Project Cost Audit

Who this engagement is for

Finance directors, project sponsors, and audit committees responsible for capital works, major fit-outs, or multi-phase operational programmes. Typical clients hold approved budgets from roughly HK$15 million upward and need assurance before a board paper, lender drawdown, or year-end close.

What you receive

A written cost audit report covering:

• Reconciliation of the approved budget to the current cost forecast
• Testing of material invoices and payment applications against contracts and purchase orders
• Identification of duplicate charges, unapproved variations, and allocation errors
• A findings schedule with source references and recommended management actions
• A closing meeting with the client team to walk through exceptions

What is included

Document intake and planning workshop, fieldwork at your site or our Central office, sample selection based on materiality, draft and final reports, and one clarification round after the draft is issued.

What is excluded

Statutory financial statement audits, quantity surveying remeasurement of physical works, legal opinions on contractual disputes, and continuous bookkeeping. Those sit with other specialists; we can coordinate if you already retain them.

How the work runs

1. Scoping call — confirm project type, budget band, documentation maturity, and reporting deadline.
2. Engagement letter — fee, timeline, access requirements, and named team.
3. Document request — budget books, contracts, variation registers, payment certificates, and ledger extracts.
4. Fieldwork — testing, interviews with cost controllers, and exception logging.
5. Draft findings — reviewed with your finance lead before finalisation.
6. Final report — issued for board or committee circulation.

Duration and location

Most engagements take three to eight weeks depending on volume of transactions and how quickly documents arrive. Fieldwork is delivered in Hong Kong — typically a mix of your project office and our premises at Man Yee Building, Central.

Preparation from your side

Nominate a single document owner, grant read access to cost reports and contract files, and reserve time for two interviews (cost control and accounts payable). Incomplete variation registers are the most common cause of delay.

Fee basis

Quoted as a fixed fee after we see budget size and document volume. Starting points are shown on our Fees page. A deposit secures the fieldwork window.

Next step

Request a fee proposal with your project type, approximate budget, and preferred timing. We respond within two business days.