The Future of the Firm

In this episode of the Future of the Firm podcast, Jo Rhoden, Executive Director at Tapestry Networks, joins Emma Carroll, Head of Content at Source, for a creative journey to rethink the audit profession. Speaking in her personal capacity, Jo shares insights from her recent series of blogs on the future of audit, challenging the industry to look beyond compliance and standardisation to innovation and creativity. We address questions including: Beyond the obvious impact of technology, what are the other major drivers of change in the audit market today? How can technology and human creativity intersect to deliver the best outcomes? Can technology ever truly exercise professional judgment, or will this always require human oversight? Why do "soft skills" like storytelling, imagination, and relationship-building remain the strength of humans in this field? In a world of "noise" and deep fakes, how can audit evolve to become a primary enabler of trust? What practical steps can firms take right now to prepare their workforce for this new world of audit? If you are interested in how human creativity could reshape audit, this conversation is for you. If you enjoyed this conversation, don't miss our sister podcast, Business Leader's Voice. In this series, we talk directly to business leaders about what is disrupting their industries, what occupies their headspace, and what it is really like for them to work with professional services firms.

In this episode of the Future of the Firm podcast, Nicki Wakefield, Global Clients and Industries Leader at PwC, joins Emma Carroll, Head of Client Voice at Source, to talk about how client needs are changing and the opportunities this creates for firms. Nicki shares her insights on the shift towards long-term partnerships that focus on deeply understanding the client's unique context, working towards measurable outcomes, and building solid foundations in data and strategy to effectively scale AI. In this episode, we explore the following questions and more: How are clients' priorities and the services they'll need changing? How are clients responding to industry convergence? What is changing about how clients want to work with consulting firms? How are new client needs creating opportunities for consulting firms? Where do firms go wrong when it comes to understanding their clients? In this ever-shifting professional services landscape, it's crucial to be on top of how clients' needs and priorities are changing as the world does. This conversation provides crucial insight and expertise to help turn client pain points into opportunities for your firm. If you enjoyed this conversation, don't miss our sister podcast, Business Leader's Voice. In this series, we talk directly to business leaders about what is disrupting their industries, what occupies their headspace, and what it is really like for them to work with professional services firms.

In this episode of our Future of the Firm podcast, Alison Huntington, Global Commercial Strategy and Insights Leader at Russell Reynolds, sits down with Emma Carroll, Head of Content at Source, to discuss how firms can create true commercial value from their research—both now and in the future. We consider the following questions and more: Beyond the traditional white paper, what content falls under the category of "insights" today? In what ways do successful firms use research to create value for themselves and their clients? What examples are there of this being done well? How do the marketing funnel and mapping the customer journey come into play? What are the biggest mistakes firms make when trying to commercialise their research? With AI changing the game, how will the role of insights and research evolve in the coming years? If you are a professional services leader looking to ensure your insights are not static but instead drive revenue, this conversation is for you. If you enjoyed this conversation, don't miss our sister podcast, Business Leader's Voice. In a recent episode, we talked to Ahmed Abdel Wahab, General Manager for India at Mars, about what it takes to be a truly authentic leader today, particularly in a time of volatility.

In this episode of our Future of the Firm podcast, Fiona Czerniawska, Source CEO, sits down with Head of Content, Emma Carroll, to tackle one of the most pressing issues on firm agendas today: the impact of AI on the pricing of professional services. We consider the following questions and more: What's worrying firms about the use of AI in their operating models and the impact on pricing in particular? Will the efficiency gains of AI shrink the market and result in a catastrophe for firms? How does Source's new AI impact model work, what does it deliver for firms, and why is this insight needed now? What does our data tell us about how the size of the tax market (for example) could change? Is focusing solely on efficiency the biggest mistake a firm can make in the age of AI? If you are a consulting leader thinking about how to price your AI-enabled services and how to model future market sizes then this conversation provides the insight you need to plan effectively. If you'd like to discover more about how AI could reshape your own firm, contact us. We'd be happy to share our research into the impact AI might have on the tax market. Or we could explore a custom study to understand how other capabilities and lines of business may be set to change along with the implications for your firm.

In this special New Year edition of our Future of the Firm podcast, Fiona Czerniawska, CEO at Source, and Nick Jotischky, our Head of Market Trends, sit down with Head of Content Emma Carroll to dissect the big trends, challenges, and opportunities awaiting professional services firms in the year ahead. We consider the following questions and more: Will 2026 see a return to higher growth norms, or are firms facing another rollercoaster year? What will the hotspots of client demand be in the year ahead? How can firms move beyond traditional industry segmentation to better understand and serve their clients? How will firms secure the capital they need to invest where it really matters in 2026? Are your alliances providing true differentiation, and how can you talk about them in a compelling way? If you enjoyed this conversation, don't miss our sister podcast, Business Leader's Voice. In a recent episode, we talked to Ahmed Abdel Wahab, General Manager for India at Mars, about what it takes to be a truly authentic leader today, particularly in a time of volatility.

The rise of AI may well be the most urgent topic facing the consulting industry today. But beyond the hype, how can firms successfully use AI to transform their operating model? In this episode of the Future of the Firm podcast, Dan Diasio, Global consulting AI Leader at EY, and Colm Sparks-Austin, Americas Tech Consulting Leader at EY, join our Head of Content, Emma Carroll, to re-imagine consulting through the prism of AI. We address the following questions and more: How can firms move past retrofitting AI into old processes and instead rethink how they operate from first principles? How are firms managing the major challenges around pricing AI-enabled services? What are the limits of using AI in professional services? (If there are any). What will the professional services workforce look like in 2030? What are clients buying in the AI space? What is the single biggest pitfall firms must avoid when trying to get the best results out of AI? If you enjoyed this conversation, don't miss our sister podcast, Business Leader's Voice. In a recent episode, we talked to Ahmed Abdel Wahab, General Manager for India at Mars, about what it takes to be a truly authentic leader today, particularly in a time of volatility.

Marissa Thomas, CEO and Co-founder of Unity Advisory, joined Emma Carroll, Head of Content at Source, on the latest episode of our The Future of the Firm podcast to discuss the learnings and challenges of combining deep expertise with AI-enabled delivery to create a new advisory firm that's fit for the modern market. Marissa shared her insights on the following matters and more: How co-founders Thomas and Steve Varley saw a disruptive opportunity from three angles—AI and other exciting technologies, what experts want from their careers, and what clients really need—to launch Unity Advisory in March 2025. One benefit of launching a firm in today's landscape is being able to take a comprehensive AI approach: Unity Advisory is "AI born, not AI-retrofitted". Unity strives to focus on the service areas where clients want more choice, feel there is a supply shortage, or are inconsistently served. Having found that the traditional hours and rates model is not well-loved by clients, Unity is using a combination of fixed and outcomes-based fees, including fees linked to metrics like satisfaction and cost savings. The combination of engineering or coding skills and deep technical knowledge in areas like finance or tax is becoming an increasingly valuable asset when forming a team of experts. If you enjoyed this conversation, don't miss our sister podcast, Business Leader's Voice. In a recent episode, we talked to Ahmed Abdel Wahab, General Manager for India at Mars, about how to be a truly authentic leader in a time of volatility like today.

In this episode of the Business Leader's Voice podcast, Antonia Wade, Global Chief Marketing Officer for PwC, joins our Head of Content, Emma Carroll, to share her experience of PwC's recent rebrand. Antonia shares insights on these matters and more: Rather than focusing solely on demand generation, it is important that firms strategically invest at the broader brand level to increase awareness, perception, and consideration, especially as modern business requires reaching a broader set of C-suite executives than before. Define distinctiveness through how work is done: Consulting firms should differentiate themselves by focusing on how they execute their services, rather than just what services they offer. A core component of brand strategy should be identifying and amplifying the distinctive ways your firm operates, which also aids in winning work as well as attracting and retaining top talent. It's important not to treat a brand transformation solely as a marketing exercise; instead, firms can establish co-ownership of the programme with other senior stakeholders and colleagues, including those from Human Resources, Account Management, and Client Experience, to achieve greater impact, relevance, and longevity. Prioritise internal training for people. The workforce is the ultimate expression of you brand, so don't neglect internal buy-in. Provide compelling training on the brand's value and their ambassadorial role. Think about giving local teams the flexibility to adapt core materials and use other ways to secure commitment across regions. To ensure brand efficacy, firms must establish a continuous client feedback loop. This process allows for constant refinement of the brand system, media spend, and service offerings. Effectiveness can be validated using tangible metrics like advertising recall, share of search, and proprietary brand consideration data. If you enjoyed this conversation, don't miss our sister podcast, Business Leader's Voice. In a recent episode, we talked to Ahmed Abdel Wahab, General Manager for India at Mars, about what it takes to be a truly authentic leader today, particularly in a time of volatility.

In this episode of the Future of the Firm podcast, Emma Carroll, our Head of Content, speaks to Karen Morton, the Chief Marketing Officer of Cleary Gottlieb and President of LMA Europe. They discuss the newly launched report, produced in a collaboration between Source and the Legal Marketing Association Europe, that examines The Top Challenge for Legal CMOs: Building a Next Generation Growth Engine. Karen and Emma shared their insights on these matters and more: Revenue generation is a core part of the CMO's role, and 67% of those surveyed say it is set to become even more important. With growth a big goal for firms today, their marketing leaders need to free up time and resource to support them with this. 96% of marketing leaders say they'll be investing more in technology within their function over the next 18 months. Challenges they face include knowing the optimal timing for tech investment, guaranteeing seamless integration across disparate systems, and transforming raw data into meaningful insights. Over 50% of respondents from the survey say that using technology and analytics to better understand client behaviour and deliver an exceptional experience is crucial. This shift further towards data-driven insights is now central to the role of CMOs. Law firm marketing and business development leaders should prioritise using technology to increase efficiency and output by automating mundane tasks and reducing human error, thus creating a high-performing and sustainable team. Law firms need to move away from mass content distribution and instead focus on delivering personalised, targeted insights that really resonate with clients. If you enjoyed this conversation, don't miss our sister podcast, Business Leader's Voice. In a recent episode, we talked to Aurelija Pletiene, Director of Product Management at Vinted, about how you can cut through the noise to align, focus, and deliver innovation around trust and safety.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Source's Natasha Campbell, Principal Thought Leadership Consultant, and Nicola Kostrzewska, Senior Consultant, caught up with Emma Carroll, Head of Content, on the latest episode of our The Future of the Firm podcast. Natasha and Nicola shared the themes and findings from Source's latest Quality Ratings of Though Leadership report, including: Being relevant to your target audience isn't just about making your presence continually felt in the market, but also about showing that you deeply understand your clients' current and future—even latent—needs. For firms to improve their resilience scores in Source's Quality Ratings report, they should make sure they are not merely naming authors but are also including biographies that outline their experience and knowledge to boost credibility. There is little transparency about how firms have been using GenAI in their thought leadership—and firms could be making an error here: Our quarterly survey found that clients actively want firms to demonstrate their use of AI. This year's report found that there was less thought leadership made in collaboration with think tanks, universities, or other organisations—but firms would benefit from using partnerships to foster innovation, expand reach, and amplify content. 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 the opportunities and risks of AI for client organisations.