2027 · Professional services

Three ripples heading for professional services in 2027

If you work in accounting, legal, consulting or advisory work, there are three things I'd keep an eye on in 2027. For each one I've said what it sets off after it, and one thing you could do about it now.

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Thirty years of foresight. Thousands of clients, 2,800+ keynotes and workshops, 160 industries, 25 countries, and heard by more than a million people a year, on stage and in the media.

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“A thought provoking and practical session that gave our industry a useful framework for considering not only what is changing, but what those changes may trigger next.”

Leanne Weier, Manager Client Services, Civil Contractors Federation Queensland, 2026 State Conference

What I mean by a ripple

The first ripple is where everyone looks

When something changes, it sets off ripples, like a stone dropped in a pond, and the first ring is the one everybody sees.

The first rippleThe first ripple is what happens straight away, and since that's where everybody's looking, that's where everybody reacts.
The ripple after itThe next one is the consequence of the consequence, and it can turn up months later feeling like it has nothing to do with what started it.
Your immediate futureAnd then there's the one thing you can do about it now, while the change is still small.

For each of these three I've followed the change a bit further than usual, past the first ripple, and finished with something you could do about it now.

The three I'd watch for professional services

The work that made your partners is going

Machines now do much of the first-year work, the reconciling, the checking, the first drafts and the research, so firms are taking on fewer graduates.

The first ripple

That first-year work was where people learned the job. The young accountant who reconciled the wrong ledger and had to explain why learned something no course could teach them.

The ripple after it

The teaching goes with it, and because middle management is thinning at the same time, a lot of the people who did the teaching go too. Nobody feels it in 2027, and my best read is that it shows up around 2031 or 2032, as seniors with thinner judgement and a succession gap nobody can trace back to a decision.

Your immediate future

I'd add a column to your list of tasks that asks whether each one teaches somebody something, and then keep one of those tasks with a person on purpose, by putting a junior alongside a senior on real client work.

I wrote about this in We Didn't Just Automate the Jobs. We Removed the Years. (June 2026) and Where Does a Business Learn Now? (October 2026).

If it can be described, it can be compared

Back in 2012 I told Charter magazine that statutory work would be outsourced and accountants would become part of their clients' advisory group, and I'd say that's well under way now.

The first ripple

Once a service fits in a one-line scope, a client, or the client's own AI, can line it up against everyone else's in seconds and pick whichever costs less or is closer, and compliance work is first in line.

The ripple after it

What you wrap around the service, the advice in the corridor, the "ring me first" call and the follow-up, is the part nobody can swap, and it's also the part most firms never write down or charge for. So growth starts coming from packaging, pricing and timing, while the real reason clients stay with you can quietly wear away.

Your immediate future

I'd write your three most-quoted services the way a buyer would describe them, one line each, and then list what you actually do that isn't in that line. Then ask yourself whether you charge for it, or even mention it.

I told Charter magazine in Step Into the Light (April 2012), and wrote about it again in We Stopped Queuing (September 2026).

Who signs it when the machine drafted it?

AI's becoming as ordinary as electricity, and the first thing it sets off is the checking.

The first ripple

People re-check every output, because nobody's quite sure who answers for it if it gets something wrong, and the time it saved leaks straight back out.

The ripple after it

I think the checking turns into the work, and clients end up paying for who stands behind the advice. There's a date on it too: from 10 December 2026, organisations covered by the Privacy Act have to say in their privacy policy when a computer program makes, or plays a big part in making, decisions that significantly affect people.

Your immediate future

I'd take one service and list its tasks, marking each as done by a person, a machine, AI or a mix of them, the mix I call HUMAND. Then for every task AI touches, write down the name of the person who answers for it.

I wrote about this in The Checking Tax (July 2026) and The Room Already Knew (September 2026).

If you'd like to go further

Five ways to take this further

The cover of Before the Year Turns by Morris Misel

My year-end guide, Before the Year Turns

Nine chapters and thirteen worksheets that take you from this year into 2027 and finish with your own immediate futures, the first steps you'll take. The bonus at the back is my year ahead, in ripples.

One copy is A$39, a PDF you read on screen or print.

See the guide

Copies for your team or your clients

Two to five copies are A$27 each, and the price per copy falls at every step, down to A$9 each for more than 200. Your organisation's name goes inside every copy at no charge.

Copies for a team or clients

A free online session, Thursday 19 November

From 11 to 11.45 am AEDT we'll look back at what 2026 set off and ahead to what 2027 is asking of us. Come along, or pass it on to your team.

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Bring the decision you're sitting on and think it through with Mo, the companion I've built from my own way of looking ahead. Your first chat is free, with no sign-up. Twenty founding seats at A$60 a month close on Friday 27 November.

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Talk to me about your conference, offsite, partners' retreat or planning day. I give keynotes and run workshops, online or in person, and this is the thinking I'd bring to the room.

Email memorris@morrisfuturist.com

Or just keep in touch: my Tuesday email is a short note from me each week on what's coming.

More from me on professional services

Questions people ask

What should an accounting or law firm prepare for over the next 12 to 24 months?

Machines now do the first-year work that made your partners, and my best read is that the gap shows up around 2031 or 2032. Once a service fits in a one-line scope, a client or their AI can line it up against everyone else's in seconds, and from 10 December 2026 organisations covered by the Privacy Act have to say in their privacy policy when a computer program makes, or plays a big part in making, decisions that significantly affect people.

How might AI change our services, staffing and pricing?

Machines now do much of the reconciling, checking, first drafting and research, so firms are taking on fewer graduates. Compliance work is first in line to be compared on price or proximity, which is why I'd write down what you do around a service that isn't in its one-line description, and ask whether you charge for it. I think a lot more of the job turns into checking, and clients will happily pay to know who's standing behind the advice.

Which tasks should remain with professionals, and which could AI support?

If you took one service and listed its tasks, you could mark each as done by a person, a machine, AI or a mix of them, and that mix is what I call HUMAND. For the tasks AI touches, I'd want the name of the person who answers for each one. I'd also ask whether each task teaches somebody something, and keep one of those with a person on purpose, by putting a junior alongside a senior on real client work.

How can partners agree on a practical AI and business plan for the next year?

I'd ask each partner to describe your three most-quoted services the way a buyer would, in one line, and then talk through what you do around them that isn't in that line. A planning day with me, or a partners' retreat, takes it further, from half a day to two days, with a follow-up a month later and the guide for everyone. You can also come along to the free online session on Thursday 19 November first.

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Morris Misel

Foresight Strategist · Business Futurist · Keynote Speaker
Chair & Industry Fellow, Griffith University Inclusive Futures · Member, G100 Einstein Global Future Think Tank · Top Global and APAC Voices 2026