The panel included our very own Mark Orttung (CEO of Projectworks), Helen Davidson (CEO of ACE NZ), Emily Afoa (Director of Tektus) and customers of Projectworks: Andy Lind (Director of ENGCO) and Steven Price (Managing Director of Riley).

These leaders discussed themes we also heard in the in-person roundtables we hosted across the country in Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch: pressure on margins, a shifting pipeline, a capability and skills gap, and the constant balance between today’s cash position, team wellbeing and long-term growth.

Key takeaways from the discussion: firms that are navigating this environment well are clear on values-based bid/no-bid decisions, have a cadence for financial reporting and forward workload visibility, and use resourcing and job-costing information to make better calls on utilisation, recoverability and cash runway.

In the webinar, our panellists shared lessons from past disruptions, strategies for scaling capability without overextending, and how financial visibility underpins better decision-making when conditions are uncertain.

Lots of practical advice and usable strategies emerged.

‍Here are the top five:

1. Ground decisions in core values when the workload shifts

Emily reflected on lessons from COVID and more recent slowdowns: when the pipeline tightens or work mix changes, firms need to come back to their core strengths and take on projects that align commercially and culturally.

“We realised we had to start being more intentional in talking about business performance, because all of the fun things that we do still rely on us being a profitable business.” – Emily

In practice, that looks like being deliberate on bid/no-bid, making assumptions explicit early with clients, and protecting team wellbeing even when backlog pressure is high.

2. Know your numbers — cash, utilisation, recoverability

Cash flow and financial visibility were recurring themes.

Mark emphasised cash runway as a key survival lever:

“In challenging times, having a little bit of extra cash gives you flexibility or more time to let the market recover… you’ve got to give yourself enough runway that you’re still around when it does.” – Mark

Emily highlighted the value of structured reporting and external advice:

“Having the support of a fractional CFO has enabled us to make informed short- and long-term strategic decisions. The regular meeting rhythm gave us clarity and stability.” – Emily

For many firms, that means tightening time-on-project reporting, tracking write-offs and recoverability, improving billing cycles, and keeping a view across WIP, utilisation, and margin—not just revenue.

3. Fix communication leaks before adding more tools

While technology (including AI) can lift efficiency, Andy noted that scope clarity and client alignment still drive most of the performance outcomes:

“That’s where we lose time and money, because we don’t define the problem well enough. AI isn’t going to solve all the problems. Communication skills are where we want to focus.” – Andy

Better briefs, tighter change control, and shared assumptions—paired with practical workload planning—reduce rework, protect margin and prevent cost overruns.

4. Cash is king

Several panellists echoed the mantra that “cash is king.” In Steven’s words:

“We’ve got one eye looking at the long-term strategy, and one eye looking at business resilience. And we have frameworks for both.” – Steven

Resilient firms protect runway and still invest in capability for expected work in 2026. That includes modelling hiring vs subcontracting, watching profit by project type, and stress-testing backlog under conservative assumptions.

Quick diagnostic: do you know where write-offs occur, which projects recover best, and where non-billable load is creeping?

Take our short, interactive assessment from the Built For Growth: Engineering in New Zealand report endorsed by ACE to benchmark utilisation, margin and cash runway and see where improvement is most likely.

5. Deliver more with limited resources

Helen closed with a question to the panellists: How do we deliver more for less?

The panellists circled back to the fundamentals: standardise delivery steps, reduce non-billable effort, and get the forward capacity picture right. On more than one occasion, leaders pointed to utilisation, cash flow, and values-aligned work selection as the anchors for deliverying more with less without hindering performance.

Across each of the tips, the common thread was visibility; without it, even good leadership calls are guesswork.

If you’re looking for practical ways to lift utilisation, improve recoverability and see margin before it erodes, let’s talk. At Projectworks, firms use one system for workload planning, time-on-project and expenses, and job-costing with invoicing—so leaders can see WIP, margin and runway in one view and make clearer calls on bid/no-bid and resourcing.

See your utilisation and margin all on one dashboard with Projectworks.

‍Book your demo today!

Missed the webinar? Watch it now below.