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The run-up to the 2025 Autumn Budget is already giving us signals.
And for accounting firms, these aren’t just lines in the Chancellor’s press-pack; they are potential triggers for a surge in workloads, cost pressures and capacity stress.
As a firm supporting UK accountancy practices, QX Accounting Services believes it’s time to look beyond the headlines and drill into five budget trends that you must factor into your 2026 business-plan now.
The Treasury is under pressure. The Government’s fiscal hole is estimated in the region of £20–40 billion heading into the Autumn Budget. With little room for manoeuvre, it’s widely expected that tax burdens, directly or indirectly, will rise.
For your firm that means two things:
Put this into context: A recent survey found that 60% of accountants cited employment taxes as the major economic concern, with 94% of UK accountants lacking confidence in the economy right now.
When your clients are squeezed and you’re squeezed, the capacity-challenge becomes real.
Let’s be blunt: the accounting profession is entering a phase of capacity stress.
A survey by AAT says 78% of all employers face at least some skills gap, with 26% reporting it as significant.
Another note: the accountancy industry has been flagged as facing a “critical talent shortage” in recent reporting.
Why does this matter now? Because the Budget may unleash incremental compliance burdens (see Trends 3 & 4) and your ability to respond quickly will determine whether you gain or just manage the moment.
For example: Let’s say a change in corporation tax, or new reporting requirements for SMEs arrives. If you don’t have the people or the bandwidth, you might miss advisory revenue or worse – deliver sub-par service and lose clients.
Revenue authorities are not standing still. For example, HMRC’s 2024-25 Annual Report shows investment in digital, compliance and workforce growth, emphasising modernisation of tax administration.
What should you read into this? Two things:
And recall: 91% of UK tax and accounting professionals believe AI will have a ‘high or transformational’ impact on their profession. So, the tech/automation axis isn’t optional; it’s rapidly becoming core.
Clients increasingly expect more than just “numbers delivered”. They expect insight, strategy, and proactive advice, especially if the Budget shakes their business model.
As one compilation of stats suggests: 68% of accountants say clients needed more financial-management support, and 69% say clients needed more tech-management support.
So, if your clients are asking “What’s this Budget going to mean for me?”, two things follow: an opportunity, and a challenge.
The opportunity: you can deepen your advisory role. The challenge: you may not have the capacity to scale that advice unless you act now.
We are moving into an environment of rising employment costs, tighter wage growth, inflation pressures and tax uncertainty.
For instance, ICAEW’s Business Confidence Monitor showed that salary growth eased to 3.0% year-on-year (lowest for four years) but still above pre-pandemic norms. On the flip side, businesses cite the tax burden and escalating regulatory costs as major concerns.
For accounting firms, this means margin pressure on two fronts: increasing internal costs (staffing, tech, training) and rising client demands (which may outpace fee growth).
If you’re simultaneously facing a skills shortage (Trend 2) and an advisory opportunity surge (Trend 4), the hiring challenge becomes acute. Not just “find people”, but “find value-add talent” at the right cost.
So, what should you be doing now, as we approach Budget Day? Here are five suggestions informed by the trends above:
At QX, we’ve seen accounting firms successfully navigate previous Budget cycles by combining in-house expertise with flexible outsourced capacity. As your clients gear up for change, you can lean on a partner to absorb spike workloads (compliance, reporting, data-prep), freeing your senior team to focus on advisory and growth.
In short: As these five trends become operational realities, your decision isn’t “whether to adapt” but “how fast and how smart you adapt”.
With the Budget two months away, the time to plan isn’t next week; it’s today.
Want to get ready? Let’s talk about how we can help you build the capacity, flexibility and tech-ready backbone your firm needs.
Deepika is a seasoned accounting professional with over 13 years of experience spanning the Indian, US, and UK markets. Her expertise covers audit, iXBRL, bookkeeping, VAT, taxation, and both management and statutory accounts preparation and review for limited companies, partnerships, and NRLs. She also brings specialised knowledge in conducting Independent Examinations for not-for-profit organisations, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and value-driven outcomes for diverse clients.
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