Level 2 Questions - UBS Hayes (cash flows & cost reports) Flashcards
You mention you are responsible for cost reporting to the client. Please talk me through how you would produce a cost report and how this would be presented to the client.
1) Once I carried out the monthly interim valuation and the payment certificate issued by the CA
2) Update cost report
- amount certified to date
- anticipated final account
tbc…
How did you produce a cash flow forecast on UBS?
- Obtain anticipated programme
- Look at activities within cost plan
- Schedule out activities and spread across programme
- Calculate cumulative total to get S-curve
How would a loss and expense claim be handled?
- CA would receive claim for loss and expense
- Assess contract for relevant matters, ensure a relevant matter has occurred
- Assess heads of claim
What risks were priced on UBS?
.
What level of contingency was there on UBS?
Total contingency of £425,000
How was the contingency managed on UBS?
.
How was the final outturn cost on UBS controlled?
- Controlled by change control procedure and cost reporting
- Cost report captures incurred cost changes as well as potential / future cost changes (EWNs / anticipated instructions)
- Maintain a rolling final account
What are variable costs?
- Variations
- Anticipated instructions
- Provisional sums
- Prime cost sums
- Dayworks
- Risk
- Fluctuations
- Re-measurable contracts
- Loss and expense
- Liquidated damages
What was the process of agreeing final account on UBS?
.
What was the change control process on UBS?
1) Weekly design team meetings held to discuss any variations, early warning and technical queries
2) CA would raise Change Request Form (CRF)
3) I would put a budget price on CRF
4) Commercial meeting held with client to review CRF and get sign off
5) CRF became CAI
6) Change control log and contingency updated
7) Firm price provided by the contractor
8) Negotiation and agreement of CAI
What were some examples of change on UBS?
Total of 27 instructions on UBS
Examples include:
- change to cable size due to bending radius
- additional firestopping
- relocation of fire detection
On your projects, why was it important that the contingency pot was only used for risks which there was no provision for?
All costs which can be foreseen should be included within the contract
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What were the contents of your monthly cost report on UBS?
- Executive summary
- Headline summary dashboard
- Instructions to date / yet to be agreed / anticipated
- Early warnings
- Provisional sums
- Contingency spend
- Cash flow
What was excluded from your monthly cost report?
.
What did you convey in your executive summary / commentary?
Executive summary
- Contract sum
- Anticipated final account
- Instructions to date
- Amount certified to date
- Contingency spend to date
Would you include contractors claims in your cost report? (Loss and expense)?
Yes, these would be included in the unapproved variations section until they are instructed
Would you report liquidated damages in your cost report?
.
How have you implemented change control in pre-contract stages?
- Order of cost estimates
- Cost plans
- Reconciliation documents
- Pre-contract change control tracker
What is the purpose of a cash flow for a contractor and client?
Client
- To monitor progress
- To inform funders of draw downs
- To manage resources
Contractor
- To manage resources
- To monitor subcontractor’s progress
If a client suggests there is an error in a cost report, how would you go about resolving the problem?
- Clarify what the error is and check myself
- If I find the error is correct, apologise to the client and rectify the error
- Re-issue the cost report
- Ensure the client is happy, inform them of my companies CHP if necessary
What is the general risk allowance method?
The balance of the remaining risk allowance should be maintained throughout the remainder of the project
How did you deal with contractors claims in your cost report?
These were treated as unapproved change until the CA assesses the relevant events / matters and heads of claim
How would you prepare a final account?
1) Check the contract procedures for final account including timescales
2) Ensure to resolve all variable costs with contractor
3) Come to an agreement on the final account
What if final account cannot be agreed?
The statutory obligation is to go to adjudication
How did you present the contingency spend on UBS?
I presented a line chart which plotted the contingency spend against each cost report issue
Total of 14nr cost reports issued, almost all contingency was used
£425,000 contingency pot
