AI strategy consultancy

AI strategy for firms that intend to still be here.

We help accountancy, legal and professional services firms adopt AI deliberately. Clear assessment, controlled pilots, real governance, and capacity pointed back at the work clients value most.

The thesis in one line
AI won't replace professionals. But firms that use AI well will replace those that don't.
20+ yrsbuilding applied AI, platforms and automation
~50%of a typical firm's hours sit in automatable work
Governance-firstguardrails designed in from day one, not bolted on
How we work

No big bang. A staged path that earns its confidence.

Most AI projects fail because they start with the tool, not the workflow. We start where the time and the risk actually are, prove value on a small surface, then scale what works.

01
0 to 1 month

Assess

Map the workflows, the data and the quick wins. Where is the time really going, what is safe to automate first, and what must stay human-led? You get a clear, costed picture before anyone commits to software.

02
1 to 3 months

Pilot

Run controlled pilots on a few high-volume tasks with proper guardrails. We measure time saved and quality honestly, so the decision to scale rests on evidence rather than enthusiasm.

03
3 to 9 months

Scale

Roll out what works, train the team, and set the governance and standards. Freed capacity gets redeployed into advisory and higher-margin work, not cut from the payroll.

04
Ongoing

Lead

Make AI fluency part of how the firm operates, and a reason clients choose you. Fractional AI leadership keeps standards current as the tools and the rules keep moving.

The core picture

Where AI lands inside a professional firm

Mapped against the services a firm offers today. Colour shows how much of each task AI can already do.

High, largely automatable Medium, heavily assisted Low, stays human-led
Bookkeeping & data entryHigh
Compliance prep & returnsHigh
Routine queries & adminHigh
First-draft computationsMedium
Research & summarisingMedium
Management reportingMedium
Advisory judgementLow
Complex & contentious casesLow
The client relationship & trustLow

The pattern: AI is strongest exactly where the volume and the junior headcount sit. It is weakest where the trust and the judgement live.

About

A consultancy built by someone who has actually shipped AI.

Halfpenny Consult is led by Paul Dodd, an engineer and entrepreneur with twenty years building software, applied AI and platforms that have to work in production, not just in a demo.

Most recently Paul is Co-Founder and CTO of Caplia.ai, building applied AI tooling. Before that he co-founded Huboo, the e-commerce fulfilment business, where he led the technology team for nearly a decade across warehouse automation, robotics and the platform that ran the operation.

The advice here is not theory from a deck. It comes from having built, governed and lived with these systems, and from knowing exactly where they break.

Track record

  • Co-Founder & CTO, Caplia.ai
  • Co-Founder, Huboo (e-commerce fulfilment)
  • Applied AI & LLM systems in production
  • Robotics & warehouse automation
  • Platforms, data & governance
  • UK-based, working in your timezone
Who we work with

Built for trust-led, regulated firms.

The firms with the most to gain from AI are often the ones with the most to protect. That is exactly where careful adoption pays off.

AccountancyCompliance, tax and advisory practices modernising without losing the client.
LegalFirms balancing efficiency against confidentiality and professional duty.
Professional servicesConsulting, surveying and advisory firms competing on speed and insight.
Founder-led B2BOwner-managers who want a real plan, not a pilot that goes nowhere.
Part of the Halfpenny group

One umbrella. Three ways to build.

Halfpenny Consult sits alongside its sister companies under Halfpenny Technologies Limited. Strategy, build and infrastructure, joined up when you need them and independent when you don't.

Get in touch

Start with an honest conversation.

Tell us what your firm does, where the pressure is, and what you are weighing up. A short email is plenty. We reply within one working day.

paul@halfpenny.dev →