Top 5 Accountancy Firms in Bristol Compared for 2026

What to Look for in a Bristol Accountancy Firm

The strongest indicator of a good accountancy firm is whether their experience genuinely matches what you need, not just their size or how long they've been established. A few things are worth checking before you commit to one.

• Proper accreditation. Look for chartered status through bodies like the ICAEW or ACCA, which you can verify independently rather than just taking on trust.
• A genuine local presence. A real Bristol office, rather than a national firm simply listing the city as a service area, tends to mean better local knowledge and easier in person contact when you need it.
• Relevant sector experience. A firm that regularly works with businesses like yours will usually understand your situation faster than one that doesn't.
• Clear, predictable pricing. Fixed fees are generally easier to budget around than open ended hourly billing.
• Modern software capability. Cloud accounting partnerships, particularly with Xero, tend to indicate a firm that's kept its processes up to date.

With that in mind, here's a closer look at each of the five firms.

Quick Comparison

5 Best Accountancy Firms in Bristol

1. Bishop Fleming

Bishop Fleming is a Top 30 UK accountancy firm with a Bristol office at 10 Temple Back, right in the city centre. It's one of the larger firms on this list, with offices spanning Bath, Cheltenham, Exeter, Plymouth, Torquay, Truro and Worcester alongside Bristol.

What makes them different: their scale gives them the breadth to handle audit, tax, accounting and advisory work for larger and more complex clients, including national and international businesses, which smaller local firms typically can't offer in house.

Best suited for: established SMEs and larger businesses that need a full range of services under one roof, including audit, rather than a specialist boutique firm.

2. PKF Francis Clark

PKF Francis Clark traces back to 1919 and has grown into the largest independent firm of chartered accountants in the South West, with a presence across the region including Bristol. Since joining the international PKF network in 2016, the firm has been able to support clients with cross border interests alongside its regional client base.

What makes them different: the combination of deep regional roots with genuine international reach through the PKF network is fairly distinctive among Bristol based firms.

Best suited for: businesses that need audit services or have international operations or cross border tax considerations, alongside standard regional accountancy support.

3. Albert Goodman

Albert Goodman positions itself as a market leader for accountancy services in Bristol, offering tax, financial planning and pension services alongside more standard accounting work. Their Bristol team includes named specialists, including a partner focused specifically on medical professionals and another specialising in trusts and estates.

What makes them different: the depth of specialism within their Bristol team, particularly around medical clients and estate planning, goes beyond general accountancy into more tailored, higher value advisory work.

Best suited for: medical professionals and individuals or families with more complex financial planning, trust or estate needs.

4. Evans & Partners

Evans & Partners has been operating since 1943, starting from the founder's living room during the Second World War and now led by his grandson. The firm runs two Bristol offices, a head office in Kingswood and a second in the city centre, and holds Xero Platinum Partner status alongside ICAEW membership.

What makes them different: the family run history combined with genuine investment in cloud accounting technology gives them a personal, long standing feel without falling behind on modern tools. Their sector focus spans healthcare, landlords, and media and creative businesses specifically.

Best suited for: owner managed and family run SMEs, particularly in healthcare, landlord portfolios or the creative and media sector, who want a personal relationship with their accountant alongside solid cloud accounting support.

5. Henleaze Tax Consultancy

Henleaze Tax Consultancy is based at CEED House on Wilder Street in St Pauls, Bristol, and works primarily with contractors, sole traders, landlords and small limited companies. The firm operates on a fixed fee basis, so clients know their costs upfront rather than facing open ended hourly billing.

What makes them different: a genuine focus on contractors and limited company directors specifically, including IR35 status reviews and salary and dividend planning, an area that general practice accountants don't always cover in the same depth.

Best suited for: contractors, freelancers, sole traders and small business owners in and around Bristol who want clear, fixed fee advice and an accountant who genuinely understands contracting specific issues like IR35, rather than treating it as a minor part of a much broader practice.

Our contractor accountant services page has more detail on how this works in practice.

How to Choose the Right One for Your Business

The right choice generally comes down to matching the firm's specialism to your actual situation rather than picking based on size alone. A larger business needing audit or international support will likely be better served by a firm like Bishop Fleming or PKF Francis Clark, while a family run SME might feel more at home with a firm like Evans & Partners.

If you're a contractor, sole trader or small limited company, particularly one dealing with IR35 or looking for straightforward fixed fee pricing, a specialist firm is usually a better fit than a general practice that handles contracting work as a small part of a much wider client base.

It's also worth arranging an initial conversation with two or three firms before deciding. Most offer a free initial consultation and how a firm communicates in that first conversation often tells you as much as their website does about whether they're the right fit.

Final Words

Bristol has no shortage of capable accountancy firms and the five covered here each bring something genuinely different to the table, from Bishop Fleming's scale and PKF Francis Clark's international reach, to Albert Goodman's specialist advisory work, Evans & Partners' family run approach and Henleaze Tax Consultancy's focus on contractors and small businesses. The right one depends entirely on what you actually need from an accountant, not just which name is most recognisable.

If you're a contractor or run a small limited company and want clear, fixed fee advice from a team that understands contracting specifically, take a look at our contractor accountant services to see how we can help.

Frequently Asked Questions

This comparison is based on publicly available information about each firm at the time of writing and reflects our own research rather than a formal or independent ranking. We'd encourage you to speak directly with any firm you're considering before making a decision.