Steve Tennant, head of Grant Thornton Ireland, had his heart set on being a professional footballer as a teenager – before swapping his career goals for professional services.

The native of Aberdeen in Scotland even went so far as to secure a youth contract at Dundee Football Club in the mid-1990s.

“You get to a certain age, however, when you are either going to make it or not. And I was never good enough,” says the 47-year-old. “But I was chirpy and a good communicator, so I was able to stand out on the pitch a little bit.”

Tennant’s demeanour also helped him get noticed by the right people since he first started training as an accountant almost 25 years ago. Most recently, he was elected managing partner of Grant Thornton Ireland two years ago. Last month, he was named chief executive of Europe, the Middle East and Africa (Emea) for the wider Grant Thornton Advisors group – which has emerged as a front-runner as the global accounting and advisory sector goes through its biggest shake-up in decades.

Grant Thornton Ireland, with 2,800 staff, merged in January with US-based Grant Thornton Advisors with the backing of private equity firm New Mountain Capital. It set in motion a wave of subsequent tie-up deals with previously independent Grant Thornton franchise members in Spain, France, the Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Cayman Islands.

In the past week, Grant Thornton in New Zealand and Poland announced they were joining the group, which is 60 per cent owned by New Mountain. More agreements are in the offing.

The audit functions of many of the businesses remain legally ring-fenced within national borders as most regulatory frameworks, including in Ireland, require audit firms to be controlled by licensed auditors. The individual audit practices have service agreements with the advisory firm. Audit partners are also partners in the advisory firm.

“I think there is going to be huge change in our industry.