The IPA 100 has continued to expand beyond traditional tax and assurance work. The latest data suggests firms with the heaviest concentration of non-compliance services may also be generating stronger revenue-per-hour economics.
Across the IPA 100, 41.4% of revenue now comes from non-compliance services, including client accounting, consulting and tax specialty work.
The more striking comparison appears among firms furthest along in that shift.
IPA 100 firms generating more than 60% of their revenue outside compliance produced $152 of revenue per work hour, compared with $130 for the IPA 100 overall — a difference of about 17%.
The comparison does not establish that advisory work itself causes higher revenue per hour. Firms with larger non-compliance practices may differ in pricing, client mix, staffing models, market position or other ways that affect productivity.
Still, the relationship is significant for leaders trying to understand the economics behind service-line expansion.
Firms have spent years positioning advisory as a growth opportunity. The IPA 100 data suggests the more important question is increasingly whether the service mix also supports better utilization of professional capacity.
Pricing models may be part of that shift. Only 54.2% of IPA 100 revenue is now generated through the traditional charge-hours-times-billing-rates model, down from 56.5% last year.
As firms expand consulting and other advisory services, fixed-fee, subscription and value-based arrangements can loosen the connection between the hours required to perform work and the revenue generated from it.
That creates opportunities, but it also raises the bar for execution. Adding advisory services alone does not guarantee stronger economics. Firms still have to choose the right clients, price the work appropriately, build repeatable delivery models and deploy talent effectively.
The 2026 numbers offer an early indication of what successful service diversification may look like: firms with the strongest non-compliance mix are also producing more revenue for each hour of work.
The August issue of IPA Insights examines how service mix is changing growth, productivity and partner economics across the IPA 100. Purchase it here: https://form.jotform.com/253235687892168.
