The History Of Work From Home: From Cottage Industry To The Hybrid Firm

Benchmarking · Working From Home Working from home did not arrive in 2020. It had been waiting fifty years. How one of the most place-bound professions in the country ended up working from the kitchen table, and why so few firms ever wrote down what they agreed to. Michelle Knights · Rob Knights & Co […]

Typical Fees

Benchmarking Insights  ·  Typical Fees Report What this year’s Typical Fees Report is telling us about profitability For the first time in the many years we’ve been producing this report, the designation charging the most isn’t the most profitable. By Michelle Knights  ·  Rob Knights & Co After more than fifty years of benchmarking Australian […]

What Accountants Should Be Doing for Clients Before 30 June 2026

What Accountants Should Be Doing for Clients Before 30 June | Rob Knights & Co Practice Advisory  ·  Year-End Planning What Accountants Should Be Doing for Clients Before 30 June Most practices leave significant value on the table every year — not through bad advice, but through conversations that happen too late. Here’s what to […]

Negotiating Fees With Confidence: What Your Charge Rate Is Really Saying About Your Practice

Practice Performance & Fees What Happens When Firms Don’t Review Their Typical Fees For Common Services Are You Charging Half the Market Rate — and Don’t Realise It? There’s a quiet tension in many accounting firms at the moment. Costs are rising. Staff expectations are shifting. The compliance workload hasn’t reduced. And yet, when it […]

What Happens When Firms Don’t Review Their Typical Fees

Are You Undercharging for Compliance Work? What Australian Accounting Firms Are Really Charging in 2026 Many accounting firms don’t set their compliance fees — they inherit them. A fee agreed years ago, perhaps adjusted occasionally for inflation or discomfort, quietly becomes “the rate”. Meanwhile, costs rise, scope creeps in, and what once felt reasonable slowly […]

Is Your Accounting Firm Charging Enough?

Are You Actually Charging What Your Firm Is Worth? Why focusing on charge rates alone can hide a much bigger pricing problem For a long time, pricing conversations in accounting firms have revolved around charge rates. What’s the hourly rate? Is it competitive? Has it increased this year? But that focus is increasingly misleading. Because […]

Fixed Fees for Accounting Firms

Fixed Fees for Accounting Firms What works, what fails, and how to get it right. This would easily be one of the most common topics we’re asked about, and honestly, one of the most misunderstood. Every few months someone raises the question of fixed fees versus hourly rates as though the profession hasn’t been debating […]

How Benchmarking Improves Long-Term Firm Value (A Ground-Level Look)

Benchmarking: What Actually Builds Long-Term Firm Value If you’ve worked inside an accounting firm long enough, you start to recognise the early warning signs that something isn’t quite right. It’s the partner meeting where everyone politely ignores the dip in realisation. The WIP report nobody really wants to talk about. Or the quiet dread of […]

How Can Accounting Write-Offs Be Better Managed?

How Can Write-Offs Be Better Managed? If there’s one number that reliably sparks debate in our benchmarking reports each year, it’s write-offs. A write-off is simply the portion of recorded time or fees that a firm can’t bill — but the impact on profitability is anything but simple. Some years we see encouraging improvement across […]

Benchmarking: A Practical Guide for 2026

Benchmarking: A Practical Guide for 2026 If you’ve ever sat in front of a spreadsheet wondering why the numbers don’t “feel right,” you already understand why benchmarking matters. Most firms aren’t struggling because they lack effort — they’re struggling because the assumptions they’re working from haven’t been checked in years. When your WIP, pricing, or […]