Welcome to the Accountancy Age 35 under 35 Report 2025 report, our annual spotlight on the young talent redefining the future of the UK profession, in partnership with AJ Chambers.
This year’s cohort is not just a list of high achievers; it is a clear mirror reflecting a profound shift in the industry’s talent model. The overwhelming theme emerging from the hundreds of nominations is the acceleration of professional responsibility. What once required a decade of experience—owning client conversations, leading cross-functional projects, or overhauling core controls—is now being done by accountants under 35, often within just a few years of qualifying.
This shift is not theoretical; it is visible in the fundamental, unglamorous work being done. We saw countless examples of nominees delivering real, tangible improvements: standardising control spreadsheets, automating journal reconciliations, and clarifying risk steps to bring stability where processes had drifted. These are not “transformation” in grand, abstract terms, but reliable changes that stick. They speak to a new breed of practitioner who prioritises consistent, built-in quality.
The Data Behind the Delivery
The entries showcase a workforce that treats technology as an embedded utility, not a headline. While UK firms continue to invest heavily in digital tools—with nearly half of firms planning up to £100k in AI investment next year, according to recent research—our nominees integrate tools like Power BI, SQL, or cloud platforms as part of the job.
Crucially, where AI appears, it is done with professional discipline: always with audit trails, human review points, and clear fallbacks. The goal is efficiency and accuracy—fewer hand-offs and cleaner data—not automation for its own sake.
What truly unites this cohort is the application of advisory thinking at the point of delivery. They are not simply executing; they are framing options, defining scope, and being explicit about the trade-offs in their work. This is the bedrock of true professionalism: pairing execution with a deep understanding of the outcomes. For instance, in our review, we saw an increasing focus on ESG-related duties among young accountants, requiring the strategic framing of non-financial risks alongside core reporting.
This report is a data-rich reflection of the profession’s direction, built from the stories submitted and reinforced by public data on UK accountancy trends, including the recent surge in young accountants establishing their own practices for greater autonomy. Our goal is to reflect where the profession is really headed, through the tangible, senior-level work of the people making it happen.