Short answer: the UK had 43,720 accountancy firms in 2019 and 39,975 in 2025, a fall of 3,745 firms or 8.6%, based on official ONS business counts. The latest count, for March 2026, is 40,615, still 3,105 below 2019. Over the same period the number of UK businesses grew, so each accountancy firm now has about 69 businesses to serve, up from 62. Demand is not the problem. Capacity is.
Most people read a shrinking firm count as a story about decline. Firms closing. A profession getting smaller. But the businesses those firms serve did not shrink, and that changes what the number means for anyone running a practice.
How many accountancy firms are there in the UK?
The Office for National Statistics counts VAT and/or PAYE registered enterprises by industry each March. Accountancy firms sit in SIC class 69.20: accounting, bookkeeping and auditing activities; tax consultancy (ONS, UK business: activity, size and location, Table 2).
| Year (March) | Accountancy firms | All UK businesses | Per firm |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 43,720 | 2,718,435 | 62.2 |
| 2020 | 43,245 | 2,749,700 | 63.6 |
| 2021 | 42,535 | 2,765,150 | 65.0 |
| 2022 | 41,480 | 2,767,700 | 66.7 |
| 2023 | 40,275 | 2,726,830 | 67.7 |
| 2024 | 39,965 | 2,724,770 | 68.2 |
| 2025 | 39,975 | 2,734,615 | 68.4 |
| 2026 | 40,615 | 2,786,985 | 68.6 |
Source: ONS UK business: activity, size and location, each year’s edition, SIC 2007 class 69.20 and UK total. ONS rounds counts to the nearest 5. Businesses per firm is our calculation from the same tables.
Are there fewer accountants in the UK?
Not necessarily. These figures count firms, not people. A firm of one and a firm of 500 each count once. Some firms have likely merged into bigger groups, a trend we looked at in private equity’s roll-up of UK firms. Some owners have retired with no one to take over. Either way, the same pool of businesses now has fewer firms to choose from.
Where the fall happened
More than half of the drop since 2019 was in London. The same ONS table shows London accountancy firms falling from 11,390 in 2019 to 9,730 in 2026, down 1,660 or 14.6%. Across the rest of the UK the fall was 4.5%. If your practice is in or near London, the gap between firms and businesses is wider than the national figure suggests.
Has the decline stopped?
It has paused. 2025 had almost exactly the same number of firms as 2024 (39,975 against 39,965), and the March 2026 count edged up to 40,615. But the number of businesses grew faster again, so businesses per firm rose to 68.6. The gap is not closing. It is simply staying wide.
More businesses per firm sounds like good news, and it is, but only if you have the people to serve them. The firms that grow will not be the ones with the most clients waiting. They will be the ones who can take clients on without stretching their team.
Demand is not the problem. Capacity is.
A practice that is already full cannot benefit from a market with more businesses per firm. It turns enquiries away, or takes them on and lets turnaround slip. We covered the signs in seven signs your firm has a capacity problem and the cost of saying no in why UK firms are turning away good clients. There are two ways to add capacity:
| Route | What it adds | What to plan for |
|---|---|---|
| Hire | A permanent team member who knows your clients over time | Recruitment time, salary and months before a new hire is fully productive |
| Add outside capacity for routine preparation | Bookkeeping, VAT returns and year-end preparation done to your standards | Keep review, sign-off and client advice in-house; agree data handling first |
Many firms do both. For a side-by-side on cost, speed and control, see hire, outsource in the UK, or go offshore.
How EarthOne helps UK firms say yes
Named teams handle the preparation, with senior review on every file, so the firm can say yes to more clients. Ad hoc work is £10.50 to £16.50 an hour, or a dedicated bookkeeper or accountant from £750 a month, on one month’s notice. See support for accounting firms or published pricing.
How many more clients is your firm ready to take on?
Tell us the work you would hand over and your software. We reply within one business day with how much capacity it frees up and the cost.
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