Archives: Agenda

• Valuation has shifted: investors now price firms on recurring revenue, scalability and quality of earnings, not chargeable hours.
• Tech as an asset, not overhead: automation, standardised digital workflows and clean data reduce delivery risk and increase EBITDA/multiples.
• Value-proofing for 2026: practical moves firms can make now, productised offers, retention levers, systems integration, and governance that survives scale.

Senior representative: iSprout

• Succession crunch: fewer future partners and rising buy-in hurdles are breaking the traditional ownership pathway.
• Strategic routes forward: buy/sell/merge/PE/alternative structures, what each option means for control, culture, risk and growth.
• Transition readiness: steps to take now, leadership pipeline, governance, de-risked client concentration, and a firm that can operate without key individuals.

Senior representative: Delphi Alliance

• What “data debt” is: messy, duplicated, inconsistent data across disconnected systems, and why it’s the hidden drag on productivity.
• Why AI/ automation stalls: poor data foundations create rework, errors and risk, meaning new tech can’t deliver the promised efficiency.
• Fast path to AI-ready: quick wins to standardise, de-duplicate and structure core data so every other system performs better.

Senior representative, Finquery

• What “platform firms” look like by 2030: AI-assisted review and automated workflows as the operating system, removing manual bottlenecks and partner-dependent processes.
• The next core stack: unified data as a single source of truth, portals/self-service replacing email, predictive insights becoming a standard client deliverable.
• Competitive differentiators: AI-driven client engagement, mandatory digital ID, and cyber/security standards as selection criteria—how to prioritise investments now.

• Real-time client expectations: how portals, automated updates and faster turnaround reduce chasing and lift satisfaction.
• Digital onboarding + workflow automation: removing friction at the start of the relationship to improve delivery speed, data quality and consistency.
• CX as a growth lever: the direct link between client experience, retention, referral revenue and ultimately firm valuation.

• Board-level HR capability for the AI era: equipping leadership to govern AI, shape culture, and make talent decisions with the same rigour as finance and risk.
• Human judgement as the value anchor: building trust, autonomy and accountability while AI accelerates delivery—avoiding “accountants who can’t account” and shifting from billable hours to performance.
• The sovereign firm talent model: borderless teams, specialist hubs and global secondments (powered by the digital dividend) so independents can deliver Big Four-scale expertise with a boutique culture.

Senior representative, LEA Global