The UK had 3,745 fewer accountancy businesses in 2025 than in 2019, according to Rapport Digital’s analysis of ONS business counts, raising questions about capacity and succession across the profession.
The number of enterprises in accounting, bookkeeping, auditing and tax consultancy fell from 43,720 to 39,975 over the period — an 8.6% reduction. However, the latest annual comparison was broadly stable: the 2025 total was 10 higher than in 2024.
A changing market for accountancy talent
The figures describe the number of enterprises, rather than employees, vacancies or individual offices. They should not be read as a direct measure of jobs lost, and the register alone cannot establish why firm numbers changed.
Introducing the analysis to Onrec, Rob Truslove, who helped Rapport Digital analyse the data, highlighted the implications for the profession’s talent supply.
“There is a growing talent gap between the firms available and the demand for their help.”
Rob Truslove, commenting on the Rapport Digital analysis
Rapport Digital points to consolidation and retirement as possible pressures. For recruiters and employers, these are reasons to examine succession and local hiring needs alongside the headline business count.
Regional differences and methodology
London accounted for 1,855 of the net reduction, while the North West and North East recorded growth. The UK ratio of businesses to accountancy firms rose from 62 to 68; this measures potential local demand, not actual client workloads.
The study uses ONS UK Business Counts via Nomis, extracted on 6 July 2026, for SIC 6920. Counts are rounded to the nearest five, and multi-office enterprises are counted once.
Read the full Rapport Digital study and methodology.
Image: AI-generated editorial illustration of accountants at work.
