Project firms back profit rise as CFO role expands

Deltek has published research showing that 78% of project-based firms expect profits to increase in 2026, while 91% see artificial intelligence as critical to success.

The survey of 375 senior decision-makers at architecture, engineering and consulting firms in the UK, Germany and Australia points to a broader shift in the role of Chief Financial Officers, as companies seek tighter cost control and better returns on technology spending.

Nearly a quarter of respondents expect profit growth of 10% or more despite continued economic uncertainty. At the same time, firms are placing greater emphasis on internal financial discipline than on topline expansion.

Tighter controls over purchases and approvals were identified as the biggest driver of profitability by 34% of respondents, up from 26% in 2024. The shift suggests finance teams are paying closer attention to spending as margins come under pressure.

The finance function is also taking on a broader brief, including responsibility for technology investment, AI governance and forward-looking cost management. The research suggests Chief Financial Officers are becoming more directly involved in business performance rather than simply reporting results after the fact.

Systems gap

The findings also point to a gap between firms' confidence in their financial oversight and the systems they use to support it. While 86% said they track operating profit adequately or very well, only 22% reported having a fully integrated end-to-end project management system.

That disconnect matters for businesses that depend on close control of project economics. Without connected systems, finance leaders may rely on incomplete data or manually compiled key performance indicators when making decisions on staffing, delivery, billing, and margins.

Firms reporting stronger profit growth were more likely to be effective at tracking financial and project measures including revenue factor, project profitability, net labour margin, backlog and overhead rate.

For project-based firms, those measures can provide earlier warning of trouble than headline profit figures alone. Weakness in backlog, labour margin or project profitability can emerge well before it appears in reported earnings.

AI returns

Although AI featured strongly in the responses, the research indicates that many firms have yet to turn interest into measurable financial benefit. More than half are not seeing moderate productivity gains or cost savings, even though AI is widely viewed as strategically important.

The results suggest a divide between companies experimenting with AI and those embedding it in day-to-day workflows. Deltek identified project planning, resourcing, reporting, billing and finance as the areas where AI is most likely to reduce manual work, improve visibility and help protect margins.

That focus reflects the economics of project-based work, where small improvements in planning accuracy, resource allocation or billing discipline can directly affect profit. It also places the finance function close to decisions on where AI tools are deployed and how returns are measured.

Cyber risk has also become part of the financial agenda. Two-thirds of firms surveyed said they had been targeted by a cyber attack in the past three years, and 45% of those affected said the incident led to direct financial losses.

Those figures add another layer to the Chief Financial Officer's remit. In addition to overseeing budgets and performance, finance leaders are increasingly drawn into risk assessment, where operational disruption can quickly become a balance-sheet issue.

"The role of the CFO has fundamentally changed. Today's finance leaders aren't simply reporting on performance, they're shaping it. The highest-performing firms in our study share common characteristics. They're all connecting financial data to project data, embedding AI to deliver measurable returns, treating cyber risk as a financial exposure, and building KPI discipline that enables early intervention rather than late reporting. They understand that it's not a case of having the most resources or the biggest teams, but about moving fast and demonstrating control," Heather Larkin, Chief Financial Officer at Deltek, commented.

The survey was conducted online in January among senior decision-makers, including Chief Executive Officers, Managing Directors, C-suite directors and department heads in finance, operations, delivery and projects. Firms included in the research had at least 20 employees.

The picture that emerges is of a sector that remains optimistic on profits but is also under pressure to sharpen execution. For many firms, stronger earnings expectations now depend less on broad market growth than on whether finance teams can tighten controls, improve data quality and turn technology spending into visible results.