The long-awaited global economic recovery may at last be here but hold the fanfare; the next 12 months is likely to be a bumpy ride for the world’s largest accountancy networks and associations as fees come under pressure and competition grows.

On a positive note, global activity has broadly strengthened and is expected to improve further in 2014/15, according to the latest World Economic Outlook from the International Monetary Fund. However, there are concerns about a slowdown in emerging markets, particularly China, and a backdrop of uneven market conditions. At the same time a new operating environment shaped by regulation, globalisation and changing client expectations, has led many global accountancy chiefs to express only cautious optimism about the next 12 months.