Reviewing an accounting market-size workbook: what a second analyst reruns

A market-size figure is only as sound as the file trail behind it. A second analyst who reruns the filters and totals from stored files can catch a mislabelled unit, a wrong geography or a convenient estimate before release. That rerun is a review task with its own steps.

What to take away

Preserve the downloaded edition so another researcher can reproduce the result.
The reviewer reruns filters and totals from stored files, not from the published chart.
Check the unit (enterprise or local unit) and the geography first.
UK turnover must not be allocated to England by firm-count share.
Mark series breaks, revisions and suppressed cells instead of backfilling an estimate.

Hand the reviewer the whole file trail

The reviewer should never have to rebuild a number from a published chart. Preserve the downloaded edition so another researcher can reproduce the result, and hand it over with the details that explain how each figure was reached. A missing item is the first finding.

Handed over / What the reviewer does with it

Downloaded edition: Reruns every step against this file, not the live release
Table number: Confirms the right table was used
Filters: Applies the same geography and industry level
Extraction date: Knows which edition produced the figure
Rounding and disclosure notes: Looks for suppressed or rounded cells
Limitations: Checks the conclusion does not claim more

Rerun the filters and totals in four steps

Work from the stored files and nothing else, because a rerun that quietly uses a newer edition proves nothing about the original figure. Follow the same four steps the analyst used. A match on the total is not enough: each step has to match too.

Open the stored edition and note its table number and extraction date.
Extract England and the relevant SIC level from that one edition.
State whether the measure is an enterprise or a local unit.
Recompute the totals and compare each with the published figure.

Check the inclusion rule against the question

Start with the written inclusion rule, because every later number depends on it. UK SIC 2007 class 69.20 groups accounting, bookkeeping and auditing activities with tax consultancy, which is broader than ordinary bookkeeping and narrower than every service a modern accountancy practice sells.

Ask whether payroll, company secretarial work, software support or outsourced finance were in or out, since these can fall across classifications. Then check that the rule was applied the same way in every year shown. Do not switch between measures in one trend line.

Inclusion rule checklist

Customer geography and provider location
Services included and excluded
Entities, establishments or practitioners counted
Reference period
Turnover, employment, client spend or unit
Treatment of multidisciplinary and remote firms

Check the unit and the geography

A count of enterprises and a count of local units answer different questions, so the label must say which one the figure is. The ONS UK business: activity, size and location dataset gives numbers of enterprises and local units, produced from a snapshot of the Inter-Departmental Business Register.

Enterprise vs local unit counts

Enterprise

What it counts: One business
Unique firms: Yes
Self-employed captured: Not all
Location shown: Registered office

Local unit

What it counts: One site
Unique firms: No
Self-employed captured: Not all
Location shown: Site address

Local units are not unique firms, and a registered office may not show where a remote service is delivered. VAT and PAYE-based business counts do not capture every self-employed practitioner. Look for a note on each limit, and for rounding and disclosure controls in the workbook.

Check that turnover is not stretched to England

An ONS bespoke turnover release supplies Annual Business Survey information for accounting, auditing, bookkeeping and tax consultancy through 2022. It is UK-wide and historical, so it cannot be presented as current England revenue. A headline that does so should fail the review.

Can you use UK turnover?

Do you need an England-only revenue figure?

Yes

use a published England dataset

label UK-wide and historical context

Reject any England estimate made by allocating UK turnover according to England's share of firm counts, because average activity, firm size and service mix can differ. If an England figure is required, it should come from a published dataset that directly supplies the geography and industry at a defensible level.

Test each headline claim with one question

The reviewer's last pass tests each headline claim against a short question. How to define and build the figure is covered in market foundations; this pass only asks whether the claim survives. Anything that fails goes back to the analyst before release.

Claim in the report	Question for the analyst
Total customer spending on accounting in England	Which official figure supplies it? None measures it in full
England turnover	Is it UK-wide ONS data, or allocated by firm-count share?
Number of accountants	Does it use profession-body membership, which describes professional populations and not every bookkeeping business?
Number of firms	Is it enterprises or local units, and are self-employed practitioners missing?
Growth over time	Same edition, same classification and series breaks marked?

A member of a professional body may work outside public practice, and one firm may employ many members. That is why membership counts cannot stand in for firms.

Mark series breaks and suppressed cells

Publish any suppressed cells, revisions or classification changes that constrain comparison. If the current edition cannot reproduce an older series, show the discontinuity and explain it rather than backfilling a convenient estimate. The reviewer signs off only when the differences are explained.

Update the workbook when the ONS releases a new business-demography or industry dataset, and mark series breaks instead of forcing a smooth chart. Forward-looking scenarios belong in a separate market outlook, not in the size figure. A written benchmark research scope shows which sources were meant to be compared.

Match the conclusion to the decision

The conclusion should answer the original decision. A supplier directory may need regional provider density and service coverage; a new practice may need reachable customer demand and capacity. Neither needs an invented headline value for the whole England accounting market.

A credible page shows several compatible measures with independent labels: England enterprise and local-unit counts, employment where available, dated UK turnover context and professional-body population. Add demand signals beside them without adding the numbers together, and present them in a reporting dashboard that states its uncertainty.

Before release

Confirm the downloaded edition, table number, filters and extraction date are stored.
Rerun the filters and totals from the stored files.
Confirm every count is labelled enterprise or local unit.
Reject any England figure made by allocating UK turnover.
Mark series breaks, revisions and suppressed cells.
Check that the headline is one of the measures shown.

Common questions

Who should rerun a market-size analysis?

A second analyst, working only from the stored files. They rerun the filters and totals, and the analyst publishes any suppressed cells, revisions or classification changes that limit comparison before release.

What if the current edition cannot reproduce an older series?

Show the discontinuity and explain it. Do not backfill a convenient estimate, and mark the series break instead of forcing a smooth chart.

Why is no single England total acceptable?

No single official figure measures accounting services bought by customers in England, and ONS turnover data is UK-wide and historical. A reviewer should reject any headline that is not one of the labelled measures shown.