Menzies connects capacity and expertise across service lines in growth phase with Dayshape

Leading accountancy firm Menzies has completed the implementation of AI-powered resource management platform Dayshape, marking a key step in the accountancy firm’s move towards a more connected, service-line-led way of working across its 11 UK offices.

The transformation marks a significant change in how Menzies manages its thousand-strong workforce. As the firm has moved away from an office-driven structure towards focused business units, it has needed to understand and manage its people, skills and capacity increasingly at firm level rather than through individual locations.

This is particularly important within audit, Menzies’ largest business unit. Dayshape is giving teams greater visibility of available capacity and expertise across the firm, making it simpler to effectively allocate work beyond traditional office boundaries and connect clients and opportunities with the right skills,strengthening Menzies’ ability to respond to new business opportunities and client demand.

In practice, this means Menzies can make better use of capacity across its workforce, bring specialist expertise into client teams more easily and make more informed decisions about where additional resource may be needed. It also gives the firm a clearer view of its workforce as it plans for future demand and development, building on recent strategic growth and high-profile mergers.

Daniel Denton, CIO at Menzies, said
“As we become more service-line led, we need to be able to operate increasingly as one connected firm. That means having a much clearer view of capacity and skills across the business, and being able to find the right people for an opportunity or client regardless of where they sit.

“Dayshape understands accountancy firms, the language we use and the challenges we face, and can bring lessons from other firms that have already made similar changes. We’re confident they’re the right partner for this transformation and in our ability to get where we want to go more quickly, rather than spending the next couple of years trying to build that knowledge and capability ourselves.”

Menzies selected Dayshape following a review that placed particular emphasis on transformation experience as well as technology. References from comparable accountancy firms gave the firm confidence that Dayshape understood both its operating environment and the practical challenges involved in changing how work and people are managed across a large accountancy business.

Since going live, Menzies has established a more connected view of capacity, skills and resources across its service lines. This is helping the firm reduce operational silos, make better use of expertise across different locations and build stronger workforce planning into its wider growth strategy.

Matt Cockett, CEO of Dayshape, said
“Moving from thinking about people office by office to thinking about the workforce as one firm sounds simple, but it changes a lot. Suddenly you can see where you have capacity, where expertise sits and where demand is building, and make much better decisions about how you respond.

“That matters commercially too. If you can get the right skills onto the right work more easily, you can use the people you already have more effectively, respond to opportunities faster and give clients access to expertise from across the firm. Menzies has a clear vision for how it wants to operate, and Dayshape is helping turn that into the day-to-day reality.”