FAQs

Yes. While the possibility of completely eliminating problems is unrealistic, we believe proactive management can significantly reduce the likelihood that overcharges, over billings or other material errors will occur. At the most elementary level, we believe management must dedicate resources early on in the process. Specific strategies should be aimed, first and foremost, at the

Any time an audit produces “findings” (whether money can be recovered or not), there are often lessons to be learned. While organizations are undoubtedly interested in prevention and control, less emphasis seems to be placed on the value that an audit can provide and what can be learned from the process. We believe that far

High risk areas include, but are not limited to, labor, labor burden, change orders (multiple facets), allowances, subcontractor buyouts, fee and bonus calculations, insurance (multiple aspects), accounting and substantiation of costs. Other areas include multipliers and fixed cost components or markups that are not normally subject to audit. While there are all types of other

No. In many cases though, audit findings (and cost recovery of same) does pay for the cost of an audit. Sometimes, multiple times over. If that were always the case, it would be a great investment and what organization wouldn’t want to commission an audit? Realistically, if your organization is recovering significant dollars from your

No. They vary widely in scope and depth. Consequently, the proposed cost to perform audits by competing firms can vary widely based upon the anticipated effort required to complete their specific set of procedures (scope). Competing firms are often asked to propose their “own” scope (which is subjective) and the related price to perform such

We do not have a “magic formula” for how much an audit may cost. Like construction projects themselves, there are many variables. From experience, we do use certain parameters to develop what we believe are realistic budgets for the effort that we believe will be required to complete a typical construction audit. For example, effort

Cost recovery of problems identified as a result of over billings or overcharges are a commonly expected outcome. Not all organizations are focused solely on that single-minded objective. Rather, proactive management and prudent managerial business practices will provide more emphasis on prevention, rather than recovery. While audits can be used as an effective tool –

The best time to perform an audit is a matter of perspective and desired objective. Traditionally, audits have been performed near the end or at the conclusion of a project. We do not necessarily disagree with that approach and generally believe that a “final accounting” should always be performed at the conclusion of a project

This is a very good question that is often asked by many. The simple answer is that audits are not necessarily redundant (though they may contain some redundant elements). By design, audits are intended to be independent of an organization’s normal processes, controls, policies and procedures. Rather than duplicate what has already been done, an