Introduction
SMEs are the backbone of the UK economy, with more than 5.5 million businesses accounting for over half of all private sector employment. Yet new research from Ravical, based on a survey of 500 UK business owners, directors, CFOs, and financial managers, points to a consistent gap: the businesses that need financial guidance most are the ones receiving the least of it.
Most SMEs don't have a finance director, a CFO, a financial controller, or a senior finance team. For the majority of the UK's small and medium businesses, financial strategy lives with the business owner — who is often also responsible for operations, sales, people, and everything else. SMEs can't afford to hire the financial expertise that larger businesses have as standard, so the expectation, and the need, is that the accountant fills that gap. In practice, that isn't always the case.
Beyond the sheer shortage of accountancy skills in the market, there's a growing structural mismatch. For most SMEs, the relationship with their accountant is narrower than business owners need — more transactional than strategic — and it's increasingly being displaced by the AI tools SMEs turn to when they need timely answers.
Nine in 10 (91%) SMEs have considered switching their accounting firm in the past year. 92% confirm they'd be willing to pay more for services they need but currently don't receive. In the absence of those services being offered, seven in 10 SMEs (70%) turn to AI for financial and tax advice first, without checking with their accountant. Only 1% believe a qualified professional will always be required for compliance work — the service that currently anchors most accountant-client relationships. The firms that move first and listen to SMEs' changing expectations will earn and keep the relationships that AI cannot replace.
Chapter 1
The SME–accountant relationship today
Asked whether they've considered switching their accounting firm in the past 12 months, only 9% of SMEs said no. 54% say they've actively explored alternatives, and a further 37% have thought about it without acting yet — together, nine in 10 (91%) SMEs have at least considered a switch.
Research shows that one in three SMEs (33%) describes their accountant as a true working partner who regularly brings ideas and insight. But the majority — 67% — identify gaps in the partnership: 25% say their accountant is reasonably engaged and flags opportunities occasionally, while the remaining 42% fall into the two weakest categories — contact mainly around deadlines (19%), or an accountant who predominantly handles compliance with little contact beyond that (23%).
When asked why they considered switching, the leading reasons were finding a better option elsewhere (24%), a limited service range (17%), and having outgrown the firm (14%). Cost — the factor firms most often assume drives client decisions — ranked last, at only 9%. SMEs aren't looking for cheaper accountants; they're looking for advisers who can help run their business, not just report on it.
Switching intent is highest among businesses that have been with a firm for 1–2 years, with 97% having considered it and 62% having actively explored alternatives. But loyalty doesn't simply build over time: even among those with a firm for more than 10 years, 69% have considered switching, and 42% have actively explored it.
Value for money and relationship satisfaction turn out not to be the same thing, either. Six in 10 SMEs (60%) rate their accountant as good value for money — at first glance, reassuring. But cross-referenced with switching intent, the picture gets more complicated: sole practitioner clients are the most likely to call their accountant good value (76%), yet they're also the most likely to consider switching. An SME can find their accountant affordable and still feel underserved.
Chapter 2
The relationship SMEs actually want
SMEs aren't asking for something radical. They want proactive guidance, faster responses, and clearer communication year-round — not just at filing time. When asked what they'd change about their accountant, SMEs returned to four consistent themes, none of which relate to technical capability. It all comes back to the nature of the relationship:
Proactive communication throughout the year — "Better communication throughout the year instead of only during tax season." (Senior Manager, Finance industry)
Faster responsiveness — "I want my accountant to communicate better and respond quicker, particularly when I have financial questions or urgent matters." (Business Owner, Manufacturing industry)
Strategic partnership, not just reporting — "I feel they should be more involved in helping me plan ahead rather than just reporting what has already happened." (Director, IT & Telecoms industry)
Clearer, simpler explanations — "It would help a lot if they checked in more regularly and explained what the numbers actually mean for my business decisions." (Director, Finance industry)
None of these themes describe a capability the firm lacks. They describe a pattern of engagement: being present, surfacing the right thing at the right time, and making the information actionable.
Chapter 3
SMEs are taking their business elsewhere
Beyond the services SMEs already receive from their accountants, there are clear advisory services they want but don't have access to — and they're willing to pay for them. 92% say they'd happily pay extra for these services if their accountant offered them. Nearly half of the respondent base currently doesn't receive standard services they'd find valuable, including pricing/margin analysis (46%), proactive tax planning (45%), cash flow planning and forecasting (45%), financing/credit support (44%), growth/investment decisions (43%), access to broader expertise (43%), and regular performance reviews (42%).
Where SMEs do receive these services, they're not always getting them from their own accountant. For proactive tax planning, only 44% of those who receive the service get it from their accounting firm — nearly as many (38%) get it from a different services firm entirely, suggesting they've gone elsewhere specifically to fill the gap their primary advisor doesn't address. The same pattern holds across cash flow planning (52% via a different firm), pricing analysis (41%), and growth decisions (41%).
SMEs working with the UK's top 50 accounting firms are the most likely to receive advisory services from their own accounting firm (64%), while sole practitioner clients are the most likely to use a different accounting or tax firm (42%). SMEs working with smaller accounting firms are the most likely to go elsewhere altogether, with 48% using a different firm for advisory services.
Tenure matters, too: SMEs who've worked with their accountant longer are more likely to receive services from their own firm — 59% of those with a firm for 10+ years get advisory services there, versus 43% at the 3–5 year mark. This suggests advisory relationships deepen over time, but also that the early years represent the highest risk of clients sourcing services elsewhere.
When asked why they use a different provider rather than their accountant, the leading reasons were direct: their accountant never offered or recommended the service (35%), their accountant only handles compliance for them (35%), the other provider being faster or more responsive (33%), and a perceived quality gap (32%). The implication is that the advisory deficit isn't primarily a capability gap. In most cases, SMEs are going elsewhere because their accountant hasn't made the offer to extend the services provided — not because they can't do it at all.
What would change this? 38% of SMEs say matching the speed and responsiveness of other providers already delivering the service. Just behind that, 37% want to see exactly what they'd get and what it would cost, upfront. A third (34%) want evidence it's worked for similar businesses, and a similar number (33%) say a dedicated specialist rather than a generalist would make a difference.
There's a clear communication gap underneath all of this. For proactive tax planning, half of SMEs not receiving it from their accounting firm simply assume their firm doesn't offer it — it has just never been confirmed. The same pattern holds for growth and investment support (43% assume without confirming) and cash flow forecasting (49% assume without confirming). In most cases, the capability may already be there. The conversation isn't.
Where SMEs source advisory services
Among SMEs who currently receive each service – % citing each provider (multi-select)
Chapter 4
AI is reshaping the relationship
As well as looking further afield to other advisory providers, SMEs have turned to technology to fill the gaps left by their accounting firm. Seven in 10 SMEs (70%) always or often act on financial, tax, or business advice from an AI tool without checking it with their accountant, leaving only 5% who rarely or never do. Artificial intelligence in accounting decisions is no longer a niche behaviour among UK SMEs — it's becoming the default first step.
AI usage varies sharply by firm type. SMEs working with sole practitioner accountants are the most likely to always act on AI advice without checking (72%) — more than three times the rate of those working with mid-sized firms (20%). SMEs working with a top 50 accounting firm are the most likely to often do so (53%). In both cases, the smallest and largest firm types are the ones most routinely being bypassed in favour of AI.
Tenure shows a similar pattern: the 1–2 year cohort is the most likely to always act on AI advice without checking (49%, nearly double the overall average of 29%). Newer clients — those with their firm less than a year — show a 100% combined always-or-often rate. At the other end of the spectrum, clients with 10+ years at a firm show the highest always-or-often rate of any established tenure group (80%), but they're also the most likely to say they rarely or never act on AI advice (11%). Reliance on AI doesn't simply decrease as relationships mature — the 3–5 and 6–10 year cohorts show lower AI dependency (68% and 71% respectively), suggesting the middle years of a relationship are when trust is strongest.
Expectations are shifting fast: nine in 10 SMEs believe compliance work could largely be handled by software or AI within a few years, and over a third (35%) believe it can already be done today. Only 1% believe a qualified professional will always be required to complete compliance work. Compliance is currently the foundation of most accountant-client relationships — it's often why the client shows up, why they pay, and usually why the accountant has a reason to reach out. If SMEs believe that work is going to be automated, the nature of the relationship is already changing in their minds, even if it hasn't changed yet in practice.
Knowledge continuity compounds the risk. Nearly all SMEs (94%) have experienced a loss of knowledge or continuity when a key contact at their accounting firm left or changed — 47% said it caused real disruption, and only 5% said the firm handled the transition well. When knowledge sits with individuals rather than the firm, the relationship is exposed every time someone moves on.
The SME base isn't united on what comes next: 23% are considering leaving a traditional accounting firm entirely, while almost as many (22%) expect their accountant to become more important as a source of business guidance. Only 17% believe the relationship will stay broadly the same. It's now a matter of how both sides respond.
How SMEs expect their relationship with their accounting firm to change
Conlusion
The gap is wide, but it is not permanent
The main takeaway from this research is that SMEs are not fixed on leaving their accountants — in fact, the majority would pay more to receive additional advisory services. But they do want more from them. UK SMEs are often running businesses without in-house financial infrastructure, so they need their accountant to play that role: a strategic sounding board and a source of guidance that's available when they need it, not only at year-end.
At the moment, the relationship serves a very different purpose. For years it's been built around compliance, communication is often reactive, and most advice is retrospective. So when SMEs haven't been able to get what they need from their accountant, they've sought other options — in the form of other providers, or, increasingly now, AI.
Something needs to change. SMEs are already making their move, with 91% having considered switching firms in the past year. The compliance work that currently anchors most client relationships is the work that SMEs most expect to disappear.
But the gap between what SMEs are getting and what they need is also the opportunity for advisory firms. The demand for proactive, strategic guidance is real and consistent, and the firms that deliver it consistently will be the ones that earn the relationships that AI cannot replace.
About Ravical
Ravical is the agentic operating layer — AI accounting software — for full-service accounting and tax firms. The billable hour has a ceiling, and as AI makes people more efficient, there are fewer hours to bill. Ravical's accounting workflow automation breaks through that ceiling: the platform identifies revenue opportunities across an entire client book, plans and executes the work, and prices it by outcome — so firms grow revenue from existing clients without adding headcount.
Founded in 2025 by the team behind Silverfin (sold to Visma in 2023, in Visma's largest-ever acquisition), Ravical is based in London and Ghent, serves more than 100 firms across Europe, and is backed by Lakestar.
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AI is now a first port of call for everyday financial and tax questions for many UK SMEs. Ravical’s independent research among 500 UK SMEs shows what that shift means for accounting firms, and why speed and forward planning now define the relationship clients want.
