By the time a job closes out, the margin on it is already decided. Reporting that lands three weeks after month-end can tell an owner what happened. It cannot help them do anything about it.
Closing that gap between the numbers and the decision is where Declan Marston spends his week.
Declan is an Advisory Consultant in Xact’s Advisory team, based on the Sunshine Coast. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting and is working towards his CPA.
Declan joined the Xact team in April 2026 and works alongside our Client Directors on the financial engine underneath construction businesses. That means building the management reporting pack, getting job costing and WIP reported accurately and on time, and setting up the rhythm that turns a pile of transactions into a picture an owner can act on.
The work is less about producing a report and more about making the system behind it reliable. Where the numbers come from. Who owns each step. How the job management platform, the accounting system and the reporting layer connect without double handling.
When that foundation holds, the conversations change. Cash flow stops being a fortnightly surprise. Margin is something you track through a job rather than discover at the end of it. Forecasting becomes possible because the history behind it can be trusted.
Before joining Xact, Declan worked inside a large construction business.
That is a different vantage point from auditing one. He has seen what happens when a progress claim slips, when a variation is priced on a Friday afternoon, and when the reporting says one thing and the site says another. He understands the pressure that sits on an owner between winning work and getting paid for it.
It shows in how he advises. The recommendation has to be something a business can actually implement with the people and systems it has, not a model that only works in theory.
If your reporting is telling you what happened rather than what to do next, speak with our team.
