For those tax & accounting firms and law firms that want to get an edge on gaining advisory service work from clients, having their own internal ESG strategy may be the way to go

Tax & accounting firms are in a good position to gain a competitive advantage in advisory work in the environmental, social & governance (ESG) area because firms have the expertise to dominate in both the accounting and audit areas that are at the center of certain new regulations. In addition, tax & accounting firms are more likely to focus on financially material issues — including data governance management — given their IT governance expertise.

At the same time, both tax & accounting and legal services providers have a ways to go in executing their own internal ESG strategies, even as client demand for this information through the procurement process is exploding. Indeed, I constantly have to remind firms that their own house has to be in order, because one of the first questions a prospective client is going to ask is, “What are you doing for ESG within your own firm, if you are here to advise me?”

The good news is that tax & accounting and law firms already have experience to lean on as they create a holistic ESG strategy. Indeed, clients have been asking for firms’ demographic data around diversity, equity & inclusion (DEI) for at least the last five years. In fact, DEI information is a major portion of the social or S part of ESG; and the expertise among...

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