Business Reporter: Construction companies urged to address the working capital crisis

Why rising interest rates and audit scrutiny turn workflow delays into balance sheet liabilities

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, March 24, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- In an article published on Business Reporter, Vivek Sharma, Executive Director at Xpedeon, examines how rising interest rates and stricter audit standards are exposing workflow gaps between construction site operations and financial controls that auditors classify as material working capital risks.

The article identifies "verification risk" - the inability to quickly substantiate completed work or approved variations with auditable process trails - as an emerging liability for tier-one construction groups during refinancing, acquisition and audit cycles.

"Teams aren't debating whether work happened; they're debating whether it's provable quickly, consistently and in a way that survives challenge," Sharma writes. "In a higher-rate environment, that lag matters more. Time-to-bill becomes a working-capital issue."

The analysis highlights three workflow friction points, creating audit and investor scrutiny: site valuations trapped in commercial systems without seamless handoff to credit control; variations agreed on site lacking structured trails into financial records; and procurement compliance checks that fail to automatically gate payment releases.

Under the UK's Building Safety Act, companies now face "golden thread" traceability requirements across project documentation. Proposed government measures will force public reporting of payment timelines. Auditors and institutional investors are increasingly questioning how valuations map to evidence and how exceptions are controlled.

Sharma notes that where transactions are in play, inconsistent substantiation of work-in-progress renders claimed margins unverifiable. Operations teams classify these as process delays while investors treat them as unverifiable assets.

To understand how integrated commercial workflows are reducing working capital costs and audit risk across major construction groups, read the article.

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About Xpedeon

Xpedeon is a purpose-built ERP platform that natively supports the unique and complex workflows of construction and engineering businesses. Backed by over three decades of experience across the globe, Xpedeon has helped construction businesses scale efficiently, increase profitability and maximise margins without the overheads.

xpedeon.com

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