PwC launches UK operations overhaul to include standalone tech and AI unit

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PwC’s new UK chief has launched an overhaul of its operations in the country, which will involve creating a standalone technology and artificial intelligence unit, in a move that bosses acknowledged could be “unsettling” for staff.

The Big Four accounting firm told employees last week that it would embark on a reorganisation of areas of the business affecting about 2,700 staff and partners, adding that it was part of its “new vision to become the pre-eminent firm”, according to a document seen by the Financial Times.

Under the plan, PwC will create a “digital delivery unit” focused on tech innovation, AI engineering, cloud and data. The firm will also overhaul parts of its consulting, deals, risk and tax practices by moving and merging certain functions, creating six new teams.

It is the biggest internal overhaul of PwC’s UK business in years. It also marks the latest reorganisation of a Big Four accounting firm as the sector seeks to adapt to changing client demand and grapple with how best to structure their fledgling AI advisory businesses, which partners see as a lucrative growth area.

The realignment will create upheaval for about a tenth of PwC’s UK workforce who will be transferred into new teams and service lines. Reorganisations within professional services firms can often lead to jostling for position within the business.

Laura Hinton, PwC’s UK managing partner who was a runner-up to Marco Amitrano in the race to lead the firm earlier this year, was dispatched to break the news to staff last week in a pre-recorded video message.

In the message, a transcript of which has been seen by the FT, Hinton said that the reorganisation was designed to “simplify” the business and “reduce duplication”. She added that it would “create scale and increase our market impact”.

“I know that, for some, change can feel energising, while for others it can feel unsettling,” Hinton said. “As we continue to adapt to our clients’ needs, it’s important that we all get used to being more agile, while continuing to support each other.”

Details of Amitrano’s broader strategy for the firm will be shared with its 1,000-plus partners at briefings on Wednesday, according to several people familiar with the matter.

It comes after a bruising period for the industry, with PwC last month reporting a drop in average partner pay as revenue growth slowed and higher costs and provisions for legal claims hit profits.

Rival Deloitte, which embarked on an overhaul of its global operations earlier this year to cut costs and reduce the group’s complexity, also posted a drop in average partner pay and weaker growth.

PwC’s reorganisation is not designed to cut costs and will not lead to new redundancies, according to a person briefed on the plan. The firm last year axed hundreds of jobs amid a market downturn and also launched a round of “silent lay-offs” in the UK earlier this year.

Hinton said the new digital delivery unit would house 900 “technologists” and work across the firm’s different service lines. It will also be given a “market-facing name”.

“These plans are a work in progress so, although we don’t have all of the detail or answers, we still wanted to share this now to be open and transparent,” she said.

Separately, the firm’s consulting leaders shut down speculation that PwC had plans to sell Strategy&, the firm’s strategy consulting arm, to Bain & Co, or any other buyer, telling staff that the industry rumours were not correct, according to an email seen by the FT.

In a statement to the FT, Amitrano said the changes “reflect our strategic focus on clients, technology and PwC’s global network. They will make it easier for us to collaborate and mobilise teams to better deliver for clients”. The changes will come into effect from January next year.