There was a short but thought-provoking piece recently in Accountancy Age on this issue.
To slightly paraphrase the article, it suggests that actually many of the approaches and ways of doing business undertaken by ‘professional firms’ or advisors are anything but professional in the 21st century.
It also makes me wonder whether the description professional services firms, or indeed lawyers or accountants is the best way of describing what people do and the value they bring. While bolting ‘solutions’ at the end of a name or service descriptions risks an entry in Private Eye, firms would be advised to think about the commercial merit and value of what they do being much clearer in the description, and indeed the undertaking, of their activities.