CHAPTER 8 CONTROLS IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

 (The discussion of controls in this chapter is primarily from management's perspective

and relates to management's responsibility to establish and maintain adequate internal
control over financial reporting.)
 (It is not intended to provide the auditor with comprehensive auditing guidance pero this
will help an auditor para maintindihan ang entity. One of audit focus is to understand the
entity, including its internal control. So matutulungan tayo nito)
 (It presents a general discussion of some of the desirable control activities in the
construction industry.)

This discussion considers aspects of controls in the following areas:

 Estimating and bidding

 Project administration and contract evaluation
 Job site accounting and controls
 Billing procedures (including determination of reimbursable costs under cost-plus
contracts)
 Contract costs
 Contract revenues
 Construction equipment
 Claims, extras, and back charges
 Joint ventures
 Internal audit function

Estimating and Bidding

 Effective controls over the estimating and bidding functions provide reasonable
assurance that contracts are bid or negotiated on the basis of data carefully
compiled to take into account all factors that will affect the cost, revenue, and
profitability of each contract. (Unreliable estimates can affect the estimated
profitability of contracts, pwede ka magkaroon ng loss if pataka lang ang estimates.)

Examples of control activities related to estimating and bidding:

 Conducting an independent review of general contract cost estimates

 Verifying the clerical accuracy of final contract estimates
 Reviewing the completeness and reasonableness of the final estimate
 Establishing procedures to preclude arbitrary, undocumented management-level
adjustments to estimated costs
  Preparation and maintenance of the estimate of contract costs and the accounting
records in a consistent manner will permit subsequent detailed comparison of actual
costs with estimated costs.
 Having assigned personnel to regularly perform monitoring procedures (So if may
nag momonitor, mas sigurado na effective yung controls ng entity over its estimating and
bidding function)

(another thing pa pala is that ang pagmaintain and pagprepare ng estimate ng contract
costs and accounting records in a consistent manner is helpful para macompare natin ng
mabuti yung estimate costs natin sa actual mismo. Helpful rin siya since makaprovide ito
ng evidence about sa reliability ng estimating and bidding process)

A contractor may assign personnel to perform the following tasks:

 Review the quantities of material and hours of labor in bid estimates and compare
them to the customers' specifications.

 Compare and relate estimated material costs to published vendor price lists, price
quotations, subcontractors' bids, or other supporting documentation.

 Compare and relate estimated labor rates to union contracts and other documentation
supporting labor rates, payroll taxes, and fringe benefits.

 Compare and relate estimated equipment costs to the rates charged by suppliers for
rental or used by the contractor to allocate the cost of owned equipment to jobs.

 Verify the clerical accuracy of estimates.

 Determine that estimates are reviewed and approved by designated management

personnel.

 Review contracts periodically to assess the extent and effect of management changes or
revisions of bids without supporting data, such as revised cost estimates.

 Review estimates periodically after discussions with engineering personnel responsible

for the project.

(Having assigned personnel to regularly perform monitoring procedures is necessary to ensure

that controls over the estimating and bidding functions are operating effectively)

Project Administration and Contract Evaluation

 Project management determine whether a construction contract is profitable or

unprofitable (dapat ang management ireview nila or ievaluate nila parati yung status ng
 contact to see if nagkakaroon sila ng profit or loss, iba naman na normally na nirereview
is yung mga cost records, purchase orders, reports and change orders.)

Job Site Accounting and Controls

 Establishing adequate internal control at job site accounting offices may be difficult
(base dito, contractor may establish accounting office at the job site pero it may be difficult
since such offices are temporary and may be staffed with a limited number of trained
accounting personnel)

 the contractor may consider periodic testing of payroll disbursements (for example,
tying to supporting information such as timecards, attendance logs, or other documentation.)

 Established accounting procedures (normally sinasabi dito yung mga material purchases
and sinespecify nila mismo yung type ng documentation as evidence of receipt na
napurchase na materials)

 Adequate physical controls over equipment, materials, and supplies at job sites
(syempre kailangan since para maiwasan yung pagkakawalaan ng mga gamit.

Billing Procedures

 Billing procedurers in the construction industry differ from those in other

industries. (for example, sa typical manufacturing entity, they normally bills a customer
upon the shipment of its product. billing procedures naman sa construction industry is
nag vavary among entities. sa construction industry, iba iba ang types ng contracts and
ways of measuring performance for billing purposes. example, binibase natin yung
billing sa cubic yards excavated or architects’ estimates of completion or costs incurred
on cost-plus type contracts or time schedules)
 A contractor's receivables usually include retentions (retentions are amounts that are
not due until contracts are completed or until specified contract conditions or guarantees
are met)

Contract Costs

 A contractor uses information on contract costs incurred to control costs, evaluate

the status and profitability of contracts, and prepare customer billings. (It is necessary
in the determination of revenue when the percentage of completion approach is utilized.)
 contract cost records should facilitate detailed comparisons of actual costs with
estimated costs and provide for the classification and summarization of costs into
appropriate categories (the review of the report serves as identifying potential problems
sa contracts, checking kung reasonable ba yung narecord na mga costs and minimizing
the possibility of having unauthorized costs charged to the contract)
  Other control activities that assigned personnel might regularly perform include
o comparing and relating the quantities and prices of materials charged to contracts
to vendors' invoices, purchase orders, and evidence of receipt of materials and, if
applicable, the withdrawal and return of documents from central stores.
o comparing documented labor charged to contracts by reference to payroll records
and related documents (such as time cards, union contracts or pay authorizations,
authorized deductions, and cancelled payroll checks) and reviewing payroll
distribution to individual contracts.
o relating subcontract costs charged to contracts to the terms specified in the
subcontract agreements and supporting documents.
o reviewing performance, guarantee, and similar bonds of subcontractors to ensure
proper ongoing compliance with terms.
o obtaining and reviewing, for adequacy, insurance certificates obtained from
subcontractors.
o comparing and relating retentions payable to subcontractors to subcontract
agreements.
o inspecting waivers of lien on completed work from subcontractors.
o approving back charges, extras, and claims.
o comparing and relating equipment rental costs charged to contracts
— to the contractor's standard rates for owned equipment and vendor invoices or
rental agreements for leased equipment, and
— to delivery reports, production or maintenance records, or similar data.
o comparing equipment costs charged directly to a contract (purchased for
exclusive use on a particular contract, such as a cement plant and related trucks) to
vendor invoices and related documents, and control the disposition of such
equipment.
o reviewing the accumulation and allocation of indirect costs to contracts.
o reviewing the accumulation and segregation of reimbursable costs under cost-
plus contracts.
o reviewing contract costs to ensure they are being allocated to the proper
contract.
 A contractor's internal controls over contract costs provide reasonable
assurance that contract costs are appropriately recognized. This includes
monitoring by appropriate personnel of the design and operation of controls on a
timely basis and responding to the results of that assessment.

Contract Revenues
 It is important that controls over contract revenues be designed to provide reliable
information on the amount and timing of contract revenue. The types of controls
established depend on the method of revenue recognition used. Relevant considerations
when designing these types of controls include the amount of revenue expected from
contracts and the procedures and information used either in measuring progress toward
completion (to determine the amount of earned revenue under the percentage-of-
 completion method) or in determining when a contract is substantially completed (under
the completed contract method).

Construction Equipment

 Contractors frequently have substantial investments in construction equipment. (it

is necessary to maintain effective controls over equipment. During economic downturns,
equipment frequently becomes idle; therefore, it is necessary to have procedures in place
to ensure that such equipment is identified and its carrying amount is evaluated for
recoverability)

 Adequate controls to safeguard access to small equipment (such as power hand tools,
at the job site prevent loss or pilferage)

Claims, Extras, and Back Charges

 Controls over claims, extras, back charges, and similar items are necessary (to
provide reasonable assurance that such items are properly documented and provide for
the accumulation of related revenues and costs. For example, validating that change
orders for jobs have the appropriate written authorizations or approvals.)
 Another effective control is to have procedures in place for identifying and
evaluating the financial accounting and reporting implications of claims filed
against the contractor pursuant to FASB ASC 450, Contingencies, including those
arising from litigation and assessments.

Joint Ventures

 Control over the operations of joint ventures is essential for the financial success of
the venture and the participating contractors (Although the nature and extent of
control over the operations and the accounting records of joint ventures varies with each
venture, a joint venture participant should be satisfied that adequate accounting records
and desirable controls are maintained.)

Internal Audit Function

 Dito, ang internal audit staff may conduct both operational and financial reviews regarding
sa offices as well as at job sites. The reviews should include the estimates of cost and
method na ginamit nila to measure the performance in individual contracts. The involvement
of internal auditors can provide management with continuous feedback about the
effectiveness of internal control.

 Objective of internal audits at job sites: to determine whether personnel at the sites are
complying (kung nagcocomply ba sila sa inestablished na policies and practices of which
the contractor made Such audits may involve a physical inspection of equipment and review
and testing of expenditures (including payroll disbursements) from a job site office, status
reports to the home office, field equipment records, and contract billings to determine their
appropriateness)