Key takeaways:

• • • The supply hit is real, not just priced-in fear — Tanker insurance has collapsed, infrastructure is damaged, and volumes are physically offline. Some of this isn’t coming back quickly.

    • Tax policy is moving in five directions at once — Energy security incentives, BEPS 2.0 rollout, windfall tax rumblings — governments are improvising, and your effective tax rate is caught in the middle.

    • Your Evidence to Recommendations (EtR) guidance is probably already stale — If you haven’t stress-tested your EtR guidance against $100-plus per barrel oil and a multi-quarter disruption, you’re behind.

Let’s be direct: This isn’t a risky premium situation. When military strikes take out Middle Eastern infrastructure in the Persian Gulf and tanker insurers pull out of a corridor carrying 15% to 20% of global crude and liquefied natural gas (LNG), supply goes offline. That’s what’s happened.

At the time of writing, the price of oil continues to fluctuate. The recent release of the , which forecasts and analyze the global oil market, shows that more global markets are starting to say the word recession. And whether or not a recession actually materializes, the energy price environment has shifted in ways that will take multiple quarters, and maybe years, to unwind. For corporate tax departments, the question isn’t whether this changes their planning, it’s whether they’ve caught up yet.

Which scenario-modeling is most worth it?

Most ominously, nobody knows how this all ends, and that’s exactly why your tax team may need more than one base case.

The optimistic read is a short, sharp shock — prices spike, some flows resume, upstream books a windfall quarter, and consuming-country governments start muttering about excess profits taxes. Messy, but manageable.

The harder scenario is prolonged disruption: Hormuz remains constrained for months, along with repeated infrastructure hits with resulting rerouting that permanently shifts where profits land and which entities suddenly have a taxable presence for which they didn’t plan. Not surprisingly, transfer pricing and permanentĚýestablishmentĚý(PE) exposure get complicated fast.

Add to the mix, by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that multinational corporate tax departments are still required to adhere to and now plan for how it may interact and intersect with the other two scenarios.

The policy environment is a mess, but in a very specific way

Here’s what makes this cycle different from 2008 or 2014: Governments are pulling in opposite directions simultaneously. The United States has pivoted hard toward energy dominance — domestic fossils, nuclear, extraction incentives. Meanwhile, BEPS 2.0 is still rolling out unevenly across jurisdictions, which means your organization’s effective tax rate in any given country depends heavily on where it sits in the implementation timeline.

Throw in — which historically shows up about six months after prices stay high and voters get angry — and you have an environment in which the gap between your statutory tax rate and your actual sustainable rate could widen fast if you’re not actively managing it.

5 actions tax team leaders can take now

Of course, none of these are new concepts; but in a fast-moving situation, the basics that get done quickly will beat the sophisticated that gets done late.

First, rebuild your EtR guidance around at least three commodity paths. Not as a theoretical exercise — as something your CFO can actually present to the board with a straight face.

Second, map out which legal entities are genuinely exposed to Hormuz-dependent flow volumes. Companies’ operations and trading teams often know this; but the tax team too often doesn’t until there’s a problem. Close that knowledge gap now.

Third, re-rank your project pipeline on a real after-tax basis. Updated incentive assumptions, global minimum tax, domestic versus cross-border production — run all the numbers again. Some projects that looked marginal six months ago may look very different now, and vice versa.

Fourth, build a windfall tax playbook before you need one. The data you’d need to defend your profit levels and capital allocation decisions takes time to pull together. Don’t leave that work until the week the legislation drops.

Fifth — and this is the one that gets skipped most often — make sure the company’s tax, treasury, and trading groups are talking to each other in real time. Hedging decisions, financing structures, physical flow changes — all of these have tax consequences, and they’re happening fast right now.

One final thought

Corporate tax departments that come out of this looking good won’t be the ones that predicted the conflict. They’ll be the ones who translated what’s happened into specific, actionable data and numbers for their leadership — presented quickly, clearly, and with their own company’s footprint in mind.

That’s the brief. Now go build it.

You can find more of our coverage of the impact of the ongoing War in Iran here

Key takeaways:

• • • Ways of achieving growth has changed — Sustainable growth now depends less on raw revenue and more on improving income per partner through smarter leverage, intentional service mix, and disciplined pricing.

    • Proactive firms will be better positioned — Firms that adopt data-driven pricing, bundled offerings, and subscription models will be better positioned to communicate value, raise fees confidently, and protect margins.

    • Differentiators are shifting — Leadership depth, culture, and succession planning are emerging as decisive differentiators as demographics shift, private equity reshapes the tax market, and next-generation partners step into control.

Tax, audit & accounting firms are still growing, but not all that growth is reaching the bottom line — indeed, 2026 is shaping up as a separate or be separated moment for many tax firm leaders. To sustain income per partner while the market shifts, firm leaders need to be far more intentional about how they grow, price, staff, and position their tax practices.

Here are five important ways that tax firm leaders can ensure their bottom-line growth keep pace with their top-line revenue:

1. Be deliberate about how you grow

Revenue is rising, but margins are under pressure. For example, for firms with revenue of more than $2 million, revenue grew 7.9%, yet income per equity partner (IPP) increased only 3.2%. This may imply that although firms are bringing in more money, the remaining profits available to distribute to equity partners isn’t growing at the same rate. This could mean that it’s costing firms more to generate more revenue possibly because expenses are eating into margins.

Meanwhile, 13.9% of total growth for firms whose revenue is more than $2 million now comes from mergers, and for firms with revenue of more than $20 million, more than one-fifth of growth is merger-driven.

For growth strategy, leaders should clarify their organic growth plans in light of this robust M&A drive, deciding when acquisitions are truly about capacity, specialization, or geography and when they are merely propping up lagging organic growth.

Leaders need to protect IPP metrics by focusing relentlessly on revenue per partner and revenue per person as primary levers, rather than chasing top-line growth for its own sake. Leaders also need to build optionality — with private equity, mega-firm consolidators, and independents all active, factors such as succession, capital, and ownership design have become core strategic decisions that can no longer be left to chance.

2. Treat pricing as a growth discipline

In the Thomson Reuters Institute’s pricing report for tax, audit & accounting firms, 64% of decision-makers said their firms saw revenue increases, but only 45% reported increased profits — a clear indication of margin compression. Further, just about 1-in-5 professionals said they feel “highly confident” that their firm’s current pricing reflects the expertise of its professionals.

To be sure, key pricing work now involves moving beyond what the market will bear. While hourly billing still dominates (according to the report firms said over 40% of client engagements are billed on an hourly basis) — value-aligned methods such as fixed fees, subscriptions, and bundled packages are strongly associated with higher pricing confidence and a firm’s greater ability to raise fees.

To excel in this area, tax firm leaders need to use data rather than their gut. Although only 30% of respondents said their firm regularly benchmark their pricing against competitors, leaders overwhelmingly say better market intelligence would increase pricing confidence. Also, firms should expand subscription and bundle pricing options, since respondents form subscription-billing firms report significantly higher confidence that their pricing reflects value. Indeed, many firms using bundled packages have raised prices 10% to 24% or more over the past two years.

3. Build a capacity model that scales

The Rosenberg data is blunt: The fastest path to higher income per partner is not logging more partner hours — it is using smart leverage and stronger rates. Elite tax firms (those with IPP above $800,000) generate roughly $3.9 million in revenue per equity partner and maintain staff-to-partner ratios of around 17:1.

Several capacity dynamics matter in practice. Leverage drives profitability, for example, and those firms that have staff-to-partner ratios above 10 report IPP roughly double that of firms with ratios below 3, even though they may carry higher salary percentages.

Further, outsourcing has become mainstream. More than 4-in-10 firms (42%) with more than $2 million in revenue now outsource full-time equivalent (FTEs) employees, a figure that rises to 63% among firms with more than $ 20 million dollars. Interestingly, turnover has eased to about 11%, the lowest for the industry in years, but expectations have shifted as firms intentionally reduce average billable hours per staff member to prioritize sustainable workloads.

In fact, the key growth question is no longer Can we find the work? but rather Can we design a capacity model — onshore, offshore, AI-enabled — that supports higher rates without burning out our people?

4. Formalize strategy, marketing & service mix

Firms with written strategic plans earn about 4.5% more IPP than those without, according to the data, and firms with a formal marketing plan enjoy about 9% higher IPP. The most profitable firms are also more intentional about service mix, tilting toward advisory and financial services.

Growth-enabling practices start with written strategic and marketing plans. Firms that document these plans consistently outperform their peers, particularly when navigating private equity interest, AI adoption, and succession decisions. Many leading tax firms are deliberately shifting from compliance to advisory, reducing their reliance on commodity tax compliance and expanding into higher-value advisory work to drive stronger profitability. These firms are also packaging and communicating value more effectively by bundling compliance and advisory services into tiered packages, which in turn gives them greater ability to raise fees and justify premium positioning in the market.

5. Invest in leadership, culture & succession

Growth without leadership depth is fragile, especially in the tax profession in which the average partner age has remained high. Most recently, however, the average partner age has dipped slightly to about 52 years old as more retirements occur. And female partners now account for roughly one-quarter of partner groups overall, showing progress but also a persistent equity gap.

For many firms, succession remains a primary concern, and leadership-related growth priorities begin with treating succession as strategy, not an HR project. More firms are revisiting buy-in levels, which average around $133,000, and are experimenting with non-equity roles and alternative practice structures to create more flexible pathways to ownership. At the same time, leaders must protect and modernize their firm culture, recognizing that poorly managed PE transactions, rigid return-to-office policies, and underinvestment in technology-forward talent can quickly erode the very engines of growth they depend on.

Additionally, firms are elevating the managing partner role. In larger practices, managing partners’ chargeable hours are now meaningfully lower, reflecting an intentional shift toward having that role work on the business — strategy, talent, pricing, and M&A — rather than in it.

For tax firm leaders, these five considerations form a practical checklist for 2026 planning. Grounding each strategic initiative in data and taking visible action can help ensure that the next wave of growth shows up not just in revenue, but in sustainable, rising income per partner.

You can download a copy of the Thomson Reuters Institute’s pricing report for tax, audit & accounting firms, here

Key insights:

• • • Advisory is becoming the strategic core of tax practices — Tax firms are no longer treating advisory services as an add-on to compliance work but rather as a fundamental driver of business strategy, client relationships, and sustainable revenue growth.

    • Frequent client engagement drives measurably better outcomes — Professionals from firms that meet with clients quarterly or more frequently report significantly higher satisfaction across every dimension.

    • Technology and capacity are the keys to breaking through barriers — Firms are rapidly adopting automation to free up their professionals for advisory work, while addressing staff skills gaps through training and strategic hires.

For decades, tax firms built their practices around the predictable calendar of the annual compliance cycle, punctuated by occasional client requests for advice. Over the past five or more years, however, there’s been a seismic shift. Tax advisory services are emerging as the defining strategic function within successful firms, and it’s being driven mostly by an unprecedented convergence of regulatory complexity, technology capabilities, and evolving client expectations.

Jump to ↓

2026 Tax Firm Advisory Services Report

As a result, many firm leaders are fundamentally rethinking their business models, reimagining what a tax practice can be as they move from being transactional service providers to becoming more strategic advisors that can guide clients through complex financial decisions year-round.

To delve into this deeper, the Thomson Reuters Institute has published the 2026 Tax Firm Advisory Services Report, that clearly shows that as regulatory complexity and client expectations mount, firms that systematically invest in building advisory capabilities are outperforming their peers by significant margins — and the performance gap is widening.

From compliance shop to strategic advisor

For tax firm leaders, this transformation represents both validation and opportunity. The numbers tell a compelling story, especially for firms that are proactively leading the strategic elevation of their advisory capabilities. Among surveyed respondents from firms experiencing revenue growth, 88% report that advisory revenue is growing faster than compliance revenue and that advisory services now represent an average of 31% of total firm revenue.

Not surprisingly, many forward-thinking firms are backing this shift with concrete plans. Nearly 9-in-10 respondents say their firms are planning to expand their advisory services within the next year.

The engagement advantage

What’s driving this transformation? According to the report, the quality and frequency of client relationships have fundamentally recast what’s possible in tax advisory services. Firms that meet with clients quarterly or more frequently see dramatically different outcomes than those meeting clients just once or twice a year.

Tax professionals from firms with quarterly touchpoints rated their own satisfaction significantly higher across every dimension measured, such as knowledge of the client’s business, understanding the client’s industry sector, the overall strength of the client relationship, and the range of services the client uses. Even more compelling, almost 90% of respondents from firms with more frequent client engagement report that advisory revenue growth is outpacing compliance growth compared to just 65% of respondents from firms with less frequent client contact.

As the report underscores: This message is unmistakable — relationship depth directly drives revenue growth. Firms that use quarterly or more touchpoints with clients are more successfully converting compliance-only relationships into comprehensive advisory partnerships at substantially higher rates than their less-engaged competitors.

The challenging landscape

Despite the opportunities that abound in advisory services, many firms face real obstacles in expansion, the report shows. More than half (52%) of respondents cite staff skills gaps among their colleagues as their biggest challenge, followed closely by client resistance to paying for advice (47%).

These challenges create a reinforcement loop that can trap firms in their current state: Staff lack advisory skills, so they focus on compliance work, leaving no time to develop advisory capabilities or engage clients proactively. Then, clients don’t see the value of advisory services because they haven’t experienced them, and the cycle continues.

Breaking this loop requires intentional strategy and systematic execution — which is exactly what leading firms are doing differently, the report shows.

How strategic priorities are reshaping the profession

The ripple effects from this advisory transformation have dramatically reshaped strategic priorities for tax firms beyond routine concerns about service expansion. These new priorities represent fundamental shifts in how firm leadership view the purpose of their firm, its client relationships, and competitive positioning.

Interestingly, while revenue objectives dominate the top priorities, 13% of firm leaders cite developing more intellectually stimulating work for their teams as a key objective, the report shows. This speaks to a deeper strategic consideration — that advisory work itself offers the kind of challenging, engaging work that attracts and retains top talent in an increasingly competitive labor market.

Today, the opportunity is here for tax firms to capitalize on this momentum and operationalize their advisory services offerings through formalized processes, systematic client engagement, technology leverage, and value-based pricing that creates enduring competitive advantages.

As the report shows, tax advisory today is moving beyond simply offering occasional consulting services alongside compliance work. And with the strategic elevation of tax advisory services already underway, it’s those firms that move quickly enough to capture the opportunity that will flourish.

You can download

a full copy of the Thomson Reuters Institute’s “2026 Tax Firm Advisory Services Report” by filling out the form below:

Key takeaways:

• • • Legal professionals face tighter procedural constraints — The shift to legitimate interest and stricter suspension rules limit the scope of litigation, requiring claims of more precise harm and reducing early judicial intervention.

    • Stricter judicial suspension powers — Judges now face tighter rules when granting suspensions and need to prioritize public interest and order over individual or corporate requests.

    • Compliance and financial counsel must prepare for UIF scrutiny — Expanded authority for Mexico’s Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) means frozen assets may remain inaccessible despite amparo filings, necessitating stronger defense strategies and deeper expertise in financial legality.

In Mexico, the Amparo Law is one of the most important legal tools for protecting individual rights. For legal professionals, amparo has long been a key tool to challenge government actions that impact clients’ operations or compliance. This legal action acts as a mechanism to enforce constitutional protections, preventing public authorities from being unfair or abusing their power.

In September, Mexico sought reform in many areas of this action, including seeking changes to . The update in Article 5 of the Amparo Law refines the definition of “legitimate interest” (interés legítimo) while maintaining the concept of “legal interest” (interés jurídico). Under the previous standard, which was introduced in the 2011 reform and formalized in 2013, practitioners could initiate amparo proceedings on behalf of clients who were affected in a general way — for example, by pollution, lack of access to public information, or harm to indigenous communities. Now, the law only allows a filing of an amparo when individuals are .

Judicial limits and augmented authority for UIF

Another important change in the 2025 reform relates to suspensions. In Mexico’s Amparo Law, a suspension is a temporary court order that stops administrative measures while the judge reviews the case. Before the current reform, judges had , even in cases that affected the public or large groups using their evolving jurisprudence.

Now, judges must follow stricter rules; for example, they cannot allow suspensions if these affect. This shift has direct implications for law firms because legal teams will need to reassess the likelihood of obtaining suspensions in cases involving administrative actions, especially those tied to public infrastructure or financial enforcement.

In Mexico, the Amparo Law is one of the most important legal tools for protecting individual rights. For legal professionals, amparo has long been a key tool to challenge government actions that impact clients’ operations or compliance.

The reform also limits suspensions, including investigations by the Federal Executive Branch, tax credit cases (unless the person pays a financial guarantee), preventive detention, and cases in which the country’s Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) is involved. The UIF works on cases in which individuals or entities are suspected of .

Lawyers and legal counsel, particularly those representing clients in financial and criminal matters, face new hurdles because of this reform. Even if an amparo is filed, bank accounts may remain frozen if there is suspicion of links to criminal organizations. This forces legal teams to develop more robust strategies for contesting UIF actions. Similarly, tax professionals must also adjust to the new reality. The reform limits the use of amparo to delay tax payments or challenge tax credit denials. Clients who previously relied on legal maneuvers to postpone payments or other obligations will now need to provide financial guarantees or face immediate enforcement. This increases pressure on tax advisors to ensure compliance and to anticipate UIF scrutiny.

Another consideration is whether UIF’s legal counsel itself can verify the legality of resources, a process that requires specialized knowledge. In some cases, public interest and public order may be referenced in general terms rather than supported by specific evidence, thus placing additional burdens on legal professionals to challenge such claims effectively.

In contrast to the concerns about qualified personnel and individual rights, the government explains that the reform helps stop powerful groups — those that can afford to pay a lawyer and other legal expenses, as opposed to common citizens — from to avoid paying taxes or slowing down legal actions.

Modernizing the amparo process through digital reforms

The September reform is expected to expand and reinforce the digital modernization initiatives introduced in the and other earlier reforms, much of which focused on using technology to improve the amparo process. For example, lawyers must now adapt to mandatory digital procedures; and Article 3 now allows people to send documents either online or on paper. (According to the reform, however, if someone has an account in the Federal Judiciary’s Online Services Portal, they must use it to send and receive documents.)

While this shift standardizes communication, it may challenge those firms with limited digital infrastructure or clients in rural areas.

The reform also supports using electronic signatures for all legal steps. Previously, digital signatures were not accepted in the same way by all courts. This change simplifies filings and enhances procedural clarity, but it also requires law firms and tax advisors to update their systems and train staff on secure digital authentication.

Lawyers and legal counsel, particularly those representing clients in financial and criminal matters, face new hurdles because of this reform. Even if an amparo is filed, bank accounts may remain frozen if there is suspicion of links to criminal organizations.

In addition to reforms designed to enhance system functionality, further modifications have been introduced to decrease the number of cases and enable judges to reach decisions more efficiently. In the past, judges had flexible timelines, which often resulted in delays. The reform now sets clearer limits; for example, in indirect amparo cases, judges must give a ruling within 90 calendar days. This accelerates case resolution but also increases pressure on judicial teams to manage caseloads efficiently and consistently.

Adapting to Mexico’s amparo reform

The September reform could reshape the legal landscape for judges, attorneys, and tax professionals by reversing the progress made since the 2011 changes, which aimed to protect Constitutional rights more strongly. If this happens, the reform may weaken the procedural tools that legal professionals use to defend their clients — people and companies alike — against government actions. As a result, we may see a noticeable shift in litigation demand, with fewer opportunities for constitutional defense and more pressure on legal teams to adapt to narrower procedural options. Contributing to this, the new requirements and streamlined procedures could discourage frivolous claims, reducing the volume of cases that firms must manage.

For judges, the reform introduces a more rigid framework. Previously, collective actions based on the prior definition of legitimate interest delayed major infrastructure projects. By requiring direct harm under the new standard, judicial discretion is curtailed, and courts are expected to prioritize administrative efficiency over broad social concerns. In addition, the UIF is now better positioned to freeze illicit funds, which helps lower the chances of situations such as the release of the 27 billion pesos frozen between 2018 and 2025. Legal teams must now prepare for more aggressive enforcement and fewer procedural safeguards.

Finally, the reform has introduced significant elements to enhance transparency and accountability in the amparo process. By introducing requirements for digital submissions and establishing clear deadlines, the changes aim to reduce corruption and confusion, but courts and professionals may struggle with the new digital tools because of their own limited access to technology. Successful adoption of this reform will depend on training judges, UIF staff, and legal teams to ensure procedural compliance and maintain the public trust.

You can find more on the legal and regulatory issues facing Mexico here

Key findings:

• • • • Strategic blind spots remain — Despite widespread awareness, many tax firms have yet to fully assess the operational or financial impact of the reform, highlighting the need for more proactive planning as changes approach.

      • Technology investment leads the way — Firms are prioritizing technology and now are beginning to complement these efforts with increased attention to staff training and client support, aiming for a more balanced and complete transition.

      • Client guidance is gaining momentum — While clients will be among the most affected, professionals are recognizing the urgency of providing clearer communication and tailored support to help clients navigate the reform more confidently.

Brazil’s tax, audit & accounting sector is on the verge of a historic transformation. The country’s new tax reform, approved by the National Congress, will gradually unify several existing taxes into a dual value-added tax (VAT) system. The reform aims to simplify compliance, promote transparency, and help citizens better understand how public resources are allocated.

Jump to ↓

Brazil Tax Reform for Tax Firm Professionals 2025

So how prepared are Brazil’s tax & accounting professionals for this upcoming shift? A new report from the Thomson Reuters Institute reveals a gap between awareness and action. While most professionals understand the reform and its implications, only a minority have moved into active preparation. Only a small group of firms have established internal teams or concrete plans; however, many others are now beginning to shift from passive monitoring to more decisive steps.

Definitions: Incipient: I am aware of the Tax Reform, but I am not keeping up with the changes. Beginner: I am following updates through the press and reports to evaluate information that fits the firm’s and customers’ profile. Preparatory: I have an internal working group and/or a developing plan. Advanced: I have allocated resources and a transition project in progress. Leader: I have the structure prepared for the transition and I am working with my team and external providers to anticipate our adaptation.

The reform is expected to impact core areas of tax, audit & accounting work — including tax calculation, pricing strategies, and advisory services. Professionals widely acknowledge these areas will be disrupted and are starting to take steps to assess and prepare for the changes. Technology investment is accelerating, with many firms upgrading systems and digital infrastructure to meet new requirements. At the same time, there is growing recognition that staff training and client education must advance in parallel to ensure a successful transition.

Many professionals have expressed a need for more resources and structured plans to help them guide clients through the reform, especially as they face changes in tax burdens, pricing structures, and compliance requirements. Encouragingly, firms are beginning to respond — developing communication strategies and training programs to better support both their teams and their clients.

You can download a full copy of the Thomson Reuters Institute’s “Brazil Tax Reform for Tax Firm Professionals 2025” in Portuguese here

One major area still evolving is the financial planning around the reform. Despite the potential for significant operational changes, most organizations have yet to estimate the cost of adaptation. As new requirements take effect, understanding and preparing for these costs will be essential to avoiding unexpected disruptions.

Opinions on the reform’s complexity remain divided. Some professionals expect simplification, while others anticipate greater difficulty in tax and accounting practices. This uncertainty only reinforces the importance of ongoing monitoring and the development of flexible strategies.

While technology remains a central focus, the sector is now beginning to align its efforts — recognizing that human capabilities and client engagement are equally essential. The transition is no longer just about systems and infrastructure, but also about empowering their professionals and building trust. Firms are taking steps to ensure that their teams are prepared and their clients are supported, thereby laying the groundwork for a more complete and resilient transformation.

You can download

a full copy of the English-language version of the Thomson Reuters Institute’s “Brazil Tax Reform for Tax Firm Professionals 2025” by filling out the form below:

Key points:

• • • Technological transformation — SAT is modernizing its auditing with machine learning and graph analytics to detect fiscal risks and tax evasion networks.

    • Greater operational demands — Taxpayers and accounting firms must adapt to faster, more precise reviews that will be driven by AI.

    • Efficient and preventive auditing — AI enables SAT to anticipate irregularities, promote self-correction, and maintain effective tax collection at low cost.

In 2024, Mexico’s tax authority, the Tax Administration Service (SAT), introduced its Master Plan, marking a new chapter in tax auditing. This plan includes the integration of technologies such as machine learning to identify high-risk taxpayers who potentially could be involved in illicit activities. The aim of the plan is to detect complex structures of tax evasion and avoidance through the analysis of transactional patterns and relationships among entities.

Additionally, the plan seeks to uncover inconsistencies in Digital Tax Receipts (CFDI) that may indicate simulated operations, smuggling, or the use of shell companies, thereby strengthening fiscal oversight and the prevention of financial crimes.

This approach relies on large-scale data analysis, with AI playing a central role. Through algorithms that learn from historical patterns, SAT aims to anticipate irregular behavior and act proactively. Indeed, this represents a profound shift in how tax auditing is understood and executed.

Although AI is a major innovation in the field, it’s not the starting point. Since 2020, SAT has been consolidating its four-pronged strategy, aimed at i) increasing collection efficiency; ii) reducing tax evasion; iii) combating corruption; and iv) improving taxpayer service. This strategy has supported the development of programs such as Compliance Monitoring, Deep Surveillance, and Coercive Collection, which have enabled the authority to act with greater precision and speed.

To better understand the scope of this transformation, certified public accountant Roberto Iván Colín Mosqueda, a member of the Mexican Institute of Public Accountants, shares his expert insights on how these tools are redefining tax auditing and what they mean for taxpayers and professionals in the field.

The role of advanced analytics

SAT’s 2024 Master Plan places special emphasis on machine learning to strengthen auditing. This approach is divided into two main models:

1. 1. 1. Analytical techniques, which allow the review of large volumes of data from CFDIs, tax returns, and audit reports. The goal of this is to detect irregularities in real time, especially in sensitive sectors like fuel distribution, where illegal trade and irregular commercialization are targeted.
      2. Statistical learning models, which enable AI to identify previously detected tax evasion patterns and apply them to uncover new networks or similar schemes. This model is particularly useful for identifying operations linked to fake invoicing companies or importers engaged in irregular practices.

The combination of these models allows SAT not only to react to non-compliance but to anticipate it, resulting in smarter, less invasive, and more resource-efficient auditing.

“The authority has been closing gaps and tightening controls, and the reality is that electronic invoicing now provides highly reliable information,” explains Colín. “Based on this, along with tax returns and other data it receives, SAT can implement artificial intelligence to develop analytical and statistical learning models that will undoubtedly continue to deliver strong results.”

Direct impact on taxpayers & accounting firms

SAT’s technological transformation doesn’t only affect large taxpayers or strategic sectors. It also has direct implications for ordinary taxpayers and the accounting firms that support them.

Indeed, Colín warns that this new auditing will be more dynamic and demanding. “In the daily life of a regular taxpayer, this will mean increased auditing,” he says. “The authority will detect non-compliance and omissions more quickly, which will generate more work for both taxpayers and accountants, who will need to constantly review and correct.”

Additionally, accounting firms must adapt to a more sophisticated auditing process that goes beyond numbers to better analyze relationships between data, behavioral patterns, and connections among taxpayers. This implies greater responsibility in validating transactions, ensuring consistency in reported information, and maintaining traceability of digital tax receipts.

“These analytical techniques will allow the authority to detect irregularities more quickly. Today we already see reminders before a tax declaration is due, and invitation letters requesting explanations. With artificial intelligence, this pace will intensify,” Colín adds.

Efficient collection and preventive auditing

One of SAT’s most notable achievements is its operational efficiency. Currently, for every 100 pesos collected, the authority spends only 28 cents, compared with the United States’ Internal Revenue Service (IRS) which . This figure reflects a modern fiscal management model based on the strategic use of technology to maximize results with limited resources.

Preventive auditing, supported by AI, allows SAT to expand its coverage without significantly increasing its operational structure. By detecting irregularities before they become serious omissions, it encourages taxpayer self-correction, reducing the need for formal audits and improving voluntary compliance.

This proactive approach not only optimizes government resources but also fosters a more transparent and collaborative relationship between the authority and taxpayers.

Preparing for the future of tax compliance

SAT’s technological evolution presents new challenges for all actors in the tax system. For taxpayers, it means maintaining more rigorous accounting, staying alert to messages in the tax mailbox, and responding quickly to any requests. For accounting firms, it’s an opportunity to strengthen their services, adopt analytical tools, and provide more strategic advice to their clients.

Smart auditing works to move revenue services beyond enforcement, enhancing the ability of auditors to prevent, educate, and collaborate. In this new environment, transparency, traceability, and cooperation will be key to building a fairer, more modern, and efficient tax system in Mexico.

You can find out more about the regulatory and legal issues impacting Mexico here

Key findings:

• • State-level changes — States are responding to the impact of OBBBA on state-level taxation.

  • Budget shortfalls may result — Several states are already projecting reduced revenue collections because of the OBBBA.

  • Multi-state business impacts — Businesses with multi-state operations should re-evaluate where their operations are located for tax purposes.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) ushered in sweeping federal tax changes including provisions aimed at stimulating domestic business investment, particularly in manufacturing and research & development. While many businesses welcome the enhanced federal deductions, the changes are also significantly shifting the landscape for taxation at the state and local levels.

The impacts of the OBBBA are playing out differently across states, depending on each state’s own tax rules. In addition, the Act is likely to have fiscal ripple effects for states, including new budget challenges. How states respond to these combined impacts promises to dramatically reshape the tax environment, particularly for businesses operating across multiple jurisdictions.

These are among the considerations that seem to be keeping clients up at night — despite the federal tax benefits of the Act, many business owners and tax professionals are nervous about what it’s going to be mean at the state and local levels.

Impact on state-level tax policies

For businesses that operate across multiple states, the state and local tax landscape is suddenly more dynamic and much less predictable. States generally start their income tax calculations based upon federal taxable income, but they then modify those numbers based on their own rules and legislative priorities. That means federal changes, such as bonus depreciation or research expensing, are often partially or fully clawed back at the state level. So key provisions of the OBBBA, particularly those involving deductions and R&D expenses, will impact specific businesses differently depending on a state’s existing tax rules and policies.

For example, the OBBBA allows immediate 100% expensing for federal purposes for fixed assets placed in service after January 19, 2025. However, many states already decouple their assessments from federal bonus depreciation. Other states adjust the percentage or disallow the bonus entirely, forcing an addback and requiring businesses to instead use standard federal depreciation schedules. In fact, OBBBA threatens to widen these differences for deductions.

The impacts of the OBBBA are playing out differently across states, depending on each state’s own tax rules.

Similarly, the OBBBA enhances the ability of businesses to expense qualifying domestic R&D costs. Historically, only a few states followed the federal shift from expensing to capitalization under prior law. Some states, such as Indiana, may now conceivably permit a double deduction for these expenses under concurrent federal and state codes. Meanwhile, other states will likely reassess or restrict the treatment of these deductions because of concerns over the potential negative impact on state revenues.

Michigan and Rhode Island, for example, recently enacted legislation decoupling from the OBBBA provision that allows for the immediate deduction of domestic research and development expenses, resulting in the continued requirement to capitalize such amounts for state purposes.

State budget concerns

Meanwhile, concerns about the effect of the Act on state revenues could result in far more significant impacts.

One of the most immediate consequences of the OBBBA has been already observed in several states: Illinois, Maryland, Nebraska, and Oregon are among the states that have publicly acknowledged that major federal funding cuts in programs like Medicare, Medicaid, SNAP food assistance, and broader social services are likely to trigger budget shortfalls. And Colorado recently announced a projected $1 billion shortfall, prompting tax increases and a November 2026 referendum to raise income tax rates on certain high-income levels.

While clearly, nobody has a crystal ball, the OBBBA is already putting a lot of strain on state budgets and more states will likely follow in Colorado’s footsteps.Ěý Indeed, at a Massachusetts Department of Revenue roundtable held September 30, Commissioner Geoffrey E. Snyder declared that the OBBBA is projected to reduce the state’s revenue collections by almost $700 million in their 2026 fiscal year.

Impact on businesses

For businesses, navigating through all these changes complicates everything from daily operations to long-term strategy planning — and the stakes are considerable.

New tax increases or other changes in state tax rules could change asset deployment strategies, shift business expansion plans, and even encourage relocation to more favorable jurisdictions. Robust proactive tax planning is now a competitive necessity rather than a defensive maneuver.

To get on top of this, tax professionals should look into adopting more customized, multi-state mindsets for their clients. It’s essential that tax professionals fully grasp the substance and trajectory of each material state, or those states in which their clients’ businesses have significant business activity. Given that most states currently apportion taxable income primarily based on revenue, rather than physical presence, the rules governing each material state should be monitored closely in addition to the state in which the client is headquartered.

To get on top of this, tax professionals should look into adopting more customized, multi-state mindsets for their clients.

Further complicating matters is that the ripple effects from state responses will vary considerably in terms of timing. Some state legislatures only meet biennially, while some states may call special sessions to address urgent revenue needs or adjust their rules to conform with federal law. States also may enact rapid changes in response to headline-making budget projections — often with little warning.

Tax professionals need to stay proactive and vigilant, and most importantly, keep their finger on the pulse of state tax policies to best keep their clients informed. Some key steps for tax professionals include:

• • • Conduct a “material state” audit — Proactively identify and monitor those states in which clients have meaningful revenue, as those locations will now drive new tax risks and opportunities.
    • Stay informed on legislative developments — Closely track statements from state governments, economic development departments, and relevant tax and economic authorities on budget forecasts and discussion of anticipated responses.
    • Educate and advise clients with flexibility and understanding — Provide clients with regular updates on state-level changes and counsel them to build flexibility into their business forecasts and strategies, especially around capital expenditures and R&D investments.

While the OBBBA is ultimately a federal catalyst — the state and local reverberations of the Act are just beginning to be felt. For tax professionals, this is a moment to lead by educating clients, anticipating legislative shifts, and building resilient tax strategies across jurisdictions. State and local responses to the OBBBA will be diverse and are only beginning to unfold. Steady guidance from tax professionals can make the difference between whether their clients thrive or flounder amid all these changes.

You can find more of our coverage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act here

Key takeaways:

• • • Strategic focus is crucial — Firms with a clear, written strategy and marketing plan are out-earning peers, and vague ambition is no longer sufficient in today’s competitive tax industry landscape.

    • Advisory services drive growth — Advisory service lines, particularly investment advisory and proactive tax planning, are expanding faster than traditional compliance work, and firms must blend recurring compliance jobs with scalable advisory to smooth revenue cyclicality and deepen client relationships.

    • Technology and leadership are keys to success — Firms must harness the power of AI, automation, and private equity to drive growth, and prioritize leadership systems, professionalization of leadership, and culture by design to endure the next decade.

If the last few years felt like standing at a crossroads for tax, audit & accounting firms, 2025 is the turn itself. Consolidation, private equity, AI, and evolving workforce expectations have tipped the profession from gradual change into a full paradigm shift. The illuminates the state of the profession. The annual report on the tax industry shows that those firms that win from here won’t simply be competent — they’ll be intentional, strategically focused, and relentless about converting capacity into higher-value client impact. For tax firm leaders, the mandate is clear: Make bold, data-informed choices now or wait and watch competitors outpaced you.

What the numbers are really saying

While revenue growth has cooled from the post-pandemic highs, settling near high single digits across the market, a striking share of that growth now is being powered by mergers and acquisitions, while organic expansion is proving harder to sustain. Meanwhile, income per equity partner has still edged upward, although profit growth lags revenue as costs, partner counts, and investment outlays rise.

The standout tax firms — especially those with higher billing rates and strong staff-to-partner ratios — are combing scale, leverage, and premium pricing to widen the gap between them and competitors. The message is clear: Profitable growth now depends less on squeezing more hours and more on getting the business model right.

Indeed, the report noted several areas in which tax firms leaders need to pay special attention.

Talent: Retention is better — but capacity isn’t the same as productivity

The report reveals turnover among tax professionals has fallen to its lowest level in years, which is a positive development. Yet billable hours per professional have declined, and many teams are logging less than 1,400 hours annually.

In response, some firms are hiring to build capacity, but revenue per full-time equivalent (FTE) employees slipped for the first time in five years — a signal that headcount without redesign is a blunt instrument. Offshoring and outsourcing remain in the toolkit, especially for larger firms, but as retention improves, the hiring mix is shifting from emergency capacity to structured, strategic resourcing. The imperative is smarter workload orchestration, not more bodies.

Strategy is no longer optional

Firms with a clear, written strategy and marketing plan are out-earning their peers, the report showed. That’s not correlation by accident — it’s the compounding effect of decisive prioritization. When leaders articulate where the firm will play and how it will win, then firm investments align with strategy, pricing reflects value, and teams understand how to move the needle. Having vague ambitions is expensive, precision pays much better.

Advisory is the growth flywheel

Advisory service lines — particularly investment advisory and proactive tax planning — are expanding faster than traditional compliance. The most resilient firms are shaping portfolios that blend recurring compliance jobs with scalable advisory roles, thus smoothing revenue cyclicality and deepening client relationships. Technology is central here because it doesn’t just compress the cost of compliance work, it liberates capacity that can be redeployed into offering advice for which clients will happily pay a premium.

Private equity & technology: Forces to harness, not fear

Private equity (PE) is no longer an outlier, it’s reshaping governance, accelerating M&A, and boosting tech investment across the top end of the market. Whether you choose to partner with PE firms or compete against PE-backed platforms, you must operate with PE-grade rigor — and that means sharper KPIs, faster decision cycles, and a clearer capital allocation model.

On the tech front, AI and automation clearly are transforming tax preparation, workpaper assembly, and research — often eliminating 50% to 80% of the manual steps in defined use cases. And the top performing firms don’t just use AI just to cut costs, they turn their teams’ freed-up hours into advisory projects, client education, and proactive planning conversations that can fortify loyalty and margins.

Leadership & succession: Redesigned for durability

Today, partner demographics are shifting quickly. There are more younger partners, more women advancing, and more diverse paths into leadership. Non‑equity roles and flexible buy‑in models are becoming standard, while mandatory retirement policies are moderating to support smoother succession.

Compensation and buyout systems are maturing as committees and transparent formulas replacing opaque, personality‑driven decisions. The firms that will thrive over the next decade already are professionalizing leadership the same way they professionalize client service.

The bottom line

Finally, there are several actions that smart tax firm leaders are already abandoning and others that they are strongly focusing on.

What to stop doing

• • • Managing to utilization alone — Leaders need to shift their thinking to revenue per FTE, realization, and cycle time to reflect true performance.
    • Treating offshore resources as a plug‑and‑play fix — Integrate these resources into your firm’s standard processes with clear ownership and quality assurance.
    • Waiting for “post‑tax‑season” to improve systems —Improvement is a year‑round muscle that needs to be exercised. Schedule and track system improvement it like any client deliverable.

What to double down on

• • • Focusing on client segmentation and ideal‑client fit — Politely winnow misaligned work or burdensome clients and reinvest those hours into high‑potential relationships.
    • Promoting manager leverage — Equip managers with the ability to own scoping, pricing, and coaching so partners can drive market‑facing growth.
    • Encouraging culture by design — Flexible work is table stakes in today’s environment. Promote what differentiates your firm, especially its clarity of mission, feedback cadence, and recognition systems.

The tax, audit & accounting profession’s fundamentals remain strong, but the rulebook has been rewritten, as the Rosenberg Report illustrates. Firm growth will increasingly come from strategy, not inertia; from advisory impact, not additional hours; and from leadership systems, not individual heroics.

Smart tax firm leaders need to treat 2026 as a pivot year for their firms. Publish the plan, price to value, operationalize AI, and convert freed-up capacity into advice offerings your clients can’t imagine running their businesses without.

Those tax firms that move first, while measuring what matters, will define the next decade of tax leadership.

For more on the current state of tax, audit & accounting firms, check out the recent 2025 State of Tax Professionals Report from the Thomson Reuters Institute here

Key takeaways:

• • • Subscriptions are a high-value option — Subscription-led pricing correlates with the highest value confidence and steadier revenue compared to hourly or fixed-fee models.

    • Three pricing packages evolve — Three tier packages (basic, standard & premium) create a clear value ladder and enable increased customization through modular add-ons.

    • Regular billing cycles help — Monthly or quarterly billing cadences improve transparency, client trust, and firm cash flow.

Tax, audit & accounting firms are in the middle of a pricing reckoning. Clients want clarity, firm leaders want confidence, and teams want to escape the treadmill of selling hours. The firms pulling ahead aren’t just raising rates, they’re re-engineering how they define and deliver value. Packaging, bundling, and especially subscription-based pricing are allowing firms to price with conviction, increase margins, and deepen client loyalty. The shift is not cosmetic, rather it’s a strategic reset from billing for hours to being paid for outcomes instead.

The confidence advantage of subscriptions

According to the recent Thomson Reuters Instiitute’s 2025 Tax Firm Pricing Report, firms that have adopted subscription billing for most clients, tax professionals’ confidence in the value they’re providing is materially higher than when hourly or fixed-fee pricing models are used. Indeed, nearly one-third of tax professionals in subscription-first firms say they are highly confident that their pricing aligns with the value delivered, compared to less than 20% of those professionals in firms that use in hourly pricing.

Why the gap? Subscription pricing models reframe the client relationship around results, not individual tasks. These models anchor expectations, create continuity, and prompt ongoing conversations about progress and outcomes. They also bring predictability — steady revenue for the firm and transparent costs for the client.

Conversely, hourly and even traditional fixed-fee pricing models struggle to tell that story. They describe inputs and deliverables, while subscriptions describe impact.

Despite the benefits, firm adoption of subscription pricing is still in its early stages. Only a small portion of client engagements are currently based on subscriptions, although that share is growing rapidly. This gap is an opportunity for many tax, audit & accounting firms and their leaders. Indeed, the invitation is clear: Firm leaderss should identify those offered services in which outcomes compound over time — such as tax planning, strategy, compliance along with advisory — and transition those into ongoing, subscription-based relationships with clients.

Design services like products: The 3-tiered architecture

Modern pricing gains power from clarity. That’s why the most effective firms are organizing their services offering catalog into three simple tiers — basic, standard, and premium — which then allows for additional customization through modular add-ons.

This architecture does three things well: First, it creates a value ladder that allows firms to guide their clients to the right entry point while giving them a clear path to upgrade; second, it standardizes delivery, improving margins and team efficiency; and third, it enables customization without chaos.

Rather than reinventing a customized scope for each client, firms use defined add-ons — education planning, entity structuring, succession planning, and more — to tailor engagements to the client while maintaining operational consistency across all services.

Earning (and keeping) your fee increases

The best-performing firms aren’t timid about fees. They’re raising prices — and keeping clients — because they’ve reframed the value conversation. Instead of talking about more hours or complexity, they instead talk about the kind of outcomes that clients actually care about: peace of mind, risk reduction, strategic clarity, and measurable savings. The tax professionals bring real examples, case studies, and ROI to the table, and they benchmark. They review pricing annually or even quarterly, and they communicate changes to their clients in a way that feels transparent, justified, and aligned with client goals.

This is a pivotal shift for many tax, audit & accounting firms. The professionals at these firms have learned that when clients understand the outcome, the price makes sense; and when they don’t, the conversation reverts to cost. Packaging and subscriptions make this communication repeatable. In this environment, tiers create contrast, add-ons create choice, and benchmarks create external validation. Together, these factors shift the dialogue with clients from How much? to What’s the impact? — and that’s a win for firms.

Predictability is a service

If trust is the currency of advisory work, predictability is the interest it earns. Monthly or quarterly billing rhythms can reduce friction, improve cash flow on both sides, and transform tax from a once-a-year scramble into an ongoing partnership. Sending out clear, consistent invoices mapped to packages and add-ons can reinforce the story of value delivery. Internally, predictable revenue can smooth seasonality within a firm, supporting hiring and capacity planning, and reducing the temptation to discount prices under pressure.

Customization at scale

Clients want to feel known, and your tax team needs to stay sane. The answer isn’t to create bespoke products for everything, rather it’s to encourage segment-smart design. Build packages for common client profiles by industry, entity type, size, or lifecycle stage, then equip your team with modular upgrades that align to clear outcomes. This allows tax advisors to make confident recommendations, identify retention risks early, and adjust scope based on profitability and feedback — all without blowing up workflows.

Think like a product organization: Define standard features, articulate premium benefits, and maintain a disciplined roadmap of add-ons. Then enable your tax advisors with a playbook — which clients get what, when, and why — so the client experience feels personal while the back office remains efficient.

A practical path to transition

If you’re ready to move from hours to outcomes, you should start with focus and speed. Here are several steps that can help:

• • • Choose the right beachhead — Identify one or two services that are ideally suited for ongoing value, such as monthly accounting plus tax, annual planning with quarterly check-ins, or entity support and then package those services into clear tiers.
    • Build the narrative — For each tier, translate features into outcomes. Replace X reconciliations and Y reports with real-time visibility, faster decisions, and fewer surprises. Back this effort with case studies and quantified savings wherever possible.
    • Set billing cadence and service-level agreements — Decide what services can be billed monthly compared to quarterly, define response times and access levels per tier, and codify communication rhythms. Make service levels visible, because again, clients value clarity.
    • Pilot, then expand — Roll out your initial offerings to a defined client segment or cohort. Collect feedback, refine scope, and test pricing elasticity. Use early wins to train your team and inform a broader rollout.
    • Institutionalize benchmarking and reviews — Compare your pricing against peers and alternative service providers at least annually. Review client outcomes quarterly and then adjust tiers, add-ons, and messaging based on what you learn.
    • Equip your team — Give your tax advisors scripts, ROI calculators, and objection-handling guidelines. Realize that confidence is contagious, both internally and externally.

Shifting from selling time to selling outcomes requires more than a new price list. It asks firm leaders to design services intentionally, measure impact consistently, and coach their teams to speak the language of results. It also asks firms to treat pricing as strategy, not administration. Firms should be explicit about what clients they serve, what they promise, and what it’s worth.

The firms that make this shift will do more than improve margins. They’ll build sturdier client relationships, reduce scope creep, and cultivate a culture in which the team understands — and can articulate — the value they create. In a world in which talent is tight and client expectations are rising, that kind of intentional clarity can be a strong competitive advantage.

You can download a full copy of the Thomson Reuters Institute’s recent report on tax firm pricing,ĚýSteps for increased confidence in pricing, here

Key findings

• • • Private equity’s impact — Private equity is transforming the tax, audit & accounting industry by modernizing technology, streamlining work processes and governance, while accelerating the pace of roll-up acquisitions.

    • Hesitations and alternative strategies — Despite the benefits, many firms are hesitant about private equity due to concerns about cultural impact, short-term ROI pressure, and client service. Instead, they are exploring alternatives growth strategies.

    • Pursuing strategic imperatives — Regardless of their capital structure, all firms need to focus on expanding their advisory services, modernizing technology, and understanding their market value in order to stay competitive

Private equity has moved from the margins to the mainstream in the tax, audit & accounting industry. In just a few years, private equity-backed deals have helped top tax firms modernize tech stacks, streamline governance, and accelerate roll-ups — reshaping a historically partner-led profession into one that competes on scale, speed, and automation.

Already, early movers are channeling capital into AI, workflow automation, and targeted acquisitions, while offering market-based liquidity to retiring partners that often surpasses traditional buyouts.

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Tax firm growth: Private equity and more

Yet most firms aren’t rushing in. In a new white paper, Tax firm growth: Private equity and more, from the Thomson Reuters Institute, we look at this situation more closely. Indeed, according to our research, 57% of tax professionals surveyed say private equity isn’t on their radar and another 30% say they aren’t interested even if approached. Their reasons for these hesitations are consistent: concern over the cultural impact, pressure for short-term ROI, potential impact on client service, and questions about firm independence. And while only a small portion of firms have completed a private equity deal, every firm is now competing in a market in which private equity-backed players are raising the bar on technology and advisory services.

As the white paper shows, strategy increasingly depends on firm size. Larger firms (those with 30 or more professionals) face the greatest pressure to digitize and scale, and they’re the likeliest to consider private equity, large mergers, or even public ownership paths. Midsize firms (with between 4 and 29 professionals) tend to pursue selective acquisitions, minority capital, or leadership restructuring to modernize without surrendering control. Small firms (1 to 3 professionals) prioritize client retention, succession, and cultural continuity, often using bank financing and retained earnings to fund tech upgrades and partner transitions.

The firms that opt out

For firms opting out of private equity , credible alternatives exist — with tradeoffs, of course. For example, employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), have now adopted by several prominent firms and can align employee incentives and offer tax advantages but often require structural changes, including splitting the auditing and advisory services.

Mergers of equals, on the other hand, can deliver scale without outside owners. Minority investments can add liquidity while keeping leadership in place. Targeted asset sales — such as spinning off a wealth management unit — can free capital to reinvest in core services. And traditional financing still works for firms with disciplined cash flow and a clear growth plan. Non-private equity buyers — such as family offices, sovereign funds, wealth managers — also are circling, looking to increase their tax and estate planning capabilities.

Regardless of capital structure, readiness is the competitive edge. The white paper points out three imperatives that stand out:

• • • Expand advisory — Three-quarters (75%) of firm leaders say their clients want more than prep and compliance. Firms should consider deepening relationships, packaging outcomes, and pricing for value.
    • Modernize technology — Nearly half of respondents rank tech as their top priority, meaning firms should focus on automating routine work, investing in client collaboration tools, and deploying data to spot advisory opportunities.
    • Know your value — Market-based valuations now drive compensation, transitions, and deal readiness, and firms need to be aware of their own value. A third-party valuation can clarify that and what needs to be fixed.

If your firm is weighing next steps, you should follow a simple framework: Clarify goals (succession, growth, modernization, legacy); get a valuation; educate leadership on models (private equity, ESOP, M&A, lending); learn from peers that have executed a similar deal; and build internal alignment before talking to investors or lenders. If private equity is on the table, firms should conduct due diligence on the culture fit, governance terms, ROI timelines, and exit paths — and make sure the investor’s plans match your firm’s strategy.

As the white paper shows, private equity is one path to accelerate, not a mandate. Firms that act deliberately — upgrading tech, growing advisory, and aligning structure with strategy — can compete and thrive, whether independent or private equity-backed. The only losing move is standing still.

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a full copy of the Thomson Reuters Institute white paper, “Tax firm growth: Private equity and more”, by filling out the form below: