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Proof of value and gain audit
The methodology that fixes baseline, source, exclusions, window and committee before any measurement. Without it, a variable fee becomes a dispute instead of trust.
Context
With a variable fee, you do not lose by failing to produce a result. You lose by failing to prove it. When the measurement methodology is discussed after the gain appears, each side reconstructs the calculation that favours it — and the commercial relationship pays for it.
So everything is fixed beforehand: baseline and historical reference period, indicators and their official sources, events excluded from measurement, treatment of volume and operational change, measurement window, attribution rules when several initiatives contribute to the same result, joint validation committee, audit rights on both sides, and contractual floor and cap.
One item is usually missing and settles most disputes: the treatment of recommendations the client chose not to execute. They generate no charge on unrealised gain — and cannot be used to invalidate the baseline either.
What you get
What you get
Baseline protocol
Contractual annex signed at kick-off with data sources, measurement criteria, gain formula and measurement calendar — agreed, not reconstructed later.
Traceable calculation trail
Every measured number traces back to source data, model version and recorded decision.
Joint validation committee
A formal client + Headway body that approves the numbers in the contracted window, with audit rights on both sides.
Measurement report
Period results with unit, scope and period explicit in every figure, and the list of excluded events applied.
When this applies
Situations in which this line of work is the right starting point.
- Whenever the contract carries a variable component on gain.
- When controlling has to recognise the gain in results.
- When the client’s internal initiatives compete with the platform on the same indicator.
- When the result must be taken to a board or an external auditor.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Who approves the number?
A joint committee of client and Headway, defined in the contract. Both parties hold audit rights over methodology and measurement data.
What if volume changes during the period?
Volume, inflation and client-side operational change have defined treatment in the baseline protocol, before any measurement. Without that, comparison with the historical period is misleading.
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