As numbers from the UK's largest law firms slowly drip out for the most recent financial year, at first it may seem a little fruitless to take a detailed look at firms' accounts for the previous year. But our analysis of the limited liability partnership (LLP) accounts for the top 50 UK law firms, carried out in conjunction with accounting giant EY, paints a far truer picture of firms' financial health than headline revenue and 'back of the envelope' partner profits figures ever could. 

It is also a timely reminder to firms keen to obscure any problems or simply be selective about when and where (and indeed how) their results appear: there is no hiding place for the part of your business registered as a UK LLP.  

True, there's no obligation to include that controversial average profit per equity partner figure, but other measures of profitability are all in there – whether you prefer to look at operating profit margin or average profit per member based on profits available for distribution to members. Even though accounts are not published until long after the annual financial reporting season, they will still be seen.

The accounts mean that even the ever-increasing list of firms operating through Swiss verein, or similar, structures – whether that's CMS Cameron McKenna, King & Wood Mallesons SJ Berwin or Dentons, among others – can be compared with their traditional peers, whether they appreciate the comparison or not. 

Of course the results will never be perfect. Mergers going live mid-financial year – most notably in this case the deal that created Herbert Smith Freehills – will inevitably skew the research. So too will differences in accounting.

But these difficulties aside, this analysis is the only place to compare the UK's leading firms – both against their peer firms and as a group – on such an extensive range of metrics. As with last year, the findings make for interesting reading and add further weight to the need to look beyond traditional measures of success. 

Consolidation in the market means widely different firms can sit almost side by side by revenue but miles apart in terms of everything else. The top firm in the list by operating profit margin, Macfarlanes, reported fee income of just