A Quick Guide: Spotting delivery problems in the numbers

You do not need to sit in stand-ups or read delivery tooling to see when project delivery is struggling.

If delivery is creating friction, it will already be visible in the accounts. Often in small, repeatable patterns that are easy to explain away individually, but harder to ignore together.

This checklist is designed for finance and operations teams who are more comfortable in the numbers than in delivery language. It is not a diagnosis. It is an early warning.

Delivery warning signs finance teams can spot early

Scan the list below. You are not looking for a single red flag. You are looking for clusters.

Margin and cost signals

• Gross margins regularly below estimate without clear pricing errors
• Delivery write-offs appearing late rather than being forecast early
• Project cost overruns that are absorbed rather than challenged

Work in progress and revenue flow

• WIP growing faster than revenue recognised
• Projects sitting in WIP longer than originally planned
• High effort logged with limited movement in delivery milestones

Forecasting and predictability

• Forecasts revised frequently, not occasionally
• End-of-period surprises becoming routine
• Low confidence in project outcomes until very late in delivery

Utilisation and effort patterns

• Strong utilisation but weak contribution margin
• Increasing senior time on projects without scope change
• Teams consistently busy but output not accelerating

Accounting workarounds

• Heavy reliance on accruals to smooth delivery outcomes
• Regular post-period adjustments linked to live projects
• Increased judgement calls around revenue recognition

If three or more of these feel familiar, delivery is likely creating commercial drag, even if client feedback is still positive.

What to do when you see a match

The next step is not to escalate or intervene immediately.

It is to confirm, then observe.

1. Confirm the pattern

Pick two or three projects that triggered the signals and review them together:

• original estimate vs current position
• when margin risk became visible
• whether delivery had early indicators that were missed

You are checking whether this is coincidence or systemic behaviour.

2. Monitor one leading indicator

Choose a single delivery-linked metric to track alongside the numbers for the next month or two. For example:

• time spent on the agency’s highest priority project
• age of WIP by project stage
• variance between planned and actual delivery milestones

The goal is not more reporting. It is earlier visibility.

3. Report in delivery language, not finance language

When feeding this back to leadership, avoid framing it as a finance issue.

Talk about:

• predictability, not margin
• focus, not utilisation
• flow of work, not WIP balances

This keeps the conversation in problem-solving mode rather than defensive mode.

Where this usually leads

When a finance team surfaces these patterns clearly, one of two things may happen.

Either delivery leaders recognise the behaviour immediately, or the organisation realises it has been relying on outcomes rather than signals.

Both are useful.

At that point, the question becomes less about fixing the numbers and more about adjusting how work is prioritised, sequenced, and reviewed while projects are still live.

That is where changes to ways of working start to pay back.