Financial Controls

A good project Engineer should be able to give you: A Budget for any project they manage and a breakdown of that project A statement in ‘real time’ of the anticipated final value of your project as it progresses. Depending on the scale of the project, we would hold regular briefings as to the progress, timing of the estimated completion date and the anticipated final value. In this way, there are never any nasty surprises. TIPS: You must employ as least one person in your company to place orders on the project that is independent of the outside consultants. Normally a site Engineer or accountant. Good project Managers will invoice match as you progress the project, in order to give an accurate anticipated final value. Let your project manager approve all payments, as this is the most powerful hold you have in the event of problems. All projects should have a contingency fund. There will always be variances to projects as they progress, the nature of which will vary depending on how much time and effort you put into specifying the detail of the project and negotiating contracts. It is difficult to say how much to put aside, the more ‘rushed’ you make it, the more you should put aside for contingency. It is not a ‘pot of money’ to be dipped into, but rather a reserve which must be fully accounted for. A good project manager will be able to show where spends have gone over budget, where money has been saved and where, if necessary, the contingency fund has been used, by how much and what for.