What are professional services?

The professional services sector is one of the biggest employers in the UK, but what exactly is professional services?

In our guide, we’ll explain:

• What are professional services?
• Types of professional services
• What are professional services firms?
• Key professional services firms: the Big Four
• How to find a job in professional services
• What type of person suits a career in professional services?
• What is an example of a professional service?

The meaning of professional services is any type of organisation that sells its specialised skills and knowledge to support businesses.

Professional services are a range of different occupations where the main part of the role is to provide support to businesses in the form of advice or assistance.

The professional services industry forms part of the tertiary sector (known also as the third sector of the economy) as it’s about selling services, not goods. Professional services is a specific area of the tertiary sector where workers focus on supporting businesses. So, while a hairdresser is part of the tertiary sector (as they’re selling their skills), they’re not part of professional services. Instead, the professional services sector is made up of areas like accounting and consulting where employees give businesses advice.

Helping clients manage, support and grow their businesses covers a wide array of areas.

Some of the key parts of professional services include:

Auditors in professional services will review the accounts of companies and other organisations to check the accuracy of financial records. They’ll make sure everything’s as it should be and raise any discrepancies.

Tax advisers help businesses become more tax-efficient (ie. advise them about tax breaks). They can also help businesses and sole traders complete tax returns.

Actuaries calculate and assess future financial risks. They make predictions using models and statistics. Businesses use actuaries to forecast future trends and make better-informed decisions.

Financial advisers advise businesses and people on investments and how to best manage money. In the professional services sector, financial advisers might help businesses come up with financial strategies to secure their futures.

There are various types of roles within the consulting sector. A business may use management consultants to improve its performance, IT consultants to create efficiencies with technology and strategy consultants to advise on high-level decisions like mergers and acquisitions.

Accountants support businesses with finances. For example, an accountant could record sales and expenses data, categorise transactions and prepare statements of accounts (a summary of all financial dealings between a business and a client). Sometimes, they’ll overlap with tax services as some accountants prepare tax returns.

Professional services firms are organisations that provide businesses with knowledge and specialised services (ie. legal, financial or tax advice).

Types of professional services firms include:

• Accountancy and bookkeeping firms
• Law firms
• IT specialists
• Marketing agencies
• Consultancy firms (including project management)

Each type of professional services firm relies on its employees (or contracted freelancers) to provide its clients with expert guidance.

While professional services is an umbrella term for many businesses that support other businesses with advice (rather than physical goods), there are four major firms (known as the Big Four) that undertake a large amount of the UK’s professional services work.

The Big Four are:

• Deloitte
• EY
• KPMG
• PwC

They’re the four largest professional services networks in the world and lead the way in accountancy. They work with clients across a variety of sectors providing professional services in advisory, auditing, tax, consultancy and more.

Want to work for one of the Big Four? The leading firms tend to recruit graduates on a rolling basis, meaning there aren’t always strict deadlines. However, it does mean that once the firms fill the positions, applications are closed so it’s advisable to apply early for any grad schemes you like the look of – especially for competitive paths like consulting.

Keep an eye on our list of application deadlines for consulting grad schemes. You’ll also find consulting roles in our job listings.

More interested in financial services? Look out for the newest grad roles in accounting, audit and tax.

A professional services career will suit ambitious and motivated graduates who are always looking to improve their skills. If you’re into self-development and want to help businesses succeed, a professional services career might be right for you.

The real business of a professional services firm is the expertise of its people, so organisations will put a lot of emphasis on personal and professional development. At the end of the day, professional services firms are selling your knowledge. If you’re up for the challenge of always learning and constantly becoming a more useful member of the team, you’ll go far.

An example of a professional service would be a supermarket hiring a Big Four company to provide them with consulting services. Let’s say that a large retailer is considering opening more smaller convenience branches but isn’t sure if it’s the right thing to do. It might use a Big Four company for guidance on the financial risk. A professional services firm can help the supermarket understand if it can afford to invest in a new venture and if it’s worth the risk.

Professional services is the over-arching term for organisations that sell advice and specialised services (ie. not goods) to businesses. It includes auditing, tax, actuarial areas, financial advisory, consulting, accounting and other specific services. When combined, it’s one of the biggest sectors in the UK. There are lots of employers within the sector but the Big Four (Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC) make up a large chunk of accounting and consulting services.

If you’re ambitious, motivated and willing to keep learning new skills, you might want to consider a career in the professional services sector. If you think it would suit you, look out for graduate roles at the Big Four and other professional services firms.

This article was last updated in May, 2025.