What will be the consequences to the newly appointed project specialist (financial, reputation, etc.) if the project does not go ahead or fails to deliver the objectives?

In its simple terms - was the project a failure due to the inability to achieve stated goals or was it a total failure leading to project termination. Being unable to achieve set goals will always reflect badly on the Project Manager/Specialist and thus reputation at risk. BUT financially: misalignment of objectives leading to project termination results in major loss of funds. If the stakeholders are not satisfied with the deliverable and are not accepted, this leads to LOSS of investor confidence (and you never want to lose your investors). Practically - the future of the Project Team is on the line. *Lastly - Executive Managers should lead and take the time to ensure goals and strategies are understood before the project even starts.