Professional Services Roundtable in Manchester, jointly hosted with HSBC, created a space for open, honest conversation about what’s changing in the sector – and what comes next.
Hosted at 20 Stories, the session gathered a curated group of leaders, operators and decision-makers for a candid discussion spanning AI adoption, talent strategy, audit and M&A dynamics.
With insights from Mark Lockton, Andy Parker, Faye Wyles, Jamie McCullough find out where the conversation went and what we learnt below.
AI: Opportunity, hesitation and a race without a playbook
The conversation around AI, led by Mark, quickly pointed out that most professional services firms aren’t behind, per se. Instead, they’re aligned in uncertainty.
While AI continues to dominate headlines, the group reflected a shared sense that the sector is still in an exploratory phase. Adoption is happening, but not always with clarity or consistency.
A number of themes cropped up:
- Adoption without usage is the real risk
Several firms had already invested in tools such as Microsoft Copilot – only to find usage lagging behind expectation.
The access was there. The engagement wasn’t.
The leaders at the table highlighted a growing challenge:
How do you get teams to use AI tools and see them as enablers, not additional tasks?
Without clear integration into day-to-day workflows, even the best tools risk becoming expensive flops.
- The talent pipeline question
One of the most thought-provoking discussions centred on the long-term impact of AI on talent development.
If entry-level and “doing” roles are increasingly automated:
- Where does hands-on learning come from?
- How do future partners build judgement and expertise?
There was broad agreement that while AI will reshape delivery, it heightens the importance of critical thinking, commercial awareness and experience-led judgement – capabilities that are harder to teach without traditional progression routes.
- Build vs buy: keep it simple
With AI evolving rapidly, rather than building bespoke solutions, many of the group expressed a preference for:
- Leveraging existing platforms (e.g. Salesforce, Microsoft ecosystems)
- Allowing providers to evolve capabilities over time
The rationale is clear: AI is moving too quickly to justify heavy internal investment that may quickly become obsolete.
- Governance and grey areas
Interestingly, AI is as much a compliance question as capability.
One example highlighted the complexity: a housing association project requiring a declaration that no AI had been used.
In practice, this is increasingly difficult to guarantee, particularly as AI tools become embedded in everyday work and personal devices.
It’s a signal that policy and practice are still catching up with reality.
Professional Services M&A: A resilient market with evolving priorities
The roundtable also explored the current state of M&A within professional services – and while the market has shifted, appetite remains strong.
- What buyers are looking for
There was strong alignment around the characteristics that continue to drive value:
- Sticky, recurring revenues
- Complementary service lines that enhance client lifetime value
- A credible technology narrative – whether fully embedded or clearly defined
- Multiples: softer, but still strong
While EBITDA multiples may have softened slightly compared to peak levels in the accountancy side, good businesses are still commanding attractive valuations and focus is sharpening on niche and repeat business law firms.
Quality is the key differentiator, and firms that can demonstrate resilience, scalability and a clear growth story continue to stand out.
- Ownership models shaping decisions
The discussion also reflected the diversity of ownership structures across the sector:
- Some firms, particularly employee-owned businesses, expressed no interest in private equity
- Others already operating within PE structures shared their experiences
- Investment and succession planning were key areas for the future.
This mix created a valuable blend and exchange of perspectives, particularly for those earlier in their journey.
Professional Services is going through a recalibration
Perhaps the most important takeaway from the session was this:
Professional services is being reshaped.
- AI is changing how work gets done
- Talent models are being rethought
- Growth strategies are becoming more intentional and considered
Through it all, one thing remains constant: the value of informed, peer-to-peer conversation at events like our Professional Services Roundtable.
Thank you to our speakers and attendees. See you at the next one.
