{"id":30036,"date":"2026-05-15T16:54:23","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T15:54:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/?p=30036"},"modified":"2026-05-15T16:54:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T15:54:25","slug":"accountex-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/accountex-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Accountex 2026: Accounting work has changed. Most firms are still structured for what it used to be"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header has-dark-background-color entry-header--standard entry-header--has-illustration entry-header--has-illustration--standard\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__row row align-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-lg-7 col-xlg-6 entry-header__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"component component-single-header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__misc text--subtitle text--uppercase text--small\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/category\/strategy-legal-operations\/\" class=\"entry-header__link\">Strategy, Legal &amp; Operations<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-title-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"entry-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAccountex 2026: Accounting work has changed. Most firms are still structured for what it used to be\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"entry-header__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAccountex 2026 revealed a profession under pressure\u2014not from a lack of technology, but from work that has quietly outgrown the operating models most firms were built around.\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"single-post-details container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2026-05-15T16:54:23+01:00\">15 May, 2026<\/time><\/span><span class=\"reading-time\"> min read<\/span>\n\t\t<button\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"social-share-button button button--icon button--secondary js-social-share-button\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-title=\"Accountex 2026: Accounting work has changed. Most firms are still structured for what it used to be\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-url=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/accountex-2026\/\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-text=\"Please read this interesting article\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__share-label\">Share<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-label\" hidden>Copy Link<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\" hidden>Copied<\/span>\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author has-dark-background-color alignfull\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"co-authors\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-author-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"entry-author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/author\/asavinwattanajantra\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"40\" height=\"40\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2026\/03\/Asavin-350x350.jpg\" class=\"entry-author__image\" alt=\"Asavin\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2026\/03\/Asavin-350x350.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2026\/03\/Asavin-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2026\/03\/Asavin-810x810.jpg 810w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2026\/03\/Asavin.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 40px) 100vw, 40px\" \/>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"entry-author__name\">Asavin Wattanajantra<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Accountex 2026 took place in mid-May 2026, and delivered some powerful, game changing insights about the state of the accountancy profession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019ve a full write-up in this article, as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><div class=\"wp-block-yoast-seo-table-of-contents yoast-table-of-contents\"><ul><li><a href=\"#h-operational-pressures-beyond-compliance-and-deadlines\" data-level=\"2\">Operational pressures: Beyond compliance and deadlines<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-accounting-feels-broader-faster-and-harder-to-contain\" data-level=\"2\">Accounting feels broader, faster&mdash;and harder to contain<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-visibility-changes-the-accountant-client-relationship\" data-level=\"2\">Visibility changes the accountant\/client relationship<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-moving-from-episodic-work-to-continuous-responsibility\" data-level=\"2\">Moving from episodic work to continuous responsibility<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-ai-compresses-execution-it-doesn-t-remove-accountability\" data-level=\"2\">AI compresses execution. It doesn&rsquo;t remove accountability<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-mtd-changes-the-rhythm-of-operational-pressure\" data-level=\"2\">MTD changes the rhythm of operational pressure<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-why-efficiency-doesn-t-feel-like-relief\" data-level=\"2\">Why efficiency doesn&rsquo;t feel like relief<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-final-thoughts-accounting-and-bookkeeping-work-is-becoming-structurally-different\" data-level=\"2\">Final thoughts: Accounting and bookkeeping work is becoming structurally different<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-operational-pressures-beyond-compliance-and-deadlines\">Operational pressures: Beyond compliance and deadlines<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the most revealing moments at Accountex 2026 came during a session discussing operational pressure inside accounting firms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The conversation quickly moved beyond compliance and tax deadlines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Accountants and bookkeepers talked about chasing records late at night, managing confused clients through software transitions, correcting transaction categorisation issues before quarterly submissions, and repeatedly explaining HMRC changes to businesses already struggling to keep up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Several described absorbing administrative and operational support work that sat well outside traditional accounting boundaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At one point, there was a noticeable shift in mood from discussion to frustration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Firms weren\u2019t resisting technology. Many had already invested heavily in cloud systems, automation tools, and AI-assisted workflows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The frustration came from something else: the growing sense that accounting work itself has changed shape, while many firms are still structured, priced, and staffed for an older version of the profession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That theme surfaced repeatedly across Accountex 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-accounting-feels-broader-faster-and-harder-to-contain\">Accounting feels broader, faster\u2014and harder to contain<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Whether sessions focused on AI, Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, workflow automation, pricing, or advisory services, conversations kept returning to the same underlying pressure: work feels broader, faster, more continuous, and harder to contain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/accountants\/resources\/amplify-your-impact\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Hidden Hours research launched at the event<\/a> helped explain why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Based on a survey of 1,000 UK accountants and bookkeepers, the research found that less than half of working time is now spent on core accounting and compliance work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Increasing amounts of time are absorbed by the operational layer surrounding the work itself\u2014coordinating clients, resolving workflow gaps, maintaining software processes, managing incomplete records, explaining systems, and helping businesses maintain financial discipline throughout the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Eighty-one percent of firms said they regularly perform work outside their formal scope, while 70% said their fees no longer reflect the full range of support they now provide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is no longer occasional overflow work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is becoming part of the operational baseline of modern practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-visibility-changes-the-accountant-client-relationship\">Visibility changes the accountant\/client relationship<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the clearest themes running through Accountex was visibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Connected platforms, cloud accounting systems, AI-assisted workflows, and digital reporting environments are giving firms and clients far greater visibility into financial operations than they had historically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That visibility creates obvious advantages. Problems surface earlier. Errors become easier to identify. Businesses can make decisions using more current information rather than waiting for retrospective reporting cycles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But visibility also changes expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once financial issues become continuously visible, clients increasingly expect continuous guidance too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Several sessions returned to the same operational tension: accountants and bookkeepers are now often expected to intervene earlier, respond faster, and stay closer to live business activity than many firms were originally designed to support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Historically, accountants often worked after financial activity had already taken place. Increasingly, firms now find themselves operating much closer to live workflows\u2014monitoring process quality, resolving operational bottlenecks, maintaining reporting discipline, and helping clients respond to issues in real time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That work is valuable. But much of it remains difficult to see internally inside firms themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And when work becomes continuously visible to clients, it also becomes much harder for firms to contain where responsibility begins and ends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-moving-from-episodic-work-to-continuous-responsibility\">Moving from episodic work to continuous responsibility<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>For decades, accounting work followed a relatively predictable rhythm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Information arrived after the fact. Work accumulated toward deadlines. Most client relationships centred around periodic compliance events such as year ends, VAT returns, tax filings, and reporting cycles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That model is now under pressure from multiple directions simultaneously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At Accountex, firms repeatedly described the same operational reality: the work no longer arrives neatly in cycles. It now flows continuously through connected systems, ongoing communication, and real-time operational visibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Making Tax Digital increases the frequency of reporting and workflow coordination. AI accelerates execution and compresses turnaround expectations. Connected financial systems expose operational issues earlier and more continuously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These trends are often discussed separately. Firms experience them together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The result is that accounting work increasingly behaves less like periodic compliance work and more like continuous operational oversight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For many firms, this is creating a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/accounting-bookkeeping-ai-maturity-curve\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wider operational rethink<\/a> around AI adoption, workflow design, and practice readine<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/accounting-bookkeeping-ai-maturity-curve\/\">ss<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-ai-compresses-execution-it-doesn-t-remove-accountability\">AI compresses execution. It doesn\u2019t remove accountability<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, AI dominated much of the conversation at Accountex 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the most interesting discussions weren\u2019t about the replacement of professionals. They were about what happens when production becomes dramatically faster while accountability remains firmly human.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tasks that once consumed hours can now take minutes. Meeting summaries, transaction categorisation, reconciliations, initial analysis, and client communications can increasingly be accelerated through AI-assisted workflows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The constraint shifts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Less time is spent manually producing outputs. More time is spent reviewing, validating, interpreting, correcting, explaining, and standing behind the result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During the keynote session, Sage\u2019s Chief Financial Officer Jacqui Cartin repeatedly returned to the pressure firms face operating in environments where \u201cnearly right\u201d is often still wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That distinction matters because AI changes the economics of execution without removing the commercial risk attached to accuracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A categorisation error produced in seconds still needs to be identified, corrected, explained to the client, and ultimately signed off by someone accountable for the outcome. Faster workflows do not eliminate responsibility. In many cases, they redistribute it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Several conversations across the event reflected this tension. Firms are becoming faster operationally, but they are also absorbing more continuous oversight, validation, and coordination work around the output itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The work becomes operationally broader even as individual tasks become quicker to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-mtd-changes-the-rhythm-of-operational-pressure\">MTD changes the rhythm of operational pressure<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The HMRC sessions at Accountex reinforced how significant the operational implications of MTD for Income Tax may become over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Quarterly submissions are only the visible layer of the shift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The deeper change is behavioural and operational.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Under a more continuous reporting environment, poor record keeping becomes visible earlier, incomplete information disrupts workflows faster, and client responsiveness increasingly shapes delivery capacity throughout the year rather than near filing deadlines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Several discussions throughout the event kept circling back to the same operational challenge: client behaviour increasingly drives workload.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That changes the nature of accounting work itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The issue is no longer simply producing year-end outputs efficiently. It is maintaining operational flow across hundreds of ongoing client interactions, corrections, reminders, explanations, and interventions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Responsibility no longer builds toward a single annual event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It becomes continuous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-why-efficiency-doesn-t-feel-like-relief\">Why efficiency doesn\u2019t feel like relief<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>One contradiction surfaced repeatedly across the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Accounting firms are more digitised than ever. AI tools are accelerating routine tasks. Automation continues spreading across workflows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yet many firms still describe work feeling heavier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/accountants\/resources\/amplify-your-impact\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Hidden Hours research<\/a> helps explain why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Technology reduces friction inside individual tasks. But at the same time, responsiveness expectations increase, workflow visibility expands, coordination demands grow, intervention happens earlier, and operational involvement deepens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The result is that efficiency doesn\u2019t necessarily translate into relief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The underlying scope of responsibility expands at the same time automation accelerates execution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is why many firms experiencing the greatest pressure are not necessarily behind on technology adoption. In many cases, they are among the most operationally advanced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The challenge isn\u2019t \u2018digitisation\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is that many operating models\u2014pricing structures, workflows, client boundaries, and staffing assumptions\u2014still <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/mtd-for-income-tax-breaks-pricing-model\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reflect a more episodic version of accounting work<\/a>, while the day-to-day reality has become increasingly continuous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Over time, continuous operational support risks becoming absorbed invisibly into the practice itself\u2014through constant responsiveness, ongoing coordination, small interventions, and workflow management work that accumulates faster than firms redesign around it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Firms trying to make MTD operational pressure more visible internally may find it useful to work through this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/mtd-for-income-operational-checklist\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">MTD operational checklist for practices.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-final-thoughts-accounting-and-bookkeeping-work-is-becoming-structurally-different\">Final thoughts: Accounting and bookkeeping work is becoming structurally different<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The most important takeaway from Accountex 2026 may not be about AI or MTD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It may be that the accounting and bookkeeping work itself is becoming structurally different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The profession is moving closer to live operational support, workflow coordination, and continuous financial management inside businesses. As execution becomes faster and increasingly automated, competitive advantage shifts elsewhere\u2014toward judgment, responsiveness, operational visibility, and the ability to manage continuous responsibility without overwhelming the firm itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The firms that adapt fastest may not be the firms at the frontier adopting the most technology. They are likely to be the firms that recognise where responsibility has already moved\u2014and restructure themselves around that reality before continuous operational pressure becomes unsustainable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Accountex 2026 revealed a profession under pressure\u2014not from a lack of technology, but from work that has quietly outgrown the operating models most firms were built around.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":356,"featured_media":30037,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sage_video":false,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"sage_hide_published_date":false,"sage_hide_read_time":false,"sage_hide_share_buttons":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[223,224,226,50,23,29,343],"business_type":[115],"lilypad":[],"context":[],"industry":[],"persona":[67],"imagine_tag":[220,221,222,726,289,331,309,142,334],"coauthors":[351],"class_list":["post-30036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-strategy-legal-operations","tag-accountant-accounting","tag-accountant-automation","tag-accountant-tax","tag-ai","tag-bookkeeping","tag-mtd-accountants","tag-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax","business_type-accountants"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-gb","author_name":"Asavin Wattanajantra","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2026\/05\/accountex2026.jpg","imagine_tags":{"220":"Accountant accounting","221":"Accountant automation","222":"Accountant tax","726":"Accountants","289":"Accounting and Payroll","331":"AI accountants","309":"AI Hub","142":"Making Tax Digital for businesses","334":"Making tax digital for income tax"}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice UK","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/356"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30036"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30041,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30036\/revisions\/30041"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/30037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30036"},{"taxonomy":"business_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/business_type?post=30036"},{"taxonomy":"lilypad","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/lilypad?post=30036"},{"taxonomy":"context","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/context?post=30036"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=30036"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=30036"},{"taxonomy":"imagine_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/imagine_tag?post=30036"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=30036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}