Digitalization and business model change in small professional service firms: evidence from tax accountants

Digitalisation offers many business opportunities for professional service firms (PSFs) in general and for tax consulting in particular. Digitalisation is changing the cost structures of PSFs, which affects the scope and scale of PSFs and their service offering. Scope, scale and offered services are part of a business model. Given the increasing importance of PSFs to an economy, it is unfortunate that evidence is lacking on whether and how digitalisation is changing PSFs' business models. This study provides insights into how tax accountants, as a subgroup of PSFs, are changing their business model in the wake of digitalisation. Tax professionals can respond reactively or proactively to digitisation, either meeting client needs or actively engaging with new technologies. However, smaller accounting firms may face challenges due to resource constraints and lack of expertise, which could be addressed through collaboration, alongside considerations of data security and regulatory compliance.