Deloitte is preparing for a significant restructuring of its global governance framework, a move that is expected to prompt a closely watched leadership contest within its United Kingdom partnership.

The professional services firm is advancing proposals to streamline its international structure, shifting greater strategic authority to its global executive while recalibrating the balance of power between national member firms and the central organisation.

The reforms, currently under consultation among partners, are designed to simplify decision-making, enhance cross-border integration and strengthen the firm’s ability to compete for multinational clients.

As part of the transition, the leadership of Deloitte’s UK practice — one of its largest and most influential member firms — is set to come under renewed scrutiny.

Senior partners are positioning themselves for a potential contest to succeed the current UK chief executive when the term concludes, with the restructuring seen as reshaping both the scope and influence of the role.

Under the proposed model, greater alignment with the global centre could affect how profits are distributed, how risk is managed and how major investments are approved.

Supporters argue that a more unified structure will allow Deloitte to respond more decisively to regulatory challenges, technological disruption and intensifying competition from rival advisory and audit networks.

They contend that multinational clients increasingly expect seamless global service delivery, making deeper integration a commercial necessity.

However, the changes also carry implications for local autonomy.

The UK firm, which employs tens of thousands of staff and generates several billion pounds in annual revenue, has traditionally operated with substantial independence within the global network.

Some partners are understood to be weighing how the revised governance model could influence strategy, remuneration and accountability at the national level.

The leadership race is expected to centre on differing visions for navigating this new landscape.

Potential candidates are likely to outline plans for balancing global coordination with UK market priorities, managing regulatory scrutiny of the audit sector and accelerating growth in consulting, artificial intelligence and sustainability services.

Deloitte’s global overhaul comes at a time when the Big Four accounting networks are facing mounting pressure from regulators and policymakers over audit quality, conflicts of interest and structural resilience.

By modernising its governance arrangements, the firm aims to reinforce oversight and reinforce its long-term stability while preserving the partnership model that underpins its operations.

A formal timetable for the UK leadership election has yet to be confirmed, but partners expect campaigning to intensify once the global restructuring framework is finalised.

The outcome will shape not only the direction of Deloitte’s British practice but also its influence within the newly configured global organisation.