TFS Gulf 
- For decades, the global tax advisory market has been dominated by Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PwC, with barely a serious challenger in sight.
- Now with AI and Private Equity funding…It’s all changing!
- WTS, the €250 million global tax giant, has launched WTS UK to compete directly with the Big 4’s UK tax practices.
- And they have lured in Jeff Soar, a former EY UK managing director, to lead WTS UK.
What is happening?
Soar, who previously led EY’s global law business, has already recruited 10 partners ahead of the firm’s launch.
His goal is ambitious:
- Within five years, WTS UK plans to hire around 100 Partners.
- And build a tax practice that could reach about 60% of the size of EY’s UK tax business.
The pitch is simple:
Build a specialist tax advisory firm that can compete “toe to toe” with the Big 4, but without the structural constraints that come with their massive global partnerships.
What makes this development notable?
Private equity funding
Investment firm EQT Partners has committed more than €500 million to expand the WTS network globally.
A way learner model
WTS UK is also trying to rethink how advisory firms operate.
Traditional Big 4 firms follow a pyramid model, where large numbers of junior staff support a smaller group of partners.
WTS plans something very different:
- One partner for every four to five employees
- Fewer trainees
- More senior specialists
The goal is to reduce overhead costs and compete more aggressively on price and expertise.
Backed by AI & Tech
Tax is an enormous business…£5.6 billion in the UK alone, as per Financial Times.
Soar believes tax advisory may be one of the professional services fields most ready for AI disruption.
And when you think about it, he has a point.
Tax work is often:
- rules-based
- repetitive
- data-driven
This makes it particularly well-suited for automation and AI tools.
The Big 4 know this. They’re all investing in AI too. But smaller firms have an advantage in adapting faster and building new workflows from scratch.
Also read: EY UK Chairman announces new consulting firm; secures $300Mn PE funding!
There’s one more thing working in Soar’s favour
Conflict of interest…And it’s something the Big 4 genuinely can’t fix easily.
All of the Big 4 audit major companies. They also advise those same companies on tax….Regulators have always been uncomfortable with this.
EY actually tried to solve this a few years ago. That they had a plan, called Project Everest, to split the firm into two…separate the audit business from the advisory business.
Well, it collapsed.
So what does this mean for India?
In India, the Big 4s combined generated ₹6,000 crore (US$ 699.87 million) in Tax revenue, with EY alone taking ₹1,900 crore of that.
So, like the UK, in India as well, the Big 4 dominate Tax Advisory.
Yes, there are a few strong competitors, but India’s only “standout non-Big 4 Tier 1 tax firm” is Dinesh Kanabar’s Dhruva Advisors. They clocked in ₹250+ crore in revenue in 2024.
Something interesting happened in 2025: Ryan (a PE-backed global tax firm valued at $7 billion) acquired a majority stake in them.
This brings serious AI and serious money to Dhruva.
And this is just the start…In India, more Big 4 leaders will quit. More capital will flow in. More AI-first tax firms will be built.
Put all that together…And the tax advisory market in India is heading toward its first real disruption in decades.
FAQs
Q: Will AI automate the tax function?
Yes, AI will automate routine, rules-based work; tax return preparation, data extraction, reconciliation, and compliance filings. These tasks are well-suited to automation and AI Tax data. In turn, it allows tax teams to shift toward strategic advisory, planning, risk management, and decision support.
Q: What is WTS Global?
WTS is an international network of tax advisory firms founded in Germany that focuses purely on tax and financial advisory services. The network operates in over 100 countries through member firms and has over 1,500 team members as of 2025.
