Professional services giant Grant Thornton is rolling out Anthropic across its entire UK workforce as the firm seeks to embed AI in its services at a time when the technology is upending the industry.

The accountancy firm’s UK arm said it will roll out Anthropic’s generative AI service, Claude, to all partners across its audit, tax, and advisory teams in June as part of a £500m investment splurge “aimed at shifting work away from process-heavy tasks and towards higher-value judgement and advice.”

This follows tech giant Anthropic confirming on Monday it has confidentially filed for a US stock market listing, making way for what could be one of the biggest technology IPOs in history and adding heat to it’s rivalry with OpenAI.

The private equity-backed UK branch of Grant Thornton said the move “reflects a wider shift across the industry” as routine work such as research and analysis “become increasingly automated”.

Firms are under pressure

Grant Thornton added that it comes as “firms are under pressure to demonstrate that clients are paying for expertise, not process” and the professional services industry moves “to transform how advice is delivered and respond to client demand for high-value advisory.”

The accountancy giant plans to embed AI into everyday workflows and will offer its partners training and governance frameworks to ensure the technology is used safely and responsibly.

Partners will be required to use Claude in tasks such as analysis, drafting and synthesising large volumes of information.

The leading professional services group said, however, that “clients will continue to work directly with advisers, who remain accountable for the advice they give.”

Malcolm Gomersall, chief executive of Grant Thornton UK, said using AI “will make client outcomes stronger by helping us to deliver more insight, challenge and advice, which is always grounded in our deep experience.” 

“As questions grow around the role of AI in professional services, it’s our fundamental belief that the best technology in the room is still the person sitting across the table. Clients don’t pay for process; they pay for judgement,” Gomersall said.

Alongside the roll-out, Grant Thornton will be opening a ‘Digital Experience Centre’ in London later this year where clients will be able to work with the firm on how to use technology to improve business operations.

Private equity overhaul gains

Many professional services firms are eyeing whether to follow the private equity route to stay afloat, as turbulence hits the industry because of AI disruption, a stagnant economy, and a harsher market.

Numerous firms are cutting headcount as a result, including at the Big Four – with KPMG in March announcing it is seeking to cut 600 UK roles, axing about 440 ‘assistant manager’ roles in the firm’s audit business and around 120 roles in its advisory arm.

However, Grant Thornton’s decision to vote in favour of private equity investment from Cinven in 2024 has set the firm’s ambitions on significant growth as City AM in April revealed it plans to launch a “brand new associate programme” for its 2027 cohort of associates.

The firm also generated double-digit revenue in twelve months just as the PE investment gained regulatory approval.