The state of advisory services in 2025: Key challenges and emerging solutions

The role of advisory services in accounting and finance continues to expand, yet firms face persistent challenges with visibility, prioritization, and scaling their advisory offerings across their client base. In response to the industries growing challenges, we conducted a survey to better understand:

• The biggest pain points advisory firms are currently facing
• How leading firms are overcoming these challenges through process improvements and technology
• What strategies high-performing firms are using to scale this work without increasing workload.

With 85% of respondents stating that better oversight of client data would enable them to offer additional services, the issue is not whether providing the service is valuable, it’s about how firms can better position and scale their offerings to drive greater impact and revenue.

In this article, we’ll break down three of the most pressing challenges facing advisory firms today and explore how firms are approaching these obstacles in practical ways.

The three biggest challenges

The advisory opportunity problem: Clients don’t always see the value

42.5% of firms say their biggest challenge is demonstrating the value of advisory services.  

Why? Many clients still view accountants as only compliance providers rather than strategic partners. Without a clear ROI proposition, it can be difficult to position your advice as a high-value, revenue-generating service. Common challenges reported include:

• Clients not seeing a direct return on investment. Without clear financial impact projections, advisory offerings can be perceived as an additional cost rather than a business growth tool.
• Difficulty prioritizing advisory opportunities. Identifying which clients have the highest potential for advisory services can be challenging without a structured approach.
• Services being positioned reactively. Many firms introduce advisory services only when a client asks, rather than embedding it into their regular service model.  

"If you’re just offering compliance, you’re a commodity. But when you build advisory into your process, you shift from being an expense to an investment. It’s about showing clients how they can grow and make it part of their mindset, not an optional add-on."  
– Ryan Lazanis, Founder of Future Firm  

What are high-performing firms doing differently?

Turning financial data into a narrative

Instead of providing reports filled with numbers, successful firms highlight key trends and outline a clear action plan.

Segmenting clients by advisory potential

By categorizing clients based on financial complexity and business goals, firms can deliver more targeted, high-value insights.

Using scenario-based forecasting

Demonstrating "what-if" scenarios helps clients understand how strategic decisions impact profitability.

"When you package advisory the right way, it’s not a hard sell. It becomes a natural conversation where clients see the benefit firsthand. They’re not asking, ‘How much?’ They’re asking, ‘How can you help?’"  
– Darren Hull, Ventor & Hull Chartered Accountants

Insight: Firms that embedded regular advisory check-ins, instead of offering it on an ad-hoc basis, reported higher client engagement and an increased willingness to invest in strategic services.

The visibility gap: firms struggle to see the full picture

According to our survey, 27.5% of firms lack a structured process or tool for monitoring client performance.

For many, data is scattered across multiple platforms, forcing accountants and advisors to rely on disconnected reports, manual spreadsheet updates, and intuition instead of real-time insights. This lack of visibility leads to three major problems:

1. Delayed risk identification – Without centralized data, firms may miss early warning signs of financial distress, only stepping in when issues have already escalated.
2. Missed advisory opportunities – Identifying which clients need strategic guidance becomes harder without a clear, structured view of their financial health.
3. Inefficiencies in scaling services – A lack of timely insights can make it difficult to standardize an advisory workflow across multiple clients.

"If you’re reacting to problems instead of anticipating them, you're already too late. We used to dig through spreadsheets and wait for clients to tell us about cash flow issues. Now, automated dashboards alert us before the client even knows there’s a problem."  
– Patrick Ball, Director, Technology Advisory Operations at Aprio.

What are high-performing firms doing differently?

Instead of waiting for clients to raise concerns, many firms are shifting to a proactive advisory approach by:

Consolidating data into centralized dashboards

Providing a real-time overview of client performance reduces the need for manual data gathering.

Using automated alerts

Tracking key financial trends, such as declining cash flow or revenue fluctuations, ensures advisors can act quickly.

Developing standardized financial performance indicators

Firms with clear benchmarks can assess which clients need attention before it's too late.

"One of the big advantages we've found with real-time reporting is how much it improves client engagement. Before, when we went through financials, clients' eyes would glaze over. Now, with visual dashboards and automated alerts, we can spot trends early and initiate conversations before problems arise."  
– Darren Hull, Director at Ventor & Hull Chartered Accountants

Insight: Many firms reported that having to log into multiple systems for each client was a major blocker to efficiency. Those that streamlined their monitoring tools saw significant reductions in time spent gathering data; , allowing them to focus more on providing strategic insights.

The time crunch: Scaling advisory without overloading your team

Many firms recognize the value of advisory work but feel constrained by limited time and resources.  

Survey respondents highlighted that one of the biggest barriers to scaling advisory services is the amount of time spent on manual tasks such as: cash flow forecasting; preparing commentary on client performance; and manually generating reports and financial summaries. The common challenges pinpointed included:

• Balancing effort and profitability – Advisory remains a high-effort service, making it difficult to maintain strong margins.
• Team capacity constraints – In-depth advisory requires significant analysis, making it difficult to scale without hiring additional staff.
• Inconsistent service delivery – Some clients receive comprehensive insights, while others only get basic reporting, leading to varied client experiences.

"A key part of scaling is process standardization. If clients are tied up and can’t do the work, they won’t engage. We need to adjust meeting frequency, automate reporting, and ensure advisory is structured in a way that fits both the firm and the client."  
– Darren Hull, Ventor & Hull Chartered Accountants  

What are high-performing firms doing differently?

Automating repetitive tasks

Reducing manual data compilation through automated reporting and forecasting tools.

Using templated workflows

Standardized KPI tracking, forecasting, and client check-ins make advisory more efficient and scalable.

Embedding AI-driven insights

Leveraging AI-powered analysis helps highlight key trends and risks without extensive manual effort.

"We systemized our advisory services with automation and templates. Then we could deliver insights faster, standardize our process, and serve twice as many clients without adding extra hours."  
– Ryan Lazanis, Founder of Future Firm

Insight: Firms that systemized their advisory approach, with predefined checklists, automated reporting, and structured forecasting; reported being able to serve twice as many advisory clients without increasing workload.

Moving from reactive to proactive

The most successful firms in 2025 are not just responding to client needs, they are anticipating them. By implementing scalable, systemized advisory workflows, firms can:

• Proactively identify client opportunities instead of waiting for problems to arise.
• Streamline advisory services to make them repeatable and scalable.
• Deliver more value in less time, making the most of automation and AI-driven insights.

As demand continues to grow, firms that embrace efficiency, automation, and structured processes will be best positioned to scale sustainably.

Want to see how leading firms are solving these challenges? Explore how a centralized, automated approach to advisory can help deliver more insights, faster.

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