I think it's a big stretch to tie it to management credibility....

I think it's a big stretch to tie it to management credibility. They have kept the market updated at all times in the past year. At the end pf November they provided a target of end of CY2023 and in early 2024 they explained the hold up.

As for hiring consultants, firstly we do not know if they hired any. Secondly, I would personally be pissed off if they did. Generally, you don't hire consultants on such simple questions, CFO is expected to deal with that as part of fundamental expertise. Also why would they hire Big4 if they are trying to run a bootstrap operation.

Further, anyone who has ever asked for a commercial loan would tell you that the first two things a banker requests is 1. Cashflow and 2. Security. A consultant would just charge money to tell you exactly that.