Construction & Civil Engineering Issue 230 - September 2026 | Page 19

________________________________________________________ ________________________________ Financial Workflows

While financial estimations and pre-forecasting are vital for setting expectations for construction projects, without continuous real-time visibility, there’ s a risk of overspend and deadlines getting missed.

Traditional financial reporting, while supportive, is static. For example, in volatile times, contractors are left cutting back on designs when material costs and labour needs outstrip what estimates projected.
With instant financial insights and project feedback in line with evolving budgets, contractors can pivot more easily, work to more reliable forecasts, and minimise rework and disruption.

One of the strongest ways to achieve these instant insights is adopting AI finance tools that automate data collection and give project teams a real-time view of spend as work progresses. It’ s suggested that 38 per cent of contractors report‘ measurable business impact’ from using AI, an increase from 17 per cent one year prior, indicating many are already seeing broader benefits. nd

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Why traditional financial reporting leaves construction teams reacting instead of planning
There are several benefits to using traditional financial reporting in construction projects. While spreadsheets are easy to edit and can be shared across teams, relying on historical data alone gives decisionmakers only a backward-looking indication of future performance.
Staying within these budget lines is, for many construction firms across England and Wales, proving complex. It’ s reported 347 individual companies collapsed into insolvency in March 2026, a 14 per cent increase from February. This underscores just how little margin for error project teams have amid current financial volatility – something
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