The Future of the Firm

Source
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Conversations with experts that explore the big trends shaping the professional services industry.

  1. SEP 8

    How to talk to your clients about value

    In this episode of the Future of the Firm podcast, Emma Carroll, our Head of Content, interviews experts from across Source to unpack what “value” really means in consulting today. Drawing on our Emerging Trends Report and our latest research, we explore the persistent gap between quality and value—and what firms can do to close it.  We discussed the following matters and more:    According to our research, 79% of clients rate consulting quality highly, but only 49% believe they get enough value over and above what they pay in fees. Our experts offer some advice on how firms can close this gap, including by communicating the value they create.  In today's climate of economic uncertainty and tighter budgets, clients are demanding a clear, measurable return on investment (ROI) from every engagement. Before they pursue any new initiative, they need to be certain they will get a tangible return.  Clients see “better” value as being created in many ways, including:   more innovation  stronger stakeholder influence  lasting education for their teams While over 80% of firms discuss value with clients during a project, only 17% continue that conversation once the work is done. This means the vast majority are leaving future opportunities—and important insights—on the table.  High-quality thought leadership creates lasting value when it's differentiated, engaging, credible, and actionable. For example, executives are constantly horizon scanning for market signals and trying to anticipate change. In an unreliable business landscape, thought leadership provides them with data-backed research, expert analysis, and fresh perspectives that help them make smarter decisions and challenge their assumptions.

    38 min

  2. AUG 26

    What do firms need to know about how clients perceive them in 2025?

    On our latest episode of The Future of the Firm podcast, Sophie Gunn, Senior Consultant at Source, caught up with Emma Carroll, our Head of Content, to debate some of the most important findings from our Client Perceptions programme so far in 2025. They then discuss how firms can use this information to gain competitive advantage.  Sophie shared her insights on the following matters and more:    Based on surveys of nearly 4,000 senior buyers, sector expertise and subject matter experts have been the top differentiators for consulting services in recent years. Sophie also reveals other crucial attributes.  Client perceptions show notable regional differences. Some examples include:  In the US, there's a rising emphasis on a firm's global reach; a trend likely driven by recent shifts in supply chains and tariffs.  In countries like China and Japan, clients are primarily focused on a firm's implementation ability.  In the UK, GCC, and Australia, thought leadership is comparatively a more highly valued attribute.  According to the survey, there is a gap between the perceptions of firms by existing clients and prospects, with current clients rating firms’ quality of work higher than their prospects. Sophie shares what this means for marketing teams.  There's a notable shift in how senior managers perceive consulting firms: those below the C-suite are becoming less positive. Sophie sets out how firms can respond.   If you enjoyed this conversation, then head over to our Client Perceptions reports page, where you’ll discover much more about how senior decision makers perceive leading firms. We share our independent analysis by geography, sector, and service lines, with recent reports including those on financial services, energy & resources, and the US market. Use these reports to gain insight into client priorities, competitor strengths, and market gaps to better position your brand. You can access the reports directly or contact us for more information.

    16 min

  3. AUG 11

    How volatility is shaping client futures, and what that means for firms

    On our latest episode of The Future of the Firm podcast, Fiona Czerniawska, CEO of Source, caught up with Emma Carroll, our Head of Content, to discuss how the volatile environment is shaping client futures, and what that means for firms’ scenario planning.  Fiona shared her insights on the following matters and more:    Using Source’s proprietary data, clients (and by extension firms) have been categorised into three groups: undecided, frightened, and determined. These are defined by their approach to strategy and investment in an unpredictable market.  While many firms engage in scenario planning, its value diminishes after a certain point. To keep the scenarios relevant, they must be converted into credible strategies that empower people to take confident steps in an uncertain world.  This episode discusses two major challenges for professional services firms in their own scenario planning:  Leading with a narrative: It's difficult for firms to convince their teams and clients to believe in a strategic direction when there's no visible, concrete path forward. Business leaders must build "an invisible staircase" to help their people move forward with confidence.  The rise of AI: AI introduces uncertainty about how to price services and deliver value.  Given the unreliable global environment, it is crucial for firms to prepare for worst-case scenarios. Having a clear plan can help them navigate uncertainty and respond effectively.  Value creation is seen as a crucial concept that underpins all the scenarios. Firms need to shift their focus from pricing based on inputs to pricing based on outputs, or the value delivered to the client.  If you enjoyed this conversation, don’t miss our sister podcast, Business Leader’s Voice. In a recent episode, we talked to Husayn Kassai, CEO and Founder of Quench.ai, about AI adoption and how you can move beyond the hype to achieve success.

    15 min

  4. JUL 14

    What do clients want from growth and CX work in a volatile market?

    On our latest episode of The Future of the Firm podcast, Ben Tye, CEO of Gate One Consulting, caught up with Emma Carroll, Head of Content at Source, to discuss what clients want from growth and CX work today.  Ben shared his insights on the following matters and more:    While clients rarely begin by stating "we need to grow our business", this desire for growth is behind many of the challenges they raise, such as CRM system issues or new product launch hurdles. It is therefore crucial for consultants to link these discrete problems back to the ultimate business outcome of driving growth in order to tailor the services firms offer.  While traditional buyers like COOs, CTOs, CPOs, CFOs, chief digital & information officers, and chief transformation officers still buy services, consultants need to be careful not to assume these roles are buying the same services as they were historically. For instance, a chief people officer might now be more interested in technology and data insights. This leads to more cross-functional buying, plus two or three buyers may be involved, rather than a single sponsor, making the sales process more complex. Clients want support around the technological, operational, and data aspects of AI.   The need for ethical and responsible AI use is increasingly important to clients and is also driving consulting demand. Where AI-driven decisions influence customer experience or service delivery getting those right is particularly critical.  Clients are actively identifying and developing a backlog of AI use cases. Firms can help them manage these as a portfolio, using clear decision criteria to quickly determine if a proof of concept is viable. Interestingly, "edge cases" from this portfolio, rather than the immediately obvious ones, often prove to be the most impactful.    If you enjoyed this conversation, don’t miss our sister podcast, Business Leader’s Voice. In a recent episode, we talked to Andrew Brothers, former Chief Information Officer at Primark, about targeting tech investment as a CIO.

    35 min

  5. JUN 30

    Why ESG integrity is at a crossroads

    In the latest episode of The Future of the Firm podcast, Dr. Katharina Weghmann, Global ESG Leader within Forensic & Integrity Services at EY, and Nick Jones, Director of Client & Markets Engagement also within Forensic & Integrity Services at EY, sat down with Emma Carroll, Head of Content at Source to discuss why ESG integrity is at a crossroads.  Nick and Katharina shared their insights on the following matters and more:    Many organisations face challenges in clearly defining industry-relevant ESG targets and translating them into actionable initiatives. ESG efforts are often siloed from the organisation's core purpose and strategy; treated more as a compliance risk than as an integrated, strategic priority.  A 'say-do gap' often exists between leadership’s ESG commitments and how employees perceive those priorities. Bridging this gap requires clear, consistent communication, and alignment across all stakeholders—employees, investors, customers, and boards.  Companies that excel in ESG often view it as a long-term strategic imperative rather than a regulatory exercise. They integrate ESG into their purpose, are willing to make tough choices and short-term sacrifices for long-term value, and they prioritise building trust with all stakeholders.  To drive Integrity-First ESG, organisations should prioritise a few key areas where they can make a significant and measurable impact, rather than spreading efforts across too many KPIs.    Embracing collective action by collaborating with peers in the industry or region can accelerate progress toward shared ESG goals and deliver more meaningful change.  This podcast discusses EY’s article Why ESG integrity is at a crossroads between aspiration and regulation, which was rated as one of the top pieces of content in Source’s annual report, Quality Ratings of Thought Leadership for 2024.  If you enjoyed this conversation, don’t miss our sister podcast, Business Leader’s Voice. In a recent episode, we talked to Andrew Brothers, former CIO at Primark, about targeting tech investment in retail as a CIO.

    36 min

  6. JUN 3

    The future of AI consulting

    On our latest episode of The Future of the Firm podcast, Dr Jan van de Poll, MD and Founder of Praioritize, caught up with Emma Carroll, Head of Content at Source.  Jan and Emma shared their insights on the following matters and more:    According to Source’s latest quarterly client survey, 98% of consulting buyers believe that generative AI will replace consultants to some extent, with 55% expecting it to do so to a significant degree   Virtual consulting is challenging the established consulting model: Jan argues that while traditional consultants typically only serve 1% of the organisation, virtual consulting models offer the opportunity to extend insights and support to the remaining 99%.  AI is streamlining consulting processes—turning time-consuming tasks like conducting and analysing hundreds of interviews into more efficient, dynamic workflows using smart, real-time questionnaires.  Virtual consulting has implication for the governance processes within firms, and partners may find their role evolving.  We can now combine the two, GenAI and human consultants, while AI can rapidly process and structure information, human expertise remains essential for tailoring insights and delivering client-ready solutions. [5:11]  Despite current limitations, virtual consultants and human professionals are not mutually exclusive—but can, in fact, complement one another to create a more efficient, adaptive consulting model.  The next steps for AI consulting will focus on objective quantification of soft aspects such as future readiness, leadership, innovation, and organisational dynamics. These can then be used to create KPIs to derive actionable insights.  If you enjoyed this conversation, don’t miss our sister podcast, Business Leader’s Voice. In a recent episode, we talked to Matthew Wilson, Chief Legal Office at Fremantle, about creating business resilience.

    23 min

  7. MAY 20

    A transformed approach to audit

    Sebastian Stoeckle, Global Head of Audit Innovation at KPMG, caught up with Emma Carroll, Head of Content at Source, on the latest episode of our The Future of the Firm podcast.   Sebastian and Emma shared their insights on the following matters and more:    Audit today is as important as it’s always been, with its core mission still centred around generating trust in business entities. But the environment in which audit operates is transforming as a result of geopolitical, regulatory, and technological change.   There has been a shift in clients’ attitudes to audit. Historically, they have seen it as burden, but now they understand that it can provide valuable insights for organisations.  Clients now expect more than just an analysis of transactions—they want insights, such as how to evolve their compliance systems and how they stack up against the rest of the marketplace.  The ability to apply a digital audit is limited by the client’s own digital maturity. If organisations themselves have invested in standardising and centralising systems, this increases the capacity for audit innovation.   Neural networks and basic machine learning have been being used in audit for some time, but auditors are increasingly seeing the value of large language models. There’s also huge potential in agentic AI and research reasoning models.   The future of audit is not about replacing humans, but creating a powerful combination of human expertise and machine capabilities.  If you enjoyed this conversation, don’t miss our sister podcast, Business Leader’s Voice. In a recent episode, we talked to Matthew Wilson, Chief Legal Office at Fremantle, about creating business resilience.

    37 min

  8. APR 22

    Risk services: converting expertise into impact

    Kapish Vanvaria, EY Global and Americas Risk Consulting Leader, caught up with Emma Carroll, Head of Content at Source, on the latest episode of our The Future of the Firm podcast.   Kapish shared his insights on the following matters and more:     There have been some big changes in risk services in recent years, including technology innovation, the impact of regulatory changes, and an evolution of client expectations—in particular, clients wanting more sector-specific and personalised solutions.   The sweet spot for risk experts lies in offering strong domain expertise—for instance, top tier talent in regulatory compliance—and marrying that up with deep sector knowledge, while supporting this with insights from other industries as well.   To really solve business problems for clients, it often involves more than just consulting. Audit, legal, industry experts, and technology experts all need to have a seat at the table, and firms should look at creating shared KPIs to encourage this collaboration.   When bringing solutions to clients, firms should be using themselves as client zero, and working on the concept of ‘proof, not promises’. Testing solutions within the firm itself and showing its successes brings credibility to the offering.   When choosing which firms to shortlist, clients are most concerned about expertise, but an ability to implement is close behind. Firms can translate their expertise into implementation by never being afraid to fail and by going through the iterative process of finding what doesn’t work to lead you to what does.   Firms are starting to supplement their workforce with digital FTEs. Beyond improving quality and reducing costs, this also allows work for be carried out more quickly. People become reviewers rather than doers and have more time to thrive as individuals.    If you enjoyed this conversation, don’t miss our sister podcast, Business Leader’s Voice. In a recent episode, we talked to Francine Bennett, Board Member at the Ada Lovelace Institute, about solving business problems with AI.

    36 min
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5
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About

Conversations with experts that explore the big trends shaping the professional services industry.

Information

  • Creator
    Source
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2025
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2023 Source Global Research
  • Show Website
    The Future of the Firm

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