How to avoid drowning in a thought leadership “sea of sameness”: Insights from Source’s quality ratings report 2026
The Future of the Firm
In this episode of the Future of the Firm podcast, Natasha Cambell, Principal Consultant at Source, and Nicola Kostrzewska, Senior Consultant at Source, join Emma Carroll, Head of Client Voice, to explore the themes and findings of the latest Quality Ratings of Thought Leadership report. Natasha and Nicola share insights that challenge the industry to rethink how content is created and activated to stand out in an increasingly crowded market and overcome the much-discussed "sea of sameness". They address questions including: What...
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Transforming asset-based consulting as a route to growth
The Future of the Firm
In this episode of the Future of the Firm podcast, Andy Baldwin, Global Managing Partner & SVP Offerings & Growth at IBM Consulting, joins Fiona Czerniawska, CEO at Source, to explore the rapidly evolving landscape of asset-based consulting. Andy shares insights that challenge the industry to rethink how traditional human consultants integrate with digital software assets and autonomous agents. We address questions including: What is "asset-based consulting" and how do productivity-based assets differ from...
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The new competitive advantage of regional firms
The Future of the Firm
In this episode of the Future of the Firm podcast, Geert van den Goor, CEO at Valcon, joins Emma Carroll, Head of Client Voice at Source, to talk about the new competitive advantage of regional firms. Geert takes us through Valcon's growth journey towards a "European powerhouse" model that balances regional expertise with the scale necessary to deliver tangible, AI-driven business transformation. In this episode, we explore the following questions and more: Given the...
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Rethinking Audit: a creative journey
The Future of the Firm
In this episode of the Future of the Firm podcast, Jo Rhoden, Executive Director at Tapestry Networks, joins Emma Carroll, Head of Content at Source, for a creative journey to rethink the audit profession. Speaking in her personal capacity, Jo shares insights from her on the future of audit, challenging the industry to look beyond compliance and standardisation to innovation and creativity. We address questions including: Beyond the obvious impact of technology, what are the other major drivers of change in the audit market...
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How client needs are changing and what opportunities this creates for firms
The Future of the Firm
In this episode of the Future of the Firm podcast, Nicki Wakefield, Global Clients and Industries Leader at PwC, joins Emma Carroll, Head of Client Voice at Source, to talk about how client needs are changing and the opportunities this creates for firms. Nicki shares her insights on the shift towards long-term partnerships that focus on deeply understanding the client's unique context, working towards measurable outcomes, and building solid foundations in data and strategy to...
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The commercial value of research for professional services firms
The Future of the Firm
In this episode of our Future of the Firm podcast, Alison Huntington, Global Commercial Strategy and Insights Leader at Russell Reynolds, sits down with Emma Carroll, Head of Content at Source, to discuss how firms can create true commercial value from their research—both now and in the future. We consider the following questions and more: Beyond the traditional white paper, what content falls under the category of "insights" today? In what ways do successful firms use research to create value for themselves and their...
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The impact of AI on the pricing of professional services
The Future of the Firm
In this episode of our Future of the Firm podcast, Fiona Czerniawska, Source CEO, sits down with Head of Content, Emma Carroll, to tackle one of the most pressing issues on firm agendas today: the impact of AI on the pricing of professional services. We consider the following questions and more: What’s worrying firms about the use of AI in their operating models and the impact on pricing in particular? Will the efficiency gains of AI shrink the market and result in a catastrophe for firms? How does...
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The Future of Consulting: 2026
The Future of the Firm
In this special New Year edition of our Future of the Firm podcast, Fiona Czerniawska, CEO at Source, and Nick Jotischky, our Head of Market Trends, sit down with Head of Content Emma Carroll to dissect the big trends, challenges, and opportunities awaiting professional services firms in the year ahead. We consider the following questions and more: Will 2026 see a return to higher growth norms, or are firms facing another rollercoaster year? What will the...
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Re-imagining consulting through the prism of AI
The Future of the Firm
The rise of AI may well be the most urgent topic facing the consulting industry today. But beyond the hype, how can firms successfully use AI to transform their operating model? In this episode of the Future of the Firm podcast, Dan Diasio, Global consulting AI Leader at EY, and Colm Sparks-Austin, Americas Tech Consulting Leader at EY, join our Head of Content, Emma Carroll, to re-imagine consulting through the prism of AI. We address the following questions and more: How can firms move past retrofitting AI into old processes and instead rethink how they...
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Building Unity Advisory, a disruptive, AI-enabled consulting firm
The Future of the Firm
Marissa Thomas, CEO and Co-founder of Unity Advisory, joined Emma Carroll, Head of Content at Source, on the latest episode of our The Future of the Firm podcast to discuss the learnings and challenges of combining deep expertise with AI-enabled delivery to create a new advisory firm that’s fit for the modern market. Marissa shared her insights on the following matters and more: How co-founders Thomas and Steve Varley saw a disruptive opportunity from three angles—AI and other exciting technologies, what...
info_outlineKapish Vanvaria, EY Global and Americas Risk Consulting Leader, caught up with Emma Carroll, Head of Content at Source, on the latest episode of our The Future of the Firm podcast.
Kapish shared his insights on the following matters and more:
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There have been some big changes in risk services in recent years, including technology innovation, the impact of regulatory changes, and an evolution of client expectations—in particular, clients wanting more sector-specific and personalised solutions.
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The sweet spot for risk experts lies in offering strong domain expertise—for instance, top tier talent in regulatory compliance—and marrying that up with deep sector knowledge, while supporting this with insights from other industries as well.
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To really solve business problems for clients, it often involves more than just consulting. Audit, legal, industry experts, and technology experts all need to have a seat at the table, and firms should look at creating shared KPIs to encourage this collaboration.
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When bringing solutions to clients, firms should be using themselves as client zero, and working on the concept of ‘proof, not promises’. Testing solutions within the firm itself and showing its successes brings credibility to the offering.
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When choosing which firms to shortlist, clients are most concerned about expertise, but an ability to implement is close behind. Firms can translate their expertise into implementation by never being afraid to fail and by going through the iterative process of finding what doesn’t work to lead you to what does.
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Firms are starting to supplement their workforce with digital FTEs. Beyond improving quality and reducing costs, this also allows work for be carried out more quickly. People become reviewers rather than doers and have more time to thrive as individuals.
If you enjoyed this conversation, don’t miss our sister podcast, Business Leader’s Voice. In a recent episode, we talked to Francine Bennett, Board Member at the Ada Lovelace Institute, about solving business problems with AI.