Client
Industrial contractor, approximately $54M in revenue at assessment, with committed contract awards driving projected revenue to $75M within 12 months and $200M within 24 months
Problem
A wave of new contract awards created a growth inflection the business was not organizationally prepared to absorb. Across planning and project management, quantity surveying, procurement, site HR, labor productivity, plant and equipment, sub-contractor management, client management, finance, and BD, the infrastructure that existed at $54M was not capable of supporting what the business had already committed to deliver.
Services
Value growth advisory engagement that evolved into an ongoing Fractional CFO relationship. The mandate covered a full structural, operational, and financial assessment across ten functional areas, followed by a structured implementation program to resolve all identified gaps before the revenue inflection arrived.
Results
- Resolved more than 50 priority findings across planning and project management, quantity surveying, supply chain and procurement, site organization and HR, labor productivity, plant and equipment, sub-contractor management, client management, accounting and finance, and BD and tendering
- Rebuilt planning and project management discipline, implementing schedule management, forecast-to-complete frameworks, and cost control reporting across the active contract portfolio
- Strengthened quantity surveying and commercial controls, establishing variation management, client billing alignment, and commercial review processes at the project level
- Consolidated supply chain and procurement from transactional project-level purchasing into a strategic function with preferred supplier agreements and volume leverage
- Restructured site organization and HR, filling critical vacancies, defining roles and KPIs, implementing performance management, and building succession planning for key positions
- Introduced labor productivity frameworks with objective measurement, action tracking, and data-driven review processes across project sites
- Established plant, machinery, and vehicle oversight with structured utilization tracking and cost allocation by project
- Built sub-contractor management discipline, including structured onboarding, performance monitoring, and cost control at the sub-contractor level
- Strengthened client management, establishing formal account management, retention processes, and commercial review cadence
- Transformed accounting and finance from a compliance function into an operational management tool with project-level reporting, consolidated cash visibility, and lender-ready financial infrastructure
- Built a BD, tendering, and estimating function, introducing pipeline management, structured bid processes, and pricing discipline to support the revenue inflection ahead
- Extended bank facilities on improved terms, reversing a previously failed credit conversation
Full Case Study
The situation
The contract awards came faster than anyone had planned for.
A business generating approximately $54M in revenue secured a wave of new contracts that would require it to deliver $75M within 12 months and $200M within 24 months. The work was real. The backlog was committed. The revenue was coming whether the organization was ready or not.
The problem was that it was not ready.
Not in project controls. Not in financial reporting. Not in the commercial, procurement, and HR functions that would need to absorb a sixfold increase in activity within two years.
The business had strong project delivery capability at its existing scale. At three times that scale, and then six times, the gaps that were manageable at $54M would become the reasons projects ran over, cash ran out, sub-contractors went unmanaged, and the growth opportunity turned into an operational crisis.
The owners recognized this before it happened. That was why Wefinx was engaged.
What the assessment found
A structural, operational, and financial assessment was conducted across ten functional areas. It identified more than 50 priority gaps that had to be built, fixed, or replaced before the revenue arrived.
Planning and project management had no reliable schedule discipline. Forecast-to-complete analysis in time and cost was not being produced. Data used in review meetings was frequently disputed and root cause analysis was absent.
Quantity surveying and commercial controls were not integrated into site management. Variation management was inconsistent. Revenue earned through scope changes was not always being recovered.
Procurement was entirely project-level with no consolidated data, no preferred supplier framework, and no leverage across the volume the business was generating. Supplier terms were 143 days while client collections ran at 155 days, creating a structural cash gap funded through short-term borrowing.
Site organization and HR had 22 of 128 positions vacant. Job descriptions were informal. Performance management was inconsistent. Development pathways did not exist. The organization was growing faster than its people capacity.
Labor productivity had no objective measurement across sites. Action tracking was informal. The accountability link between planning, operations, and outcomes was weak.
Plant, machinery, and vehicle costs were not tracked by project. Utilization was not managed. As contract volume scaled, that gap would create direct cost and scheduling risk.
Sub-contractor management had no structured onboarding, performance monitoring, or cost control process. As sub-contracted work increased with revenue growth, that informality would compound into margin and delivery risk.
Client management was informal. No account management framework existed. No structured retention process. No formal commercial review cadence. Client concentration was high and unquantified.
Accounting and finance produced year-end compliance outputs. No management accounts. No project-level reporting. No consolidated cash position. No lender-ready financial infrastructure.
BD and tendering was reactive. No pipeline framework. No structured bid management. No pricing discipline built on current cost data. With the backlog being consumed over 24 months, the business had no system to replenish it.
What Wefinx did
The engagement began as a value growth advisory mandate and evolved into an ongoing Fractional CFO relationship. The work ran across 18 months before transitioning into a standing advisory role.
Project delivery functions.
Planning and project management was rebuilt around a single accurate schedule, translated into monthly, weekly, and daily operational plans. A cost control function was established with a defined role in site management. Forecast-to-complete reporting in time and cost became a standing monthly discipline. Data-driven review meetings with structured agendas and action logs replaced informal site discussions. The QS function was integrated into project management. A variation management process connected drawing changes to commercial recovery. Monthly client billing and commercial reviews were introduced as a standing cadence.
People and organization.
A structured hiring plan addressed the 22 critical vacancies in order of delivery risk. Job descriptions were rewritten with clear roles, KPIs, and accountability. Performance management was introduced with defined expectations and review cadence. Development pathways and succession planning for critical roles were documented for the first time. Labor productivity measurement was introduced across sites with objective data, action tracking, and accountability built into the project review cycle. PMV oversight was implemented with utilization tracking and project-level cost allocation. Sub-contractor management was formalized with structured onboarding, performance monitoring, and cost control built into every engagement.
Commercial, procurement, and BD.
Procurement was consolidated from project-level transactions into a strategic function with preferred supplier agreements and volume leverage. The cash flow gap from mismatched payment and collection cycles was identified and actively managed. A formal client account management framework was introduced with structured retention and commercial review processes. The BD function was rebuilt from reactive relationship management into a pipeline-driven discipline with structured bid management, pricing discipline, and a backlog replenishment strategy.
Finance and governance.
The finance function was rebuilt from compliance output to operational management tool. Monthly management accounts closed within days of month end at both entity and project level. A consolidated cash position was established. Project-level margin visibility, cost control reporting, and forecast-to-complete financial analysis were integrated into the management reporting cycle. A board structure was established with defined terms of reference and a reporting framework. A three-year strategic plan and a full group budget were developed and approved. A lender-ready reporting package was built.
What the engagement produced
All 50+ priority findings were resolved, each with a defined owner and a completed action. None required the business to stop operating while the work was done.
The business entered its growth period with an organizational and financial infrastructure capable of supporting it. Revenue grew from $54M toward $75M and then $200M on the strength of the contract backlog already in place. The infrastructure built during the engagement was what made that growth executable rather than destabilizing.
Project-level margin visibility and cost control discipline changed how work was priced, resourced, and reviewed. The QS and commercial controls rebuild ensured revenue earned was revenue recovered. Procurement consolidation captured purchasing leverage the business had never previously used. The cash flow gap from mismatched payment and collection cycles was identified and actively managed.
HR restructuring filled critical vacancies and built the performance management and development infrastructure needed to scale people alongside contracts. Sub-contractor discipline reduced the delivery and commercial risk sitting inside every project where sub-contractors had been engaged without structured oversight.
$17M in operating cash flow became visible, controlled, and actively directed for the first time. The finance transformation gave lenders, the board, and management a financial picture they could evaluate and act on.
Bank facilities were extended on improved terms, reversing the outcome of a conversation that had not progressed before the engagement began.
From value growth advisory to ongoing Fractional CFO
The engagement began because the owners could see what was coming and understood the organization was not ready for it.
A sixfold revenue increase over 24 months is not something a business absorbs naturally. Every function that touches project delivery, commercial management, people, and finance has to be built to a different standard before the volume arrives. After it arrives is too late.
The underlying delivery capability was there. The controls, the commercial discipline, the financial infrastructure, and the organizational foundations were not.
Building all of it took 18 months. The business that came out the other side had what it needed to grow without breaking.
Engagement scope
This engagement began as a value growth advisory mandate and transitioned into an ongoing Fractional CFO relationship. The role covers financial reporting and close oversight, budgeting and forecasting, cash flow and working capital management, capital planning, banking and financing relationships, governance and board support, and organizational performance oversight. It continues to evolve alongside the business as the growth plan is executed.
If your business is facing a growth inflection and the organizational and financial infrastructure is not ready to support it, the gap is worth closing before the revenue arrives.
