Principles of accounting:

• Project cost estimates and forecasting.
• Measuring project performance.
• Project financial performance and profitability.
• Status reports.
• Earned value management.

Project cost estimates and forecasting:

Construction cost estimating is the process of forecasting the cost of building a physical structure. Of course, builders and clients both worry about the financial impact of cost overruns and failing to complete a project. That’s why they devote time and effort to estimating how much a project will cost before deciding to move forward with it. Clients considering large projects often seek multiple cost estimates, including those prepared by contractors and those calculated by independent estimators.

Project owners use cost estimates to determine a project’s scope and feasibility and to allocate budgets. Contractors use them when deciding whether to bid on a project. You usually prepare estimates with the input of architects and engineers to ensure that a project meets financial feasibility and scope requirement

Measuring project performance:

The construction industry often acts as a catalyst to stimulate the growth of a nation's economy. The industry is often referred to as an engine of growth. However, numerous government reports have criticized the industry's poor performance, especially in terms of productivity, quality and quality systems.

In order to improve performance, many construction companies implement the ISO 9000 series, an integrated system to ensure consistency and better performance of construction projects. This is achieved by creating a framework for continuous improvement and by providing the necessary criteria to guide construction firms setting up and maintaining quality system in their organizations.

This article examines the benefits of implementing ISO 9000 standard to construction companies and the criteria used for measuring project performance. The data were obtained from literature review and a postal questionnaire survey, which involves 30 managers employed in International Organization for Standardization-certified construction companies.

This article concludes that functionality and clients’ satisfaction are two of the most important criteria for measuring construction project performance, whereas time and cost were the least important.