PROFESSIONAL
PRACTICE
Assignment 8
Important Areas of Understanding
Additional Understanding
Critical Review of the Assignment
Interviews
The Final Account Stage
The intention of the Final Account Stage assignment was to allow students to expand on their understanding of the Quantity Surveyor during the construction process. This assignment was also intended to help students explore the various ‘best practice’ methods that are being used today by QS firms.
The assignment saw the class split up into groups of five and then respectively investigate the following final account process with respect to:
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Private Client Type project
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Developer type project
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Institutional Client type project
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Local Government (Municipal) type project
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Provincial/National Government type project
Each group was expected to find two projects where they were able to set up interviews with the respective PrQS involved in the final account stage of the project. Here, we were required to determine the extent of the work required from the PrQS’. Additionally, the ‘best practice guidelines’ for the Final Account Stage needed to be determined.
I was part of the group that was responsible for focussing on the Private Client Type Project. Although the assignment received the highest mark in the class, the standard of work was low. The area that we were marked down on was the presentation of the assignment.
General comments from Karen Le Jeune included the following:
“No Table of Contents, no references, no summary of data, no comparison between case studies, no indication of sources (experience in industry).”
The Final Account Stage of the construction process is the final stage and it commences at the date of practical completion. This stage is commonly referred to as the ‘close-out phase’, because this is the point at which the construction contract comes to an end. The QS is responsible for the collection of the remaining outstanding and unsettled work – this will ensure that s/he receives the last apportionment of their fee.
The Final Account Stage will reflect the contract value of the final works completion which will also coincide with the total final contract value. Although this is the final stage, the process of dealing with the Final Account Stage should be done progressively throughout the construction period. This will ensure that variations at the beginning of the contract have been accounted for and there will be no last minute scramble of trying to account for everything at the end of the period. By continually updating the final account, the ‘actual’ final account will most likely be more accurate.
The QS is responsible for adjusting the final account values for the provisional sums and prime cost amounts (this will include the re-measurement of provisionally measured items), for cost fluctuations and the preliminaries.
Clause 34.1 of The JBCC PBA states that the Final Account must be completed within 90 days after practical completion of the works.
Guest Lecturer (Martin Meinesz)
Extra Information