Accountancy firms are learning that technical expertise alone is no longer enough. Moneypenny’s latest Hello to Loyalty report shows how gaps in speed, onboarding and communication are costing millions, and why client experience is becoming the most reliable route to sustainable growth.
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If you strip out the jargon, client experience comes down to two questions: How easy is it to reach you? And how confident do clients feel once they do?
Moneypenny’s new report, Hello to Loyalty: The Accountancy Client Experience, puts hard numbers against those questions and lands at a simple conclusion: firms that treat the client journey as a front-office growth lever, not a back-office process, are pulling ahead.
The findings – including that 39% of firms are prioritising new client growth, 81% plan to improve client service, and 61% aim to balance acquisition with retention – mirror what we’re seeing across the market: growth is still the goal, but the ability to keep clients engaged is now just as important.
The UK’s mid-tier is already organising for growth – through M&A, tech investment and targeted service expansion but with a clear recognition that talent shortages and uneven execution can blunt progress.
ICAEW’s survey of mid-tier managing partners found widespread plans to continue investing in technology, operational efficiency, and selective acquisitions and a clear recognition that client-centric leadership is a differentiator.
External CX data reinforces the prize on offer when firms get this right. KPMG’s UK Customer Experience Excellence shows organisations that master the “Six Pillars” of experience achieve materially better commercial outcomes, including top performers delivering 10x revenue growth versus FTSE 100 counterparts, higher retention and lower cost-to-serve.
The biggest value leaks are rarely technical. They come from slow responses, inconsistent communication and onboarding that leaves clients uncertain. Prospects form judgements in minutes, not days, and too many firms are still losing revenue at the very first contact. insight6 has labelled this the “million-pound problem” for good reason.
Expectations are being set outside the profession too. Consumers increasingly demand real-time support and a choice of engagement channels, while competitive sectors have already cut call-waiting times and improved responsiveness. Accountancy firms that lag behind these benchmarks risk appearing out of step with the service standards clients encounter elsewhere.
Inside firms, onboarding remains a critical weak spot. Unclear handoffs, ad-hoc requests for documents and a lack of updates undermine confidence at precisely the point clients are deciding whether they made the right choice.
The cumulative effect of weak enquiry handling is significant. A slow response reduces conversion, a shaky onboarding extends the time before value is delivered, and inconsistent updates invite churn. Left unchecked, these issues drain millions in potential fees and damage reputation.
For finance leaders and managing partners, the implication is clear: client experience is not an abstract concept, it is a measurable P&L lever. Faster speed-to-lead, fewer handoffs and clear progress updates improve the economics of growth. Retention costs less than acquisition, but only if firms invest in getting the basics right.
Moneypenny’s report surfaces differences in priorities by firm size and region. The mid-tier, in particular, is balancing growth (often via acquisition) with cautious tech adoption and a pragmatic view of risk.
Smaller practices often grapple with capacity and responsiveness, while larger ones struggle to deliver consistency across multiple offices. Regional variations in client expectations add another layer of complexity.
Benchmarking against peers of a similar profile – by size, service mix and location – is therefore essential. Firms that measure themselves only against broad averages risk chasing irrelevant targets.
The smarter approach is to look sideways at what comparable practices are doing, then adapt strategies accordingly.
The firms that stand out are not reinventing client service; they are perfecting the fundamentals.
Improving client experience depends on tracking the right signals:
These are not vanity metrics. Taken together, they show whether a firm is converting interest into revenue and turning first projects into lasting relationships.
The firms that will win the next cycle won’t merely “answer faster.” They’ll redesign the awkward seams in the client journey – first contact, handover, onboarding – so that growth and loyalty compound.
The data shows that when experience gets better, so do the numbers.
