diff --git a/lib/crewai/src/crewai/crew.py b/lib/crewai/src/crewai/crew.py
index 08653028e..7ea9350d5 100644
--- a/lib/crewai/src/crewai/crew.py
+++ b/lib/crewai/src/crewai/crew.py
@@ -1113,6 +1113,10 @@ class Crew(FlowTrackable, BaseModel):
         Returns:
             CrewOutput: Final output of the crew
         """
+        custom_start = self._get_execution_start_index(tasks)
+        if custom_start is not None:
+            start_index = custom_start
+
         task_outputs: list[TaskOutput] = []
         pending_tasks: list[tuple[Task, asyncio.Task[TaskOutput], int]] = []
         last_sync_output: TaskOutput | None = None
@@ -1297,7 +1301,7 @@ class Crew(FlowTrackable, BaseModel):
         for i, task in enumerate(tasks):
             if task.output is None:
                 return i if i > 0 else None
-        return None
+        return len(tasks) if tasks else None
 
     def _execute_tasks(
         self,
diff --git a/lib/crewai/src/crewai/events/event_bus.py b/lib/crewai/src/crewai/events/event_bus.py
index 7f7779f67..b952c03b7 100644
--- a/lib/crewai/src/crewai/events/event_bus.py
+++ b/lib/crewai/src/crewai/events/event_bus.py
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@ from collections.abc import Callable, Generator
 from concurrent.futures import Future, ThreadPoolExecutor
 from contextlib import contextmanager
 import contextvars
-import inspect
 import logging
 import threading
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, Final, ParamSpec, TypeVar
@@ -51,7 +50,11 @@ from crewai.events.types.event_bus_types import (
 )
 from crewai.events.types.llm_events import LLMStreamChunkEvent
 from crewai.events.utils.console_formatter import ConsoleFormatter
-from crewai.events.utils.handlers import is_async_handler, is_call_handler_safe
+from crewai.events.utils.handlers import (
+    _get_param_count,
+    is_async_handler,
+    is_call_handler_safe,
+)
 from crewai.utilities.rw_lock import RWLock
 
 
@@ -356,8 +359,7 @@ class CrewAIEventsBus:
         state = self._runtime_state
 
         async def _call(handler: AsyncHandler) -> Any:
-            sig = inspect.signature(handler)
-            if len(sig.parameters) >= 3:
+            if _get_param_count(handler) >= 3:
                 return await handler(source, event, state)  # type: ignore[call-arg]
             return await handler(source, event)  # type: ignore[call-arg]
 
diff --git a/lib/crewai/src/crewai/events/utils/handlers.py b/lib/crewai/src/crewai/events/utils/handlers.py
index 4c7dc31a3..97713e3b2 100644
--- a/lib/crewai/src/crewai/events/utils/handlers.py
+++ b/lib/crewai/src/crewai/events/utils/handlers.py
@@ -10,6 +10,19 @@ from crewai.events.base_events import BaseEvent
 from crewai.events.types.event_bus_types import AsyncHandler, SyncHandler
 
 
+_handler_param_count: dict[int, int] = {}
+
+
+def _get_param_count(handler: Any) -> int:
+    """Return the number of parameters a handler accepts, with caching."""
+    key = id(handler)
+    count = _handler_param_count.get(key)
+    if count is None:
+        count = len(inspect.signature(handler).parameters)
+        _handler_param_count[key] = count
+    return count
+
+
 def is_async_handler(
     handler: Any,
 ) -> TypeIs[AsyncHandler]:
@@ -55,8 +68,7 @@ def is_call_handler_safe(
         Exception if handler raised one, None otherwise
     """
     try:
-        sig = inspect.signature(handler)
-        if len(sig.parameters) >= 3:
+        if _get_param_count(handler) >= 3:
             handler(source, event, state)  # type: ignore[call-arg]
         else:
             handler(source, event)  # type: ignore[call-arg]