At the same time, clients are rethinking how they buy and value advice.
AI and technology are changing how professional work gets done. As more technical work is automated, we see more of a firm's value depending on its client relationships and the people who develop them.
Competition is coming from new places, and clients are changing how they choose their advisers. Our Five Forces Analysis 2026 sets out the evidence across accounting, law and advisory.
In practice, these changes shape the value of the firm. They affect the work you win, the margins you protect, the people you develop and the relationships you keep and grow.
We work with firm leaders and their teams to make client development less dependent on the same few people, and more consistently practised across the firm.
"It’s no longer about a few rainmakers. It’s about raising the bar across the firm."
Jonathan Lancaster | Principal
Some of our work
We have worked with global networks of professional services firms on the guidance and programmes that
help their people develop valuable client relationships and win more of the right work.
In one, practical resources were made available to more than 200 member firms worldwide. In another, we continue to run a programme for emerging leaders across different countries. Participants develop the relationships and conversations that produce more valuable work, and bring new thinking back into their firms.
We also work directly with individual firms. In one, a six-month programme on how partners approached existing client relationships led to significant new fees and a growing pipeline of new work. In others, it has opened advisory conversations that were not previously part of the relationship, generating new work.
The Value Readiness Check is a free, confidential diagnostic. It has 32 questions and takes about six minutes.
It covers the four areas that shape how a professional services firm creates value. These are commercial performance, operational effectiveness, people and leadership, and financial health and governance.
The results are yours to use. You receive an instant, personalised report on your firm's strengths and gaps, which you can use to start conversations with your partners about where to focus.
See where your firm stands
Free and confidential.
Your responses are not shared.
For firms that want to go further
CLIENT TESTIMONIALS
ABOUT US
Practice Edge helps firm leaders build the skills, behaviours and capabilities to differentiate their services, compete successfully and develop more valuable client relationships.
Jonathan Lancaster set up the business that became Practice Edge in 2016, drawing on substantial experience of winning work in competitive and regulated environments. Research across law and accounting kept pointing to the same gap. Most firms were competing in similar ways and missing the opportunity to build more valuable client relationships across the firm.
A trained executive coach and experienced group facilitator, he works with top 20 and mid-sized firms and global networks of member firms. He also oversees programmes for emerging leaders from firms in different countries. This work has improved how individuals perform and the results their firms achieve.
GET IN TOUCH
Start the conversation
We're easy to reach if you'd prefer to talk directly.
Telephone: +447931 944 288
Practice Edge Ltd
94F Hamilton Road
Bangor, Northern Ireland
BT20 4LG
