In this blog, we share insights from Season 2, Episode 6 of our podcast, From CPA to CEO: Defining the future of AI-powered resource management, featuring Andrew Bone, VP Product & Cofounder of Dayshape. Reflecting on his journey from CPA to tech entrepreneur, Andrew Bone shares how his experiences led to creating an AI-driven resource management platform—designed not just to enhance processes but to improve people’s working lives. The episode also explores the partnership between humans and technology, how to build trust in AI, and the financial and human benefits of elevated resource management.
Key insights from the episode:
1. Elevating resource management: from admin task to strategic engine
The story behind Dayshape
Andrew Bone’s journey from CPA to tech entrepreneur began with firsthand experience of the often rigid and inefficient resource management processes in audit firms. Recognizing a business problem and a clear opportunity to innovate, Andrew partnered with Alastair Andrew, who holds a PhD in combinatorial optimization—a branch of AI focused on solving complex planning and scheduling. Together, they applied this advanced technology to the resource management space—something that hadn’t been done before—and created Dayshape, an AI-powered resource management platform.
Built on their combined technical expertise, market insight, and passion for problem-solving, Dayshape was designed with a purpose beyond profit. Shaped by Andrew’s early career experiences, the company’s purpose focuses on improving people’s working lives while helping firms optimize operations. Dayshape delivers a win-win—enhancing operational efficiency while unlocking the financial and human benefits of elevated resource management.
Despite the critical role resource management plays in professional services, it’s often still viewed as a scheduling function, lacking the strategic profile it deserves, as Andrew explains:
"There’s a real opportunity to redefine how people view resource management in professional services firms. Over the next 5-10 years, there’s a chance to position resource management as the function that truly tunes the engine of the firm—if done well.
Scheduling will always be part of the role, but the question is: how can we use technology to make that part easier? The goal is to free up resource managers to focus on more strategic decisions—like whether to take on a client, what skills the firm needs to hire for, or how to collaborate more effectively across regions and service lines—allowing them to add, and be seen to add, greater value."
Andrew Bone, VP Product & Cofounder of Dayshape
Andrew points to a clear maturity curve in the industry: while some firms continue to approach resource management as a purely administrative function, others are using AI-powered tools like Dayshape to unlock its full strategic potential. By leveraging data and predictive insights, these firms aren’t just managing schedules—they’re optimizing workforce deployment to improve performance and profitability.
"On one end of the maturity scale, some firms still see resource management purely as a scheduling function. On the other end, there are firms fully leveraging resource management data from Dayshape to understand how the business is performing now and predict how it will perform next quarter or year.
For these firms, the insights they gain are game-changing—turning resource management into a strategic function with clear financial impact, which is what ultimately gets it noticed."
Andrew Bone, VP Product & Cofounder of Dayshape
2. Selling the financial and human benefits of elevated resource management
In professional services firms, where people represent both the largest revenue driver and cost, the way the workforce is deployed and utilized directly impacts overall performance. Despite this, the business value of resource management is often overlooked or underestimated. In their conversation, Andrew and Christine explore strategies for effectively communicating the benefits of elevated resource management—emphasizing its financial impact, human advantages, and the importance of promoting its value across the organization.
Christine highlights that one of the key challenges in elevating resource management is ensuring its value is clearly communicated within the organization. It’s not enough to simply have effective processes—actively promoting the impact of resource management is essential to secure and sustain stakeholder buy-in. Building on this, Andrew explains that effectively selling the value of resource management means focusing on tangible outcomes.
“Part of the challenge is that even when individuals understand what the resource management process should look like, they often overlook the need to actively promote it—selling the process and demonstrating its value to gain buy-in and support.”
Christine Robinson, Strategic Advisor to Dayshape
“Resource management as a term has been around for a long time and often comes with preconceived ideas, so it’s important not to get too caught up in the terminology. Instead, talk about the outcomes and the tangible benefits.
To sell the value of resource management, you need to focus on the end results—what impact does it have on revenue, attrition, or other key metrics? It’s about highlighting the hard stats and showing the specific needles you’re trying to move."
Andrew Bone, VP Product & Cofounder of Dayshape
Andrew illustrates this with a practical example: using resource management data to predict potential write-offs. By identifying project overruns early, firms can take proactive steps—like adjusting the scope or having early conversations with clients—to bring projects back on track and avoid lost revenue.
If you can pull a report that shows predicted write-offs based on current plans and timesheets, you can highlight potential overruns and lost revenue. But the key is catching it early—if you can predict these issues in advance, you have time to adjust the project scope or have proactive conversations with the client to bring things back on budget. That’s real, measurable value, and it’s the kind of evidence that shows the true impact of effective resource management.”
Andrew Bone, VP Product & Cofounder of Dayshape
Another common challenge in resource management is balancing individual project needs with the broader priorities of the firm. Andrew highlights the frequent tension between satisfying specific resource requests and making decisions that are best for the business overall.
“There’s often a tension in resource management between what’s best for an individual resource request and what’s best for the firm as a whole. That’s one of the core challenges. When planning one resource request at a time, it’s hard to see the bigger picture. A partner might push for a specific resource on their project, but they won’t always see that the same person could be better utilized elsewhere, delivering greater value to the firm overall.”
Andrew Bone, VP Product & Cofounder of Dayshape
At Dayshape, the focus is on providing firms with a clear view of the bigger picture, enabling resource managers to move beyond isolated decisions and make choices that drive the firm’s broader objectives.
"Dayshape helps visualize and surface the big picture—allowing firms to run more efficiently by breaking down fiefdoms and challenging behaviors like favoritism. It’s about ensuring decisions aren’t made in silos but are aligned with the firm’s overall goals, leading to better performance across the board.”
Andrew Bone, VP Product & Cofounder of Dayshape
3. Building trust in AI through transparency and user experience
In their conversation, Christine and Andrew explore common barriers and misconceptions around AI, particularly the challenge of building user trust. Andrew highlights the importance of involving end users early—helping them understand not just what the AI does, but how and why it makes certain decisions. Transparency is crucial, especially in resource management, where users are more likely to adopt and trust AI when they can clearly see the rationale behind scheduling and allocation recommendations.
"The power of AI is only as valuable as the user experience that supports it. Even the most advanced technology will go unused if it can’t explain its decisions and build user trust—something that takes time to earn but can be lost quickly. Transparency is key. When a system clearly shows its rationale, users are more likely to trust and adopt it. Without that clarity, people fill in the gaps themselves, often leading to doubt and resistance.
That’s something we’ve put a lot of effort into at Dayshape—to offer that explanation. I like to think of it as a conversation between the resource manager and the system, where the technology communicates its reasoning and supports better decision-making."Andrew Bone, VP Product & Cofounder of Dayshape
4. The partnership between AI and resource managers in decision-making
Christine and Andrew emphasize that the power of AI lies in its ability to enhance human decision-making, not replace it. In resource management—where there’s rarely one perfect answer—AI supports managers by surfacing options, handling complexity, and streamlining processes. This partnership lets resource managers focus on the higher-value decisions, blending AI’s efficiency with human insight.
"A lot of resource management is more art than science—there’s rarely one perfect answer. I see AI as a sparring partner in this process, enhancing the capabilities of both the resource manager and the overall resourcing function. It adds to the conversation, supporting better decisions while keeping the resource manager in control.
I can’t think of a resource management scenario where that wouldn’t be helpful. It’s about collaboratively co-designing the resourcing process, where technology enhances human decision-making rather than replacing it."
Christine Robinson, Strategic Advisor to Dayshape
“If you’re managing large volumes of work, getting a quick and as accurate as possible answer is a great result. It allows the resource manager to focus their attention on the 20% of cases that need special handling—that’s where AI really adds value. Similarly, when there are multiple ways to solve a problem, AI can surface all the potential options, enabling the resource manager to focus on evaluating the pros and cons of each. It’s about streamlining the process while still keeping human judgment at the core.”Andrew Bone, VP Product & Cofounder of Dayshape
5. Why innovation requires more than technology
Andrew and Christine emphasize that elevating the resource management function to a strategic level requires strong foundations—clear ownership, structured processes, executive support, and a disciplined approach. These elements must be in place before new technology can make the right impact.
Andrew adds that for innovation to truly succeed, firms need to position resource management as a distinct function. A common challenge in many firms is that resource management often lacks a defined home. It may sit under project managers, HR, or the COO, leading to fragmented ownership and accountability. This disjointed structure causes different stakeholders to run initiatives aimed at solving problems they may not recognize as resource management issues, resulting in inconsistent tools and siloed processes.
For many firms, true innovation would start with properly establishing resource management as a function, giving it executive sponsorship, and setting up the right processes. Technology can play a big role in supporting this, but it isn’t enough on its own. The groundwork—clear ownership, structure, and processes—needs to be in place to fully capitalize on technological advancements."
Andrew Bone, VP Product & Cofounder of Dayshape
“I’ve seen this cycle play out across the resource management profession—a vicious circle where the lack of an elevated, strategic focus on resource management makes it difficult to actually deliver that higher-level impact. This, in turn, makes it harder to secure investment in tools that could significantly improve the function.”Christine Robinson, Strategic Advisor to Dayshape
As a final note, Andrew shares his perspective on the future of AI in resource management and offers advice for resource managers looking to elevate their role. With rapid advancements in technology and significant untapped potential in the field, he highlights how those with an entrepreneurial mindset have a unique opportunity to drive change
“What excites me is how much potential still lies ahead. There’s huge scope for what AI-powered resource management software can achieve in the future. At Dayshape, we have capabilities similar to ChatGPT in our sights, enabling users to interact with the platform in more dynamic and intuitive ways.
The technology has the potential to advance significantly, but even now, I believe it’s ahead of the typical maturity level within the industry. There’s still a long way to go in elevating the profile and strategic maturity of resource management across professional services. I’ve seen it happen in firms leading the way, but it’s far from being industry-wide."
Andrew Bone, VP Product & Cofounder of Dayshape
He also offers practical advice for resource managers aiming to make a greater impact within their firms.
“If you’re in a resource management role, my advice is to find an executive sponsor who truly believes in what you’re trying to achieve. Use that relationship to showcase the value you bring and build something better. Given the current low maturity levels in the field and the rapid pace of technology and innovation, there are plenty of opportunities. For anyone with an entrepreneurial or problem-solving mindset, it’s an exciting space to be in right now.”
Andrew Bone, VP Product & Cofounder of Dayshape
Conclusion
As the future of resource management continues to evolve, exciting career opportunities await those ready to embrace change and think strategically. For resource managers with an entrepreneurial mindset, this is a pivotal moment to lead the charge and help shape the next era of the profession. The journey is far from over, but as Andrew highlights, those who embrace innovation today will be the ones shaping the firms of tomorrow.
Elevated resource management isn’t just about improving processes—it’s about unlocking both financial and human benefits that fuel business success. It’s a win-win.