Case studies

The work, and the decision it changed.

Every engagement follows the same shape: understand the problem, diagnose the cause, intervene, measure the result and change a decision. The patterns below are drawn from engagement experience and anonymised.

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01Structure

A case study is only useful if it ends in a decision.

Problem
Diagnosis
Intervention
Result
Decision impact

01Specialist contractor · c.£12m revenue

Profitable on paper, tight on cash

Problem: Revenue had grown 30% in two years. The bank balance had not moved, and the owner was funding growth from an overdraft.
Diagnosis: Applications for payment were being raised late and retention was untracked. Debtor days had drifted from 45 to 68 with no visibility.
Intervention: Reporting rebuilt around contract stage, a 13-week cash model introduced and the application cycle brought forward.
Result: Debtor days returned to the mid-40s; peak overdraft use reduced materially.
Decision impact: Two contracts were rescheduled rather than declined, because the cash effect was known before committing.

02Professional services · c.£6m revenue

Nobody knew which clients made money

Problem: The management team believed the largest client was the most valuable. Utilisation was high and margin was falling.
Diagnosis: Time and cost were not allocated to client or engagement. Recoverability varied by more than 20 points across the client base.
Intervention: Chart of accounts and tracking dimensions redesigned, then client and engagement profitability reported monthly through Kingswell Insight.
Result: The largest client was the third most profitable. Two engagement types were loss-making at the agreed rate.
Decision impact: Rates were renegotiated on two engagement types and one service line was withdrawn.

03Capital programme · c.£1bn portfolio

Forecasts nobody believed

Problem: Project forecasts were prepared inconsistently and revised late. The executive received volume, not conclusions.
Diagnosis: Cost-to-complete was estimated differently by each delivery team, and contingency was reported gross of drawdown.
Intervention: A single cost-to-complete method, portfolio forecast consolidation and a one-page executive exhibit with variance decomposition.
Result: Forecast revisions became earlier and smaller; contingency exposure became visible.
Decision impact: Two schemes were rephased at portfolio level to protect the programme envelope.

Illustrative example

Engagement patterns are anonymised and figures rounded. Named client references and testimonials will be published only where a client has agreed to them.

If one of these problems sounds familiar, the diagnostic is designed to establish the cause before any larger commitment.

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