The professional firm is at an inflection point, where technological transformation, driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, is redefining the relationship between advisors and companies. This was one of the main conclusions of the Advisors Forum 2025organized by Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting Spain in Madrid, an event that is being revived this year in the capital, where it brought together experts from the political, economic, technological and legal fields to analyze the challenges of the sector.
A meeting point to anticipate change
The event, consolidated as a reference for professional offices, revolved around a common message: anticipating change is not an option, but an obligation. Tomas Fontvice president and general director of Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting Europe South Regionexpressed it clearly: “The driving forces of change are the same for all countries. What varies is the intensity of some of these changes. We must keep the best of each one.”
Font highlighted three major drivers that are redefining modern consulting: technology, legislative change and artificial intelligence“a fairly new but determining vector for the future of the sector.” According to the manager, the offices that adopt AI with a clear strategy “will be the ones that lead the next decade.”
The professional firm is at an inflection point, where technological transformation, driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, is redefining the relationship between advisors and companies
The new office: collaboration, talent and customer focus
During his speech, Font presented the results of the Consulting Barometer 2025prepared by Wolters Kluwer, which identifies six key factors among the most advanced offices:
Flocation in growth and productivity
TOexpansion of advisory services
TOput by the collaborative model
YoIntensive incorporation of AI into everyday life
Yoinvestment in cybersecurity40% more than the previous year, and the reinforcement of training and talent acquisition planswith increases of up to 50%.
“The future of advice is not in managing taxes or explaining balance sheets, but in better understanding clients and detecting what they need beyond obligations,” Font stressed. “We must focus on providing real and effective support in decision-making.”
For the manager, the key lies in changing the business model: “We must embrace technology and process automation. The quota model is fine, but we must diversify the margins and offer new value-added services. And, above all, attract and train digital talent.”
Regulatory challenges and opportunities for transformation
The Forum also addressed the legislative changes that will impact the sector in the coming months: the anti-fraud regulationsthe electronic billing and the regulation of time registration. According to the Consulting Barometer, 74% of firms consider that the majority of companies they are not ready yet for these changes.
“The challenge is not only in complying, but in transforming the process,” Font warned. “If companies do not anticipate, when the obligation arrives they will not be able to adapt in time. These changes represent a real opportunity for improvement, but we must prepare with margin.”
Artificial intelligence as a new standard of competitiveness
Victoria MiravallDirector of Product Strategy at Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting Europe South Region, focused her speech on the role of artificial intelligence as new standard of competitiveness. “Technology has stopped accompanying us and has become the center of everything. AI will be the new standard that makes the difference between competitive and lagging offices,” he stated.
According to Miravall, the company already applies AI in three key areas: Customer service and support, internal productivity and development of core solutions. In addition, he recalled that Wolters Kluwer “was a pioneer with the first 100% cloud-based payroll and the development of a collaborative API ecosystem between the office and SMEs.”
Regarding the reliability of the technology, Miravall insisted: “Every time a new technology emerges, we must ask ourselves how to integrate it and if it is really secure, especially due to the sensitivity of the data we work with. That is why we offer training in AI, so that our clients are more efficient and innovative without compromising trust.”
Digital ecosystems and talent: the two keys to the future
Font recalled that the true value of digitization is not only in the software, but in its human impact. “We want to integrate processes, technology, training and culture. When synergies are captured, results improve.” In his opinion, the next frontier of consulting will be smart collaboration between people, data and systems.
