Report of Professional Services Global Competitiveness Group
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Issued 16 March 2009
The Professional Services Global Competitivnesss Group (PSGC)
has today
published its report into the medium and long-term challenges facing
professional services in the UK.
The group was set up in September 2008 to
look at issues affecting the Professional Services sector. It is
co-chaired by the Financial Services Secretary Lord Myners and Sir
Michael Snyder, Senior Partner at Kingston Smith LLP.
The findings will be reported to the
Chancellor's High-Level Group on City Competitiveness, which will meet
later this year. The analysis will enable the High-Level Group to
prioritise the challenges for the UK-based Professional Services
industry and related public policy challenges.
The group’s report outlines a number of
areas of focus for the Government, the professional services industry
and professional bodies, to ensure that the sector remain competitive,
including:
- The role of professional services firms in setting global
standards and promoting good corporate governance
- Raising skills levels across the economy, to the benefit of
both professional services firms and their client companies
- Combining a tradition for quality and expertise with
flexible working practices to deliver innovative products and services
- The UK's continued attraction as a global headquarters for
international professional services firms
- Seeking opportunities for synergies with other major
professional services centres, particularly in emerging markets
- Continuing to develop an open and constructive relationship
with government.
Financial Services Secretary Paul Myners said:
"The UK's professional services industry will continue to be
an
immensely valuable part of our economy. This report sets out both a
compelling vision for the sector over the next 10 to 15 years, and
highlights further work required to ensure London retains its place as
the leading international financial centre."
Sir Michael Snyder said:
"Professional services firms play a significant role in the UK
economy,
making up the largest business sector in terms of both employment and
output. Safeguarding their competitiveness in today’s turbulent times
and building on a vision that allows them to emerge from the
international financial crisis able to compete in an ever tougher
global market are crucial."
“The Professional Services Global
Competitiveness group has demonstrated the value of the Government and
the professional services sector working together. This is a
forward-looking report, which is not the end of a process but rather
the start of a durable and constructive dialogue between professional
services practitioners and policymakers."
Professional
Services group
Notes
1. The Professional Services Global Competitiveness group held
five
meetings between September 2008 and February 2009. The group is chaired
jointly by the Financial Services Secretary to the Treasury, Lord
Myners, and Sir Michael Snyder, Senior Partner at Kingston Smith LLP.
2. The group has discussed a range of
issues affecting the long-term competitiveness of the UK’s professional
services industry, including both horizontal and sector-specific
concerns. The group's report will be considered by the Chancellor as
chair of the High Level Group on City Competitiveness, which was set up
by the Government in 2006 to develop and support a strategy for
promoting London as a world-leading financial centre.
3. The UK is a leading provider of many
professional services including legal, accountancy, management
consultancy, shipping and services related to land, property and
construction. Services provided by the professional services sector
both support the UK as a leading global financial centre, and also
underpin the whole of the UK economy.
4. The group is supported by a joint
secretariat provided by HM Treasury and the City of London Corporation.
The group's members are:
- Bruce Buck, Managing Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher
& Flom LLP
- Andrew Cahn, Chief Executive, UK Trade and Investment
- Andi Case, Chief Executive, Clarkson’s PLC
- David Cheyne, Senior Partner, Linklaters LLP
- Michael Cleary, Managing Partner, Grant Thornton
- Mark Dawkins, Managing Partner, Simmons and Simmons
- John Griffith-Jones, Chairman and Senior Partner, KPMG LLP
- Mridul Hegde, Director, Financial Services, HM Treasury
- Laurence Longe, National Managing Partner, Baker Tilly
- Michael Mainelli, Director, Z/Yen
- Scott McDonald, Managing Partner, Oliver Wyman
- Stuart Popham, Senior Partner, Clifford Chance LLP
- Ian Powell, Senior Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers
- Vicky Pryce, Chief Economic Adviser and Director-General of
Economics, Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
- Babloo Ramamurthy, Regional Manager, Europe, Watson Wyatt
- John Stephen, Chairman, Jones Lang LaSalle
- Ken Shuttleworth, Senior Partner, Make Architects
- Susan Taylor-Martin, Managing Director and Senior Company
Officer, UK and Ireland, Thomson Reuters
- Simon Whitehouse, Managing Director, Accenture
- Ian Yeulett, Chief Executive, Europe and Africa, Bloomberg
About the Author
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Article Published/Sorted/Amended on Scopulus 2009-03-17 12:38:27 in Economic Articles
