Amid uncertain economic times and a shifting regulatory environment, professional services firms have reported strong growth projections for the 2026 financial year.

Almost three-quarters (73 per cent) of professional services firms said they expect to grow their businesses in the year ahead, a new NAB report has found.

Kate Bain, executive of professional services at NAB, said firms would have to remain adaptable as high business costs and staff shortages continued to bite.

“Professional services firms expect to grow their business in the year ahead, as they capitalise on the need for trusted advice,” Bain said.

“However, challenges remain, including hiring and retaining the best staff and keeping a handle on costs. That’s why it’s important firms continue to build scale and adapt to change in the years ahead.”

Professional services firms expected a better growth outlook than other small to medium enterprises (SMEs), NAB found. Over the coming financial year, 71 per cent of professional services firms expected “very good” or “good” revenue growth, compared to just 55 per cent of all SMEs.

A majority (79 per cent) of professional services firms planned to grow through hiring, retaining and training staff.

A smaller proportion (36 per cent) planned to acquire new businesses, 33 per cent planned to invest in new technology or systems, while 17 per cent planned to launch new products or services.

Accounting firms said they were focused on fostering staff development to ensure retention as the labour market remained tight.

“Staff need to see a growth strategy so they know they can grow with the firm,” Eugene Smarrelli, managing partner of accounting firm BG Private, told NAB.

While global economic uncertainty continues to dampen sentiments, NAB economists said they were cautiously optimistic about Australia’s outlook.

“I think households and businesses should start to feel that they’re coming out of what has been a really difficult couple of years,” chief executive Andrew Irvine said.

Commonwealth Bank economists said that conflict, volatility and economic nationalism would remain defining features of the global economy in FY26, but domestic economic indicators pointed towards a cautious recovery.

The bank's FY26 outlook said that the domestic economy was poised to remain resilient, buoyed by falling interest rates, stabilising inflation and an expected rebound in consumer spending.

CommBank economists noted that household spending could prove to be a wildcard, with a recovery in discretionary spending still not certain.

“Consumers may be experiencing some scarring from the sustained cost-of-living crunch. This could see the recovery in household consumption disappoint in FY26,” they said.

Deloitte’s annual CFO Report found that business and economic confidence had diverged in Australia, likely driven by the opposing forces of global uncertainty and a domestic economic recovery.

Net optimism about Australia’s economy has doubled in 6 months, rising to its highest level since the end of 2022, Deloitte found.

However, CFO’s optimism about business prospects plunged 16 percentage points since the end of 2024 as net uncertainty surged to its highest level in two years (92 per cent).

“This is the first time business and economic confidence have diverged since we began measuring both sentiments almost three years ago,” Stephen Gustafson, partner and CFO Program leader at Deloitte, said.

“It shows how constant changes to global tariff and trade policy is contributing to a sense of uncertainty and keeping risk appetites subdued.”

CFOs were increasingly investing in transformation and technology, with 48 per cent of CFOs expecting capital expenditure to increase over the next 12 months, up from 35 per cent at the end of 2024.

The Deloitte survey also identified a strong focus on operational efficiency, with 80 per cent of CFOs labelling it a high priority, while 65 per cent invest in efficiency-boosting strategic measures.

“Low productivity growth has been a persistent issue that has been dragging down business and economic performance for years, so it is no surprise that CFOs are looking to reassess and streamline workforce strategies while simplifying operations,” Gustafson said.

Across the board, FY26 economic sentiments pointed to cautious optimism among Australian firms despite a backdrop of global uncertainty, volatility and regulatory change.