The Professional Services Global Competitivnesss Group (PSGC) has today published its report into the medium and long-term challenges facing professional services in the UK.
The group was set up in September 2008 to look at issues affecting the Professional Services sector. It is co-chaired by the Financial Services Secretary Lord Myners and Sir Michael Snyder, Senior Partner at Kingston Smith LLP.
The findings will be reported to the Chancellor's High-Level Group on City Competitiveness, which will meet later this year. The analysis will enable the High-Level Group to prioritise the challenges for the UK-based Professional Services industry and related public policy challenges.
The group’s report outlines a number of areas of focus for the Government, the professional services industry and professional bodies, to ensure that the sector remain competitive, including:
- The role of professional services firms in setting global standards and promoting good corporate governance
- Raising skills levels across the economy, to the benefit of both professional services firms and their client companies
- Combining a tradition for quality and expertise with flexible working practices to deliver innovative products and services
- The UK's continued attraction as a global headquarters for international professional services firms
- Seeking opportunities for synergies with other major professional services centres, particularly in emerging markets
- Continuing to develop an open and constructive relationship with government.
Financial Services Secretary Paul Myners said:
"The UK's professional services industry will continue to be an immensely valuable part of our economy. This report sets out both a compelling vision for the sector over the next 10 to 15 years, and highlights further work required to ensure London retains its place as the leading international financial centre."
Sir Michael Snyder said:
"Professional services firms play a significant role in the UK economy, making up the largest business sector in terms of both employment and output. Safeguarding their competitiveness in today’s turbulent times and building on a vision that allows them to emerge from the international financial crisis able to compete in an ever tougher global market are crucial."
“The Professinal Services Global Competitiveness group has demonstrated the value of the Government and the professional services sector working together. This is a forward-looking report, which is not the end of a process but rather the start of a durable and constructive dialogue between professional services practitioners and policymakers."
Background
1. The Professional Services Global Competitiveness group held five meetings between September 2008 and February 2009. The group is chaired jointly by the Financial Services Secretary to the Treasury, Lord Myners, and Sir Michael Snyder, Senior Partner at Kingston Smith LLP.
2. The group has discussed a range of issues affecting the long-term competitiveness of the UK’s professional services industry, including both horizontal and sector-specific concerns. The group's report will be considered by the Chancellor as chair of the High Level Group on City Competitiveness, which was set up by the Government in 2006 to develop and support a strategy for promoting London as a world-leading financial centre.
3. The UK is a leading provider of many professional services including legal, accountancy, management consultancy, shipping and services related to land, property and construction. Services provided by the professional services sector both support the UK as a leading global financial centre, and also underpin the whole of the UK economy.
4. The group is supported by a joint secretariat provided by HM Treasury and the City of London Corporation. The group's members are:
- Bruce Buck, Managing Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
- Andrew Cahn, Chief Executive, UK Trade and Investment
- Andi Case, Chief Executive, Clarkson’s PLC
- David Cheyne, Senior Partner, Linklaters LLP
- Michael Cleary, Managing Partner, Grant Thornton
- Mark Dawkins, Managing Partner, Simmons and Simmons
- John Griffith-Jones, Chairman and Senior Partner, KPMG LLP
- Mridul Hegde, Director, Financial Services, HM Treasury
- Laurence Longe, National Managing Partner, Baker Tilly
- Michael Mainelli, Director, Z/Yen
- Scott McDonald, Managing Partner, Oliver Wyman
- Stuart Popham, Senior Partner, Clifford Chance LLP
- Ian Powell, Senior Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers
- Vicky Pryce, Chief Economic Adviser and Director-General of Economics, Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
- Babloo Ramamurthy, Regional Manager, Europe, Watson Wyatt
- John Stephen, Chairman, Jones Lang LaSalle
- Ken Shuttleworth, Senior Partner, Make Architects
- Susan Taylor-Martin, Managing Director and Senior Company Officer, UK and Ireland, Thomson Reuters
- Simon Whitehouse, Managing Director, Accenture
- Ian Yeulett, Chief Executive, Europe and Africa, Bloomberg