BDO has begun cutting dozens of senior roles in the UK as it looks to create opportunities for younger employees at the country’s fifth-largest accounting firm. The firm plans to remove 31 partners which is around 6% of its total, according to a Financial Times report. Those leaving are mostly older partners nearing retirement or senior hires who joined from rival firms.
Pressure from slowdown and AI influence
This comes at difficult time for professional services firms, which are facing slowing demand and growing disruption from artificial intelligence. The industry is already seeing job cuts. Just last week, as reported by Financial Times, KPMG told staff it would eliminate 600 roles as part of a restructuring effort. BDO has also felt the strain. Its profits dropped 7% last year, while average payouts for equity partners fell from £681,000 to £589,000.
BDO’s dependence on partnerships
Professional services firms like BDO operate as partnerships, meaning they are owned and run by their most senior staff. This structure depends heavily on promoting younger employees into leadership roles over time. Similar steps have been taken across the industry. In 2024, PwC asked around 50 long-serving partners to take early retirement to protect profits and open up promotions
Hiring boom during pandemic
Consultancy firms expanded rapidly during the pandemic, when companies needed help with supply chains, digital upgrades, and operational changes. However, as economic conditions worsened, demand slowed leaving many firms overstaffed and now adjusting their workforce.
BDO had previously benefited from increased demand among mid-sized UK businesses. This came as the Big Four including Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC stepped back from certain areas following greater regulatory scrutiny after major corporate failures like Carillion and BHS.
BDO told Financial Times, “In the current economic environment, BDO needs to be in the best shape possible to advise the UK’s entrepreneurial, growing and ambitious businesses, our mid-market heartland. To ensure we are a partnership operating at peak performance in high-growth areas, a small number of partners from each business area is leaving the firm, with some partners having brought forward their existing retirement plans.”
Private equity adds new pressure
The accounting sector is also being reshaped by rising private equity investment. In 2024, Grant Thornton sold a stake to buyout firm Cinven in a deal valuing it at about £1.5 billion. Meanwhile, wealth manager Evelyn Partners sold its professional services arm to Apax Partners. Private equity firms have also been actively acquiring and merging smaller regional accounting firms, increasing competition across the industry.