A spokesman for the Conservative party said it had seen an increase in the number of firms planning to attend the party conference in Birmingham later this month, adding that firms were advising the party on tax and policy implementation.

Lib Dem shadow chancellor Vince Cable set out anti-avoidance tax policy at the party’s conference this week.

PwC ‘s Peter Wyman said: ‘The next general election is about 18 months away and there is much more interest in policy. It’s probably right to say that accounting firms and institutes will play a close role in helping the parties shape policy.’

Accountants want the government to consult the profession earlier on major tax changes to help avoid repeats of the confusion and climbdowns during reforms of capital gains tax and non-dom tax.

Richard Aitken-Davies, ACCA president, and Steve Priddy, director of technical policy and research, will be chairing panel events at the Labour and Conservative conferences on the theme of the credit crunch.