TiPS Participating Firms

FBC Manby Bowdler LLP is a 30-Partner award winning regional law firm focused on and committed to intelligently delivering stellar service to its customers.

The firm’s approach is ‘One Team’ and is committed to delivering the greatest quality of service and advice possible. FBC Manby Bowdler’s Client Charter explains the firm’s promises to clients about the stellar service experience they can expect to receive.

FBC Manby Bowdler LLP is recognised in the 2024 Legal 500 Directory as a top tier Firm for Agriculture & Estates, Family, and Commercial Litigation.

As part of FBC Manby Bowdler LLP involvement in the TiPS project, they will be using AI software called Orbital Witness Co-Pilot to see if it can help save time and clients’ money during leasehold property deals.

“By taking part in TIPS we hope we can work more efficiently so we can create extra capacity to serve more clients, which is good for everybody. This is not about replacing solicitors or handing control over to machines, but about implementing new technology in a way which benefits our staff and clients and protects the quality of all the work we do”.

Wedlake Bell is a top 100 City law firm with core strengths across Business Services, Disputes, Private Client and  Real Estate. The firm has 73 Partners operating from its central City of London location near St Pauls. Wedlake Bell provides a full range of legal services to UK and international corporate clients, public institutions and individuals across all sectors.

Their goal is to create an interactive dashboard that delivers role-specific information to staff. This tool will surface data from all the firm’s best-of-breed systems. Employees have indicated that they face challenges in finding the information they need for their work, the main objective is to provide them with a user-friendly, simple-to-use interface, to rapidly access data from our disparate systems.

“By taking part in TiPS, we are looking forward to being part of a tight knit cohort of other professional services firms who will be running innovative projects of a similar nature. It is hoped we can share experiences, struggles and ideas to support each other on our digital transformation journeys”.

The MAPD Group is a collective of law firms in different locations, united by one goal: Making a Positive Difference. MAPD. They provide various legal services across 10 brands, from personal client work to legal aid, to other areas of law that require expertise.

They aim to introduce AI technology at one of their brands, Myers & Co. They are using Microsoft Copilot, testing specialised legal Copilots, and exploring how to create their own Copilots with Microsoft Copilot studio. The overall aim is to enhance their lawyers’ work experience, boost productivity, save time on administrative tasks, and enable them to concentrate more on fostering client connections by leveraging assistive technologies.

“By taking part in TiPS, we are excited to be part of a collaborative environment with organisations that are facing similar challenges and opportunities for innovation.

We are glad for the opportunity to be able to explore the use of innovative technologies and get access to a wide variety of knowledge bases from different disciplines that are part of the project”.

Anthony Collins is a thriving specialist law firm with over 300 staff and 40 partners, offices in Birmingham, Manchester and Macclesfield and a national reputation for advising individuals, charities and other not-for-profit organisations, local authorities, public-sector bodies and businesses throughout the UK.

“We hope to get 3 things by taking part in TiPS: to utilise technology with our legal services in ways we have not,  to learn new skills with technology and to create an innovative mindset amongst our staff about what is possible”

Tolvern is a small and up and coming, forward thinking, accountancy firm. They are Chartered Tax Advisers on a mission to empower people to make positive changes through their expertise and knowledge. Tolvern (loosely) means Your Tax Matters in Cornish. Core values are Care and Integrity.

They offer bookkeeping, accounts preparation, tax compliance, VAT, PAYE, business advisory and tax planning services with the aim of helping clients become as tax efficient as possible by providing jargon free, clear, correct and complete advice.

Tolvern is aiming to become more efficient through automation and integration by partnering with a new supplier that will provide a suite of products to aid with integration. As part of the process they are also reviewing their IT strategy and looking at a fully cloud native strategy that has robust backups and having data in a form to be able to leverage AI in the future.

“By taking part in TiPS, we are hoping to have a more robust IT infrastructure and integrated cloud-based solution. This solution will be able to make us more efficient and free up time for focussing on value add services. We are also hopeful that we will have an IT strategy for the next few years”.

Ensors is one of East Anglia’s oldest firms of Chartered Accountants, providing services for over 130 years. They have a number of offices across the region providing a range of core accountancy services and niche specialisms.

Their TiPS project is based on using technology to improve the client onboarding experience and from the client experience perspective and to improve the process for staff.

“We are hoping to gain experience of rolling out new digital solutions and getting a better understanding of what a good change management process looks like.”

RPG Chartered Accountants is a well-established, independent firm of chartered accountants based in central Manchester, providing accountancy services to a wide portfolio of business and personal clients across a range of sectors. The RPG Group also includes RPG Chartered Financial Planning which has a team based in St Asaph in North Wales providing chartered financial planning services for individuals and businesses based across the North West.

RPG’s motivation for taking part in TiPS project relates to the adoption of the Beeye software to provide visibility and transparency for resource management, project management and commercial positions by engagement. They hope to see more bespoke career development pathways for staff, increased automation of internal tasks to free up staff time and improved information to improve the service provided to clients.

“Technology is a key area of development for us and we are currently part way through an extensive technological transformation programme. This is allowing us to remove obstacles to efficient working, while enabling us to truly empower our people. Taking part in TiPS provides us with access to academics and experts with regards to adoption of technology, specifically in the professional services sector. Their thoughts, advice and support are critical to enhancing our significant technological transformation journey”.

Armstrong Watson LLP has been supporting, advising and protecting clients across the North of England and Scotland for over 155 years with 19 regional offices, providing a full range of specialist services and financial advice including accountancy, cloud accounting, audit, tax, payroll, corporate finance, financial planning, wealth management, forensic accounting, outsourced finance function, client technology and corporate restructuring, recovery and insolvency.

As part of Armstrong Watson’s participation in TiPS, they are creating the TiPS Audit Analytics project to integrate data analytics into their audit approach, with the ultimate goal of achieving a Digital Audit. The project’s objectives include:

Improving audit quality by transitioning from traditional sampling methods to a complete analysis of all transactions using data analytics.

Enhancing audit efficiency and output, adding value to reports.

Building an engaged Analytics Innovation team to support the adoption of data analytics in the audit process.

Selecting and implementing a suitable data analytics system to serve as the foundation for the project’s subsequent phases.

Training the team to use the new system and processes.

Developing a project plan to manage the change process for both the audit team and clients.

Engaging with key managers for a wider rollout and obtaining KPIs to assess success.

The project is structured in multiple phases, starting with preparation, procurement, pilot training, and moving towards a wider team rollout. It also includes a focus on measuring success and developing training for the extended rollout.

“The TiPS Audit Analytics project represents a significant step forward for Armstrong Watson in harnessing technology to improve audit processes and outcomes. We are excited to be working with the TiPS team on this project. As well as being able to evaluate, acquire and apply Audit Analytics within the firm, we also want to enhance our project delivery by exchanging experiences and methods with the TiPS team and other firms involved in this pathway.”

Based in London with 10 staff, providing accountancy services to international businesses who wish to operate in the UK.

Based in Milton Keynes with 61 staff, providing accountancy services to small and medium sized businesses.

Based in London with 6 staff, providing a range of accountancy services.

Based in Wellingborough with 5 staff, providing a range of accountancy services.

Based in London with 5 staff, providing a range of accountancy and business advice services.

Based in Belfast with 114 staff, a commercial law firm providing legal services to commercial and individual private clients.

Based in Greater Manchester with 5 staff, providing services aimed at simplifying accounting for businesses.

Based in East Anglia with a number of offices and 281 staff, providing a range of accountancy services including core accountancy and niche specialisms.

Based in Manchester and Cheshire with 22 staff, providing specialist family law.

A national law firm with several offices in large cities across England with 245 staff, providing corporate, commercial and private client legal services.

Based in Leeds with 34 staff, operating as a consultancy-model law firm providing a range of private and commercial law services.

A collective of law firms in various locations in the UK, providing a variety of legal services across ten brands. With 471 staff.

Based in Trowbridge and Bristol with 27 staff, providing accountancy services for businesses and individuals.

Based in London with four staff, providing a range of accountancy services.

Based in London and Kent with 7 staff, providing legal services relating to property.

Based in Manchester with 35 staff, a boutique law firm providing legal advice to safeguard and protect wealth for businesses, individuals and the charity sector.

Based in central Manchester with 100 staff, providing accountancy services to a wide portfolio of business and personal clients across a range of sectors.

Based in Camberley, Surrey with 2 staff providing accountancy services to entrepreneurs in the professional and consultancy sector with an interest in climate change.

Based in Oldham with 4 staff, a niche firm providing specialist advice in the field of later life matters.

Based in London with 42 staff, providing property accounting, tax planning and finance advice relating to property.

Based in Loughborough with 16 staff, this is one of the UK’s oldest law firms, providing legal advice relating to financial planning.

Based in Truro in Cornwall with 11 staff, providing specialist services as chartered tax accounts alongside a range of accountancy services.