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The accounting profession is moving into 2026 with steady momentum, and a few unmistakable signals that this is a year for strategic recalibration. Growth is happening, but it is no longer happening by accident. According to the AICPA 2025 MAP Survey, firms posted a median 6.7 percent increase in net client fees, down from 9.1 percent in the prior cycle. The market is not slowing dramatically, but it is maturing. Firms that rely on traditional compliance revenue alone will not see the lift they did a few years ago.
At the same time, profitability is up. Net remaining per partner or owner jumped 11.9 percent from 2022 to 2024, signalling that the firms experiencing growth are doing so with intention, better pricing, stronger processes, and smarter resourcing. The takeaway is simple. Growth in 2026 is less about volume and more about structure.
Below are the strategies that separate high growth firms from the rest, supported by data rather than buzzwords.
Advisory and Value Added Services Are No Longer Optional 01
Advisory has shifted from being a complementary add-on to becoming the core of a modern accounting firm’s value. Industry data consistently shows that firms growing at 5 percent or more each year are the ones that:
- Expanded or redesigned their service offerings
- Adopted more proactive, strategic client communication
- Invested in analytics and business intelligence tools
Clients today expect clarity, forecasting support, and decision guidance. They want a partner who can help them navigate their financial landscape, not just deliver compliance outputs. Firms that package advisory with their traditional services are seeing stronger margins, higher retention rates, and more qualified referrals.
How strongly we recommend this for 2026:
★★★★★
High impact, high urgency
Advisory is the clearest path to resilient, higher margin growth as compliance work continues to commoditise.
Pricing Models Are Shifting, and Clients Prefer It That Way 02
The traditional billable hour is steadily losing relevance. Research shows a clear shift in how clients want to engage with their accounting firms:
- 54 percent of clients now choose bundled service packages
- Firms that clearly communicate the benefits of automation are 3.5 times more likely to increase prices successfully
Fixed fee, subscription, and tiered pricing models are becoming the norm because they reflect value delivered, not time logged. Clients get transparency and predictability, while firms gain stronger control over margins, workflow, and overall profitability.
How strongly we recommend this for 2026:
★★★★☆
High impact, medium urgency
Modernising pricing creates better alignment with client expectations and improves capacity planning across the firm.
Technology and Automation Are Now Strategic, Not Supportive 03
Technology is no longer just a tool to clear repetitive work. It has become a defining element of how firms scale. High growth firms consistently outperform others because they invest more heavily in:
- Workflow automation
- Digital client communication tools
- Data analytics and real-time dashboards
- Integrated practice management systems
These tools allow firms to serve more clients without adding equivalent headcount, which is essential given the ongoing talent shortage. In many cases, technology is becoming the multiplier that unlocks advisory capacity and operational consistency.
How strongly we recommend this for 2026:
★★★★★
High impact, high urgency
Technology driven efficiency directly creates the capacity needed for advisory growth and scalable revenue.
Need more breathing room in your workflow?
Connect with Unison Globus to explore smarter capacity options.
Capacity and Talent Strategy Will Define Winners 04
Talent remains the most significant constraint for CPA firms. Demand continues to rise while the staffing pipeline remains thin. High growth firms are responding with a more intentional approach to capacity design, including:
- Upskilling staff in advisory, analytics, and client engagement
- Rebalancing workload with offshore and nearshore teams
- Strengthening mid level leadership to reduce partner dependency
- Using technology to remove 20 to 40 percent of manual work
These firms are not relying on hiring alone. They are rethinking how work flows, who does what, and how teams can deliver more value with less operational friction.
How strongly we recommend this for 2026:
★★★★★
High impact, high urgency
Solving capacity unlocks sustainable growth, higher margins, and a far healthier operating rhythm.
Specialisation and Differentiation Are Driving Higher Growth 05
Generalist firms are becoming harder to distinguish, but specialist firms are experiencing stronger demand and higher pricing power. Research consistently shows that firms with a clear niche, whether based on industry verticals like healthcare or ecommerce, or specialised service lines like CFO advisory or automation consulting, tend to grow faster and more profitably. Specialisation strengthens:
- Process repeatability
- Team training and expertise
- Client acquisition efficiency
- Overall margin performance
A well positioned niche also builds trust quickly, which shortens sales cycles and improves referral quality.
How strongly we recommend this for 2026:
★★★★☆
High impact, medium urgency
Niche expertise is one of the fastest and most reliable paths to stronger market positioning and premium pricing.
Mergers, Acquisitions, and Strategic Partnerships Are Accelerating 06
2026 is shaping into a year of meaningful consolidation across the profession. Multiple industry analyses indicate that:
- Mid sized firms have a rare opportunity to become buyers instead of targets
- Succession and retirement pressures are increasing
- Cross border capability building is gaining momentum
Mergers and partnerships today are less about raw size and more about capability. Firms are looking to expand service lines, strengthen leadership depth, modernise technology platforms, and create scalable operational structures.
How strongly we recommend this for 2026:
★★★☆☆
Moderate impact, selective urgency
Strategic combinations can reshape a firm’s competitive position, but the true value lies in capability alignment, not just expansion.
The Bottom Line:
Growth in 2026 Is Intentional, Not Accidental 
If the past few years have shown anything, it is that steady growth in the accounting profession comes from building deliberately, not improvising. The firms that move confidently into 2026 are the ones grounding their decisions in clarity — clearer service positioning, updated pricing models, smarter technology choices, and, most importantly, a capacity structure that doesn’t buckle under seasonal swings or new advisory demands.
Everything that drives sustainable growth — advisory expansion, automation, niche specialisation, even strategic partnerships — depends on one thing: a firm’s ability to create and protect capacity. Without it, the vision stays aspirational. With it, everything becomes possible.
This is the context in which Offshore Staffing 2.0 has emerged. It is a more modern, integrated version of offshore support, designed not as a separate outsourcing arm but as an extension of a firm’s internal team. The model focuses on long-term continuity, role clarity, workflow alignment, and full integration into the firm’s systems and review processes. In simple terms, it gives firms the space to think, to plan, and to evolve.
Unison Globus works with firms that are moving in this direction, helping them build capacity in a way that feels stable, aligned, and genuinely useful — not as a quick fix, but as an operational foundation they can rely on. For firms looking at 2026 as a year to operate with more breathing room and more intention, this kind of support can make the difference between “keeping up” and truly moving forward.
Ready to create more room for growth in 2026?
Get in touch with Unison Globus, ring us, or send a quick message to see how we can support your firm’s next step.
