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Cost Accounting and Financial
Management for Construction
Project Managers
Proper cost accounting and financial management are essential elements of any successful con-
struction job, and therefore make up essential skills for construction project managers and project
engineers. Many textbooks on the market focus on the theoretical principles of accounting and
finance required for head office staff like the chief financial officer (CFO) of a construction firm.
This book’s unique practical approach focuses on the activities of the construction management
team, including the project manager, superintendent, project engineer, and jobsite cost engineers
and cost accountants. In short, this book provides a seamless connection between cost account-
ing and construction project management from the construction management practitioner’s
perspective.
Following a complete accounting cycle, from the original estimate through cost controls to
financial close-out, the book makes use of one commercial construction project case study through-
out. It covers key topics like financial statements, ratios, cost control, earned value, equipment
depreciation, cash flow, and pay requests. But unlike other texts, this book also covers additional
financial responsibilities such as cost estimates, change orders, and project close-out.
Also included are more advanced accounting and financial topics such as supply chain man-
agement, activity-based accounting, lean construction techniques, taxes, and the developer’s pro
forma. Each chapter contains review questions and applied exercises and the book is supplemented
with an eResource with instructor manual, estimates and schedules, further cases and figures from
the book.
This textbook is ideal for use in all cost accounting and financial management classes on
both undergraduate and graduate level construction management or construction engineering
programs.
Len Holm is a senior lecturer in construction management at the University of Washington, USA,
and a construction professional with over 40 years’ experience in various roles, including supervi-
sion of project managers, estimators, and jobsite cost accountants. He runs his own construction
management firm, has developed and taught several new courses for construction management
students at the University of Washington, and is the author of numerous textbooks, including
Management of Construction Projects, second edition, with John Schaufelberger, and Introduction
to Construction Project Engineering, with Giovanni Migliaccio, also published by Routledge.
The following documents are available on the eResource for this book: www.routledge.com/
Cost-Accounting-and-Financial-Management-for-Construction-Project-Managers/Holm/p/book/
9781138550650
This first list is made available to students and instructors:
UÊ Expanded and alternate versions of some figures utilized within the book:
ƕ Figure 4.3Alt: Concrete QTO for concrete COP
ƕ Figure 4.4Alt: Concrete pricing recapitulation sheet for COP
ƕ Figure 4.4L: Detailed construction estimate
ƕ Figure 4.5Alt: Summary estimate
ƕ Figure 5.1L: Detailed construction schedule
ƕ Figure 5.2L: Detailed jobsite general conditions estimate
ƕ Figure 6.1L: Detailed home office general conditions estimate
ƕ Table 10.1Alt: Overhead spread by specialty
ƕ Table 13.1L: Monthly cost loaded schedule
ƕ Table 14.3BL: Blank live SOV continuation spreadsheet template
ƕ Figure 15.1Alt: Concrete change order proposal
ƕ Figure 19.2Live: Live Excel pro forma
UÊ Other documents referred to within the book:
ƕ Case study organization chart, reference Chapter 1 and others
ƕ AIA A102 contract instructions
ƕ Sample AIA A102 contract, reference Chapter 3 and others
ƕ Jobsite layout plan, reference Chapter 11
ƕ Expanded table of contents
ƕ Live Excel estimating forms utilized in Chapter 4 of this text and in Construction Cost
Estimating, Process and Practices, Pearson, 2005.
The following are also made available to instructors:
UÊ Instructor’s Manual, complete with answers to all of the review questions and many of the
exercises. A select group of case studies from Who Done It? 101 Case Studies in Construction
Management (Amazon/Create Space, 2017), which will be published in a new format under the
title 101 Case Studies in Construction Management by Routledge in 2019, are also included.
UÊ In addition to many exercise solutions included in the instructor’s manual, several separate
spreadsheet files are also provided, including: Exercises 1.2/3.6, 1.7/3.2, 2.9/10, 10.5, 12.7,
12.9, 13.8/9, 14.2, 15.4, 16.3, 18.2/3, 19.4, and others
UÊ PowerPoint lecture slides for all 19 chapters, 19 separate files, almost 680 slides in total.
Cost Accounting and
Financial Management
for Construction
Project Managers
Len Holm
Routledge
ROUTLEDGE
Taylor & Francis Group
LONDON AND NEW YORK

First published 2019
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2019 Len Holm
The right of Len Holm to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording,
or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Holm, Len, author.
Title: Cost accounting and financial management for construction project
managers / Len Holm.
Description: Abington, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2018. |
Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018011969| ISBN 9781138550643 (hardback : alk.
paper) | ISBN 9781138550650 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781315147307
(ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Building—Estimates. | Construction projects. | Cost
accounting. | Construction industry—Costs. | Project management.
Classification: LCC TH435 .H85 2018 | DDC 690.068/1—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018011969
ISBN: 978-1-138-55064-3 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-138-55065-0 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-14730-7 (ebk)
Typeset in Sabon
by Keystroke, Neville Lodge, Tettenhall, Wolverhampton
Visit the eResource: www.routledge.com/Cost-Accounting-and-

Financial-Management-for-Construction-Project-Managers/Holm/p/
book/9781138550650
Contents
List of figures xi
List of tables xiii
Preface xv
Abbreviations xvii
1 Introduction 1
Financial management overview 1
Accounting purposes 3
Introduction to the built environment 5
Accounting managers 6
Accounting cycle 6
Organization of the book 8
Case study 8
Review questions 9
Exercises 10
2 Accounting methods 11
Introduction 11
Uniqueness of the construction industry as it relates to accounting 11
Construction firm ownership structures 14
Construction accounting methods 16
Internal accounting controls 18
Summary 19
Review questions 19
Exercises 20
vi Contents
3 Introduction to construction management 21
Introduction 21
Delivery and procurement methods 22
Pricing 26
Construction contracts 27
Project management 29
General contractor organizations 31
Risk analysis 34
Summary 35
Review questions 36
Exercises 36
4 Introduction to estimating 38
Introduction 38
Work breakdown structure 41
Quantity take-off 43
Pricing 45
Estimate summary 49
Summary 51
Review questions 52
Exercises 52
5 Jobsite general conditions 53

Introduction 53
Elements of jobsite general conditions 54
Development of jobsite general conditions estimates 55
Strategies 59
Accounting of jobsite general conditions 61
Impact of change orders, claims, and delays on general conditions 62
Summary 63
Review questions 63
Exercises 63
6 Overhead and profit 65

Introduction 65
Creation of the general conditions estimate 66
Management of the home office general conditions budget 68
Breakeven analysis 70
Profits 72
Summary 77
Review questions 77
Exercises 78
Contents vii
7 Financial statements 80
Introduction 80
Balance sheet 80
Income statement 83
Financial ratios 84
Journal entries 87
Job cost financial reports 87
Summary 90
Review questions 90
Exercises 91
8 Cost control 92
Introduction 92
Cost control cycle and connection with accounting processes 93
Establishment of the cost base, including buyout 94
Foreman work packages 94
Direct labor and material and subcontract cost coding 99
Monthly project management forecasting to the home office 101
Summary 106
Review questions 106
Exercises 107
9 Earned value analysis 109

Introduction 109
Development of the third curve 109
Earned value as a cost control tool 110
Earned value indices 113
Earned value as a pay request tool 115
Summary 115
Exercises 116
10 Activity-based costing 117

Introduction 117
Foundation 118
Methodology of activity-based costing 120
Home office activity-based costing applications 122
Jobsite activity-based costing applications 126
The future 127
Summary 128
Exercises 129
viii Contents
11 Lean construction techniques 131
Introduction 131
Lean construction 132
Value engineering 137
Subcontractors and suppliers 139
Supply chain material management 140
Jobsite laydown and material handling 143
Summary 144
Exercises 145
12 Equipment use and depreciation 147

Introduction 147
Equipment types 148
Equipment ownership 150
Equipment operation 154
Equipment allocation to job cost 155
Maintenance expense allocations 157
Depreciation 157
Summary 162
Exercises 163
13 Cash flow 165

Introduction 165
Cash flow curve process 166
Jobsite expenditures 172
Jobsite revenue 176
Net cash flow and impacts to home office 177
Methods to improve cash flow 177
Summary 179
Exercises 180
14 Payment requests 182

Introduction 182
Contract types 183
Schedule of values 183
Payment request process 187
Retention 192
Lien management 193
Summary 195
Exercises 196
Contents ix
15 Accounting for change orders 198
Introduction 198
Change order proposal process 199
Change order proposal pricing 202
Negotiations and approvals 204
Incorporation into cost control and accounting control systems 205
Unresolved change orders 206
Summary 206
Exercises 207
16 Financial close-out of the construction project 208

Introduction 208
Construction close-out 209
Project management close-out 211
Financial close-out 212
As-built estimate development and database input 218
Summary 219
Exercises 220
17 Time value of money 222

Introduction 222
Present value 223
Future value 224
Interest 225
Inflation 228
Other value considerations 229
Summary 230
Exercises 231
18 Taxes and audits 233

Introduction 233
Income tax: Federal, state, and local 234
Business, property, and sales taxes 238
Labor taxes 239
Audits 242
Summary 244
Exercises 245
x Contents
19 Developer’s pro forma 247
Introduction 247
Real estate development as a business 247
The development process 249
Pro forma 251
Construction loan 253
Investment ratios 258
Summary 259
Exercises 260
Glossary 261
Index 274
Figures
1.1 Cost accounting cycle 7

3.1 Traditional organization chart 23
3.2 Agency construction management organization chart 23
3.3 Construction management at-risk organization chart 24
3.4 Design-build organization chart 25
3.5 Delivery options 28
3.6 Construction Document Cloud 30
3.7 Staff organization chart 32
3.8 Sole-source organization chart 32
4.1 Estimating Process 39
4.2 Work breakdown structure 42
4.3 Quantity take-off 44
4.4 Pricing recapitulation 46
4.5 Summary estimate 50
5.1 Summary schedule 56
5.2 Jobsite general conditions estimate 57
6.1 Home office general conditions budget 67
8.1 Cost control cycle 93
8.2 Whole project direct work labor curve 95
8.3 Foreman’s cost control work package 98
9.1 Earned value work package 111
9.2 Earned value work package 112
9.3 Earned value indices curve 114
10.1 Cost hierarchy 121
11.1 IPD organization chart 132
11.2 Pull planning schedule 137
xii List of figures
11.3 Organization chart 140
11.4 LEED plaque 142
12.1 Purchase order 152
13.1 Cash flow curve 171
13.2 Revenue and expenditure curves 176
14.1 Pay request summary 190
14.2 Lien release 194
15.1 Change order proposal 200
15.2 Contract change order 204
16.1 Final subcontract change order 213
19.1 Developer’s organization chart 251
19.2 Pro forma 252
19.3 Interest to principle ratio 254
Tables
6.1 Breakeven analysis 71

7.1 Balance sheet 82
7.2 Income statement 85
8.1 Forecasting options 103
8.2 Monthly forecast summary 105
9.1 Earned value performance matrix 110
10.1 Overhead spread on divisions and volume 123
11.1 Value engineering log 138
12.1 Rental equipment rates 153
12.2 Depreciation recovery periods 159
12.3 Straight-line depreciation options 161
13.1 Cost loaded schedule 168
13.2 Daily time sheet 173
14.1 Schedule of values worksheet 184
14.2 Summary schedule of values 186
14.3 Pay request schedule of values continuation sheet 188
16.1 Estimating database 219
17.1 Present value 224
17.2 Future value 225
17.3 Simple and compounding interest 227
17.4 United States historical annual inflation rates 228
18.1 Personal income tax 236
18.2 Labor burden 241
Taylor & Francis
http://taylorandfrancis.com
Preface
All of the construction cost accounting textbooks available are focused on the role of the chief
financial officer (CFO) and chief executive officer (CEO) and home office financial management
biased aspects. Very few construction management (CM) university graduates will become CFOs
or certified public accountants, and although some aspire to become CEOs, those opportunities
will only be available for a select few, and will occur many years after graduation. Many CM
students already have some practical construction internship experience and their exposure has
primarily been out on jobsites. After graduation most will begin their careers as jobsite project
engineers or in home office staff support roles such as assistant estimators. Many will achieve
their seven- to ten-year goal of becoming construction project managers (PM) and being placed
in charge of all operations at the jobsite, especially project financial management. These students
have a difficult time connecting with college textbooks focused solely on home office accounting.
It is because of their work experiences and the difficulty they have in connecting with traditional
cost accounting texts that I routinely have supplemented a standard accounting text with many
jobsite financial management topics borrowed from my other estimating, cost control, and project
management resources.
Construction project managers are not accountants, but most of what we do is accounting-
related. The focus of this book therefore is on the ‘Cost Accounting and Financial Management of
Construction Project Managers’ at the jobsite level and the relationship between jobsite financial
management and the home office accounting department. The PM is responsible to report to the
CFO and CEO for all financial affairs that happen at the jobsite, including estimating, cost control,
equipment charges, cash flow, pay requests, change orders, close-out, and many others. These
therefore are the financial management subjects this book couples with traditional construction
cost accounting topics.
The jobsite financial management team includes the project manager, superintendent, project
engineer, and if applicable, a cost engineer and/or jobsite accountant. The construction team
manages jobsite general conditions and the home office executive team, including the CFO and
xvi Preface
CEO, manages home office general conditions, and establishes profit goals for the company.
This book also connects with the cost accounting activities performed by the home office includ-
ing differences between alternative corporate structures, development of financial statements,
equipment depreciation, and taxes and audits. Advanced financial management aspects of earned
value, activity-based costing, lean construction techniques, value engineering, supply chain mate-
rial management, and time value of money are also introduced for the ambitious construction
cost accounting student. The pinnacle of this study concludes with a discussion of the real estate
developer, who is often the general contractor’s client; including the creation and management of
the developer’s cost pro forma model, of which construction cost is only one element.
To supplement typical academic coverage of construction cost accounting, this book includes a
practical construction perspective stemming not only from my 40 years of construction experience,
but from input of many construction professionals and friends. These practitioners have reviewed
chapter drafts and provided input to countless figures, tables, and exercises. Their experience is
very much appreciated, for without them this would just be another college textbook. It would be
difficult to list all of the people I need to thank, but I especially want to recognize:
UÊ Sara Angus, Account Executive and former University of Washington lecturer, Lease Crutcher
Lewis, commercial and custom residential general contractor (GC)
UÊ Jeff Foushée, Founder, retired, Foushée and Associates, commercial GC
UÊ Robert Guymer, Chief Operating Officer, Foushée and Associates, commercial GC
UÊ Mark Hanson, Certified Public Accountant, Smith and Dekay, PS
UÊ Bob Kendall, President, Star Rentals, Inc.
I would also like to thank Jane Holm, Suzanne Bailon-Schubert, and Sam Elliot for their
research and contributions to the book and the instructor’s manual. And last, and maybe most
important, to all of those University of Washington construction management students who used
drafts of this material in their construction cost accounting course as a trial run. Thank you and
I hope you enjoyed the process.
There is a complete instructor’s manual available on the eResource with answers to all of the
review questions and many of the exercises. The instructor’s manual also includes several case
studies borrowed from the third edition of Who Done It? 101 Case Studies in Construction
Management which will be re-published by Routledge in 2019 as 101 Case Studies in Construction
Management. This is an excellent economical companion book to many construction management
topics.
If you have any questions about the material, or recommendations for changes for future
editions, please feel free to contact the publisher, Routledge, or me direct at holmcon@aol.com.
I hope you enjoy my connection of home office cost accounting operations to the construction
jobsite.
Len Holm
Abbreviations
ABC activity-based costing

ACWP actual cost of work performed
AGC Associated General Contractors of America
AHJ authority having jurisdiction, often city building department
AIA American Institute of Architects
APR annual percentage rate
APY annual percentage yield
AQWP actual quantity of work performed
ARM adjustable rate mortgage
B&O business and occupation tax (also known as excise tax)
BCAC budgeted cost at completion
BCWP budgeted cost of work performed
BCWS budgeted cost of work scheduled
BE built environment
BIM building information models or modeling
BOD board of directors (also Board)
BQAC budgeted quantity of work at completion
BQWP budgeted quantity of work performed
BQWS budgeted quantity of work scheduled
CAD computer-aided design
Cap capitalization (rate)
Carp carpenter
CCA construction change authorization
CCD construction change directive
CDs construction documents
CEO chief executive officer
xviii Abbreviations
CFMA Construction Financial Management Association
CFO chief financial officer
CIP cast-in-place (concrete)
CM construction manager or management
CM/GC construction manager/general contractor (also known as GC/CM)
CMBS commercial mortgage backed securities
CO change order
C of O certificate of occupancy
COO chief operations officer
COP change order proposal
CPA certified public accountant
CPFF cost plus fixed fee
CPI cost performance index
CPPF cost plus percentage fee (similar to T&M)
CSI Construction Specifications Institute
CV cost variance
CY cubic yard
DB or D-B design-build (delivery method)
DBO design, build, operate
DBOM design, build, operate, maintain
DBOMT design, build, operate, maintain, transfer
DCR debt coverage ratio, also design change request
DD design development (documents or phase)
DL direct labor (estimate or cost area)
DM direct material (estimate or cost area)
DRB dispute resolution board
EA each
ECC Evergreen Construction Company (fictitious case study contractor)
EMR experience modification rate
ENR Engineering News Record (publication)
EPS earnings per share
EV earned value
EVM earned value method
FE field engineer
FED Federal Reserve Bank
FHA Federal Housing Administration
FICA Federal Insurance Contributions Act (Social Security)
Fore foreman
FUTA Federal unemployment tax
FV future value
G&A general and administrative (overhead expenditures)
GC general conditions, also general contractor
GDP gross domestic product
GF general foreman (similar to an assistant superintendent)
GMP guaranteed maximum price, estimate or contract
Abbreviations xix
GWB gypsum wall board (also sheetrock or wall board or drywall)
GSF gross square footage (building area but not necessarily leasable)
HO home office
HOOH home office overhead
HR human resources, also hour
HVAC heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (mechanical system or contractor)
IDS income to debt service ratio
IPD integrated project delivery
IRR internal rate of return
IRS Internal Revenue Service
ITB instructions to bidders, also invitation to bid
JIT just-in-time (material deliveries)
JV joint venture
LDs liquidated damages
LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
LF linear feet
LLC limited liability company or corporation
LLP limited liability partnership
LS lump sum (cost estimate or contract)
LTV loan to value ratio
MACRS modified accelerated cost recovery system (depreciation)
MBF thousand board feet
MC mortgage constant ratio
MEP mechanical, electrical, and plumbing, systems or contractors
MH man-hour
Mil million
MOCP Management of Construction Projects, a Constructor’s Perspective (textbook)
MXD mixed-use development
NAHB National Association of Home Builders
NAIOP National Association of Industrial and Office Parks
NIC not-in-contract, also not included
NLRB National Labor Relations Board
NOI net operating income
NSF net square footage (building area available for lease)
NWR Northwest Resorts, LLC (fictitious case study project owner)
O&M operation and maintenance manual
OE owner’s equity, also operating engineer
OH overhead
OH&P overhead and profit (also known as fee)
OIC officer-in-charge
OM order-of-magnitude (cost estimate)
OSHA Occupational Safety and Health Administration
PE project engineer, also pay estimate
PM project manager or management
PO purchase order
xx Abbreviations
PPP or P3 public-private-partnership (delivery method)
psi pounds per square inch
PV present value
QC quality control
QTO quantity take-off
Qty quantity
Rebar concrete reinforcement steel
Recap cost recapitulation sheet (estimating)
REIT real estate investment trust
RFI request for information, or interpretation
RFP request for proposal
RFQ request for qualifications, also request for quotation
RII Resorts International, Inc. (fictitious case study holding company)
ROA return on assets
ROE return on equity
ROI return on investment
ROM rough-order-of-magnitude (cost estimate)
ROR rate of return
S&L savings and loan institutions (banks)
SD schematic design (documents or phase)
SF square foot
SFW square foot of wall
SIP structural insulated panels
SOG slab-on-grade (concrete)
SOV schedule of values (estimate or pay request)
Spec or specs specifications or speculation
SPI schedule performance index
SPM senior project manager
SUTA state unemployment tax
SV schedule variance
T&M time and materials (contract or billing)
TCO temporary certificate of occupancy
TI tenant improvement
TN or Ton tonnage (2,000 pounds)
TQM total quality management
TVD target value design
TVM time value of money
Typ typical
ULI Urban Land Institute (development association and publications)
UMH unit man-hours
UP unit price
USGBC United States Green Building Council
V volume
VA Veterans Affairs
VCT vinyl composition tile
Abbreviations xxi
VE value engineering
VP vice president
VPR variable payment rate
WA Washington State
WBS work breakdown structure
wks weeks
Taylor & Francis
http://taylorandfrancis.com
C HAP T E R
1
Introduction
Financial management overview

Project engineers (PEs) and project managers (PMs) are not typically known as accountants.
Their responsibilities as construction managers (CMs) generally revolve around the paperwork
documentation performed at the jobsite to support superintendents and subcontractors in the
construction of a building. And, although much of the financial management activities performed
at the jobsite are not thought of as ‘accounting’ per se they do fall under the cost accounting
umbrella, especially when we add and financial management in the title. In addition, everything
that is done at the jobsite is connected with the operations of the construction company in the
home office, and it is important that jobsite managers understand why they manage finances
and how management of finances relates to the operation of the home office accounting depart-
ment. This book is not meant to be a repeat of standard business-school accounting textbooks
or accounting courses, there are many good ones available, but the focus here is on the financial
operations of the construction jobsite team and how they interface with the accounting needs of
the home office.
There are many detailed studies on cost accounting, including construction cost accounting.
There are also many pure studies on project management, including construction project manage-
ment, but the glue that ties these two topics together is a broader study of construction financial
management. Financial management includes many CM topics, beyond just cost accounting,
including:
UÊ Estimating anticipated construction costs,

UÊ Cost control,
UÊ Cash flow projections and management,
UÊ Processing invoices from subcontractors and suppliers,
UÊ Processing pay requests to the project owner,
UÊ Managing change orders,
2 Introduction
UÊ Financially closing out the construction project, and
UÊ A variety of other advanced financial management topics such as activity-based costing, lean
construction techniques, time value of money, taxes and audits, and the developer’s pro forma.
Construction is a risky business. Construction failures are very high every year, especially with
smaller start-up contractors. There are many statistics and metrics regarding how many contrac-
tors fail each year, and maybe just focusing on one year is too specific, but generally approximately
70% of the contractors in business on the first of any year will fail within seven years. Because
construction is such a risky business, construction company owners or investors therefore expect
a very high rate of return (ROR) on their investment. If all they could get on their out-of-pocket
up-front investment in the company was 1–2%, then they would be better off putting their money
in the bank where it is insured by the Federal Government and earning a guaranteed interest
rate. In order to receive an acceptable ROR, contractors need to understand and manage their
accounting and financial risks and responsibilities.
There are many causes or warning signs that a contractor might be in jeopardy of failing finan-
cially. These signs are important for not only the internal ownership of the company to be aware
of, but also external strategic partners or stakeholders such as the contractor’s bank and bonding
companies, among others. The first and most common sign that financial difficulties may be bod-
ing is the lack of a good financial management plan or system. Some of the signs that a contractor
may be suffering financial difficulty include:
UÊ Inefficient financial management system,

UÊ Borrowed on their credit line to the limit,
UÊ Poor estimating processes and/or results,
UÊ Poor project management systems and personnel,
UÊ An adequate business plan is not in place,
UÊ Internal and external communication problems, among others.
Often contractors think an increase in volume or total revenue will solve all of their financial
problems. This is not necessarily the best solution. There are many reasons a contractor will choose
to pursue construction work or feel they have the resources to do so. Some of the reasons they may
choose to either bid or propose on a new construction project, or not to bid, include the following:
UÊ Although contractors are not expected to provide the construction loan, as will be discussed
later, they still must have a sufficient positive cash flow, especially early in the project;
UÊ The contractor has sufficient bonding capacity which is especially important on a public bid
project;
UÊ Qualified and available employees are already on the payroll and ready to start a new project;
UÊ The contractor has the necessary construction equipment, or immediate access to equipment;
UÊ The home office overhead is staffed adequately with specialists to support the project team
including estimators, schedulers, and cost accountants;
UÊ They see a potential to make a reasonable fee;
UÊ The contractor already has a positive history with the client, or is interested in a future rela-
tionship with the client, and/or they have a positive history with the architect or engineer, or
are interested in a future relationship with those firms;
Introduction 3
UÊ This type of work is already a specialty of the contractor; and/or
UÊ The contractor could use additional backlog.
The contractor’s answers to all of these issues affecting their decision to pursue a project also
impact the company’s finances and approach to accounting both in the home office and at the
jobsite.
Accounting purposes
There are several reasons a contractor should establish a formal cost accounting system, both at
the home office and at the jobsite. Four of the more prominent ones include:
UÊ Prepare financial statements for internal and external use;

UÊ Process cash-in (revenue) and cash-out (expenditures);
UÊ Prepare and file taxes as required by the Federal Government as well as some state and local
jurisdictions;
UÊ Manage the internal financial affairs of the company:
ƕ Are we making money?
ƕ Are we returning an adequate return on equity (ROE) to our investors?
ƕ Are we focusing on the proper type of work? Is our company operating in the proper
market?
ƕ How are our people performing?
Consistency is important for cost accounting and financial management for contractors. Their
financial reporting tools must be consistent from year to year, from project to project, and from
month to month within each project. In order to report costs and projected profits consistently,
contractors must have reliable financial management systems in place, particularly as it relates to
cost control.
Cost control in construction is an important topic and is discussed in detail in several chapters
of this book. It is important to distinguish between cost reporting and cost control, especially as
it relates to jobsite cost accounting. The foremost question to ask is: Can the jobsite team really
control costs or are they simply just reporting costs? And can they really ‘control’ the operations
of the construction craftsmen in the field, or are they doing their best to ‘manage’ the process so
that the craftsmen can achieve the estimate? Most construction management and cost accounting
textbooks focus their cost control discussion simply on cost reporting. But if timely modifications
and corrections are not made to the processes, the jobsite management team is not properly man-
aging costs and cannot achieve the bottom-line fee, let alone improve it. To have an effective cost
control system the construction project team must follow some basic rules:
UÊ Cost reporting data has to be timely and accurate. If actual cost data was not input to the
accounting system accurately, then the results will be of no value to the jobsite team.
UÊ Eighty percent of the costs and risk on a project fall within 20% of the construction activi-
ties – this is known as the Pareto 80-20 rule. The jobsite team should focus on the riskiest
activities. The 80-20 rule is expanded on throughout this discussion of financial management.
4 Introduction
UÊ The original estimate and schedule should be shared with the contractor’s field supervision,
including superintendents and foremen. In order for them to plan and implement the work
they need to have been given the complete picture.
There are many bad examples of construction cost accounting, especially as it relates to cost
control. We will be sharing some of these throughout the text. There are a few good ones sprinkled
in as well. Here are a couple of examples to get you started:
Example One: This very large international contractor was constructing power plants in
the 1980s that cost billions of dollars. There were 1,000 engineers in the office producing
design for the 5,000 craftsmen in the field. Design changes and building code changes were
occurring so often that it was easy to lose track of the original or current budget. Only two
years out of college, this 24-year-old cost engineer was promoted to chief estimator on a $5
billion construction project, and although completely unqualified for the position, he gladly
accepted it. At that time, the way the contractor forecasted next year’s expenditures was to
take last year’s expenditures, regardless of where they were spent, and simply add 10% to it.
It is no wonder these projects cost so much money. The proper way to create a cost forecast
is explained later in this book.
Example Two: In April, six months after this large aerospace manufacturing facility was suc-
cessfully completed, the owner of the drywall subcontractor called the general contactor’s
(GC) project manager and indicated that he was owed an extra $1 million, even though his
contract had been closed out with proper lien releases. The subcontractor could not show
why he was owed money other than it was tax time and he was preparing his books and
realized the company lost money the previous year and this had been their largest project.
He had not been using independent job numbers, let alone cost codes. Contract close-out
and lien management are important financial responsibilities of the project team and will be
covered in detail in this book.
Example Three: This superintendent wanted to teach the home office staff estimator a les-
son on this out-of-town electronics facility construction project. He felt the estimator never
included enough money for safety, so he charged $50,000 of concrete formwork to the safety
cost code to make his point and completely blew the safety cost code out of the water. The
proper way to create historical databases will be explained in several chapters in this book.
Introduction 5
Introduction to the built environment

There are three major participants in all built environment projects. Chapter 3, ‘Introduction
to construction management,’ will explain how these different firms might arrange themselves
and contract with each other to deliver construction projects on different occasions. Every pro-
ject has: clients, which will also be referred to as project owners or simply owners; designers,
including architects and many different types of engineers; and construction managers and/or
general contractors. There are also many consultants and subcontractors which will contract
through or report to these three primary participants. One type of consultant that connects
on many levels of cost accounting is the certified public accountant who may help all built
environment (BE) participants prepare their books, especially for taxes and audits.
Construction types/industry sectors

Construction projects can be categorized into different sectors along the lines of type of building or
how the facility is utilized. The following are examples of some broad construction industry sectors:
UÊ Commercial, which includes retail, office, schools, fire stations, churches, and others.
Entertainment and hospitality are subsets of commercial and includes movie theaters, bowl-
ing alleys, and restaurants.
UÊ Residential including individual spec home and custom home construction. Residential also
includes apartments, condominiums, senior housing, and hotels – especially if wood-framed
as they include materials and methods similar to apartments.
UÊ Heavy civil projects include bridges, roads, and utility projects.
UÊ Industrial projects are very specialized including power plants, utility treatment plants, refin-
eries, and others.
UÊ Hybrids or mixed-use developments (MXD) will include two or three different uses, such as
a downtown hi-rise hotel with underground parking, a restaurant, retail space, and luxury
condominiums on the top floors.
Many construction companies are specialized in one of these industries, in that they clas-
sify themselves as commercial, residential, civil, or industrial contractors. Some contractors may
overlap into a second industry or cover two different industries. For example:
UÊ Commercial contractors may also build hi-rise residential apartments or hotels, as the materi-
als and processes are similar to constructing an office building.
UÊ Some commercial contractors may also have a high-end custom home division.
UÊ Commercial contractors may also have a real estate development arm, and therefore contract
work internally.
UÊ Some speculative residential home builders also build custom homes and custom home build-
ers may build spec homes.
UÊ Larger home builders may also have real estate development arms and develop and design
and build large tracts of homes on speculation for sale.
UÊ Some larger residential contractors may also construct smaller commercial projects.
6 Introduction
UÊ Civil construction companies may also have a commercial division, but very few civil contrac-
tors would build residential projects.
UÊ Specialty contractors are subcontractors which specialize in one or more facet of work, such
as a roofing subcontractor or a landscape subcontractor. Specialty contractors work within
all of these sectors and may specialize in one or more sector similar to general contractors.
Many of these sectors, and/or industry types, each have potentially different cost accounting and
financial management applications. Those differences will be highlighted throughout this book.
Accounting managers
Chapter 3, ‘Introduction to construction management,’ will expand on the various BE firms and
construction-company personnel. Roles of these people are defined throughout the book and
clarify whether they are primarily located in the home office or at the jobsite. As it relates to cost
accounting and financial management, the home office team includes the chief executive officer
(CEO), the chief financial officer (CFO), and his or her supporting accounting department. Some
of the accounting personnel may include positions such as the controller or comptroller, book-
keeper, payroll clerk, accounts payable clerk, accounts receivable clerk, and others. The jobsite
team is headed up by the project manager and the site superintendent. Foremen and project
engineers, who may also be known as the jobsite cost accountant or cost engineer, work for the
superintendent and PM respectively. Contractual terms will have an impact as to who is located
at the home office or the field and potentially what their titles might be on any particular project.
Accounting cycle
The cost accounting cycle includes many different steps and functions which overlap and interplay
with phases of construction and cost control steps; all of these will be discussed in subsequent
chapters. See Figure 1.1. Note that there are many dependencies between the home office account-
ing operation and the cost engineering conducted at the jobsite. Some of the cost accounting steps,
which form the basis for the following chapters, include:
UÊ Estimate database maintenance;

UÊ Estimate preparation;
UÊ Construction award and assignment of a job number by the accounting department;
UÊ Buyout of subcontractors and estimate adjustment and assignment of cost codes;
UÊ Development and implementation of foreman work packages;
UÊ Expenditures realized in the field and reported to the home office and cost-coded;
UÊ Pay request process including payments received from the client and payments made to sub-
contractors and suppliers;
UÊ Incorporation of change orders into the project plan and the cost control system;
UÊ Modifications to the cost control system if there are problems;
UÊ Home office reporting by the PM including monthly fee forecasts;
UÊ Financial close-out, including lien releases and retention; and
UÊ As-built estimate and database update.
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now got clear of the crowd, and no longer fearing to see the gallows,
she ventured to lift up her eyes and look around. The tallness and
massiveness of the buildings, some of which bore the cross of the
Knights Templar on their pinnacles, while others seemed to be
surmounted or overtopped by still taller edifices beyond, impressed
her imagination; and the effect was rendered still more striking by
the countless human figures which crowded the windows, and even
the roofs of the houses, all alike bending their attention, as she
thought, towards herself. The scene before her looked like an
amphitheatre filled with spectators, while she and Richard seemed as
the objects upon the arena. The thought caused her to hurry on, and
she soon found herself in a great measure screened from observation
by the overhanging projections of the narrower part of the West Bow,
which she now entered.
With slow and difficult, but stately and graceful steps, she then
proceeded, till she reached the upper angle of the street, where a
novel and unexpected scene awaited her. A sound like that of rushing
waters seemed first to proceed from the part of the street still
concealed from her view, and presently appeared round the angle,
the first rank of an impetuous crowd, which, rushing downward with
prodigious force, would certainly have overwhelmed her delicate
form, had she not dexterously avoided them, by stepping aside upon
a projecting stair, to which Richard also sprung just in time to save
himself from a similar fate. From this place of safety, which was not
without its own crowd of children, women, and sage-looking elderly
mechanics, with Kilmarnock cowls, they in the next moment saw the
massive mob rush past, like the first wave of a flood, bearing either
along or down everything that came in their way. Immediately after,
but at a more deliberate pace, followed a procession of figures, which
struck the heart of Lady Jean with as heavy a sense of sorrow as the
crowd had just impressed with terror and surprise. First came a
small company of the veterans of the city-guard, some of whom had
perhaps figured in the campaigns of Middleton and Montrose, and
whose bronzed, inflexible faces bore on this melancholy occasion
precisely the same expression which they ordinarily exhibited on the
joyful one of attending the magistrates at the drinking of the King’s
health on the 29th of May.
Behind these, and encircled by some other soldiers of the same
band, appeared two figures of a different sort. One of them was a
young-looking, but pale and woe-worn man, the impressive
wretchedness of whose appearance was strikingly increased by the
ghastly dress which he wore. He was attired from head to foot in a
white shroud, such as was sometimes worn in Scotland by criminals
at the gallows, but which was, in the present instance, partly
assumed as a badge of innocence. The excessive whiteness and
emaciation of his countenance suited well with this dismal apparel,
and, with the wild enthusiasm that kindled in his eyes, gave an
almost supernatural effect to the whole scene, which rather
resembled a pageant of the dead than a procession of earthly men.
He was the only criminal: the person who walked by his side, and
occasionally supported his steps, being, as the crowd whispered
around, with many a varied expression of sympathy—his father. The
old man had the air of a devout Presbyterian, with harsh, intelligent
features, and a dress which bespoke his being a countryman of the
lower rank. According to the report of the bystanders, he had
educated this, his only son, for the unfortunate Church of Scotland,
and now attended him to the fate which his talents and violent
temperament had conspired to draw down upon his head. If ever he
felt any pride in the popular admiration with which his son was
honoured, no traces of such a sentiment now appeared. On the
contrary, he seemed humbled to the very earth with sorrow; and
though he had perhaps contemplated the issue, now about to take
place, with no small portion of satisfaction, so long as it was at a
distance and uncertain, the feelings of a father had evidently proved
too much for his fortitude, when the event approached in all its
dreadful reality. The emotions perceptible in that rough and rigid
countenance were the more striking, as being so much at variance
with its natural and characteristic expression; and the tear which
gathered in his eye excited the greater commiseration, in so far as it
seemed a stranger there. But the hero and heroine of our tale had
little time to make observations on this piteous scene, for the
procession passed quickly on, and was soon beyond their sight.
When it was gone, the people of the Bow, who seemed accustomed to
such sights, uttered various expressions of pity, indignation, and
horror, according to their respective feelings, and then slowly retired
to their dens in the stairs and booths which lined the whole of this
ancient and singular street.
Lady Jean, whose beautiful eyes were suffused with tears at
beholding so melancholy a spectacle, was then admonished by her
attendant to proceed. With a heart deadened to all sensations of
wonder and delight, she moved forward, and was soon ushered into
the place called the Lawnmarket, then perhaps the most fashionable
district in Edinburgh, but the grandeur and spaciousness of which
she beheld almost without admiration. The scene here was, however,
much gayer, and approached more nearly to her splendid
preconceptions of the capital than any she had yet seen. The shops
were, in her estimation, very fine, and some of the people on the
street were of that noble description of which she had believed all
inhabitants of cities to be. There was no crowd on the street, which,
therefore, afforded room for the better display of her stately and
beautiful person; and as she walked steadily onwards, still “ushed”
(for such was then the phrase) by her handsome and noble-looking
attendant, a greater degree of admiration was excited amongst the
gay idlers whom she passed, than even that which marked her
progress through the humbler crowd of the Grassmarket. Various
noblemen, in passing towards their homes in the Castle Hill, lifted
their feathered hats and bowed profoundly to the lovely vision; and
one or two magnificent dames, sweeping along with their long silk
trains borne up by liverymen, stared at or eyed askance the charms
which threw their own so completely into shade. By the time Lady
Jean arrived at the bottom of the Lawnmarket, that is to say, where it
was partially closed up by the Tolbooth, she had in a great measure
recovered her spirits, and found herself prepared to enjoy the sight of
the public buildings, which were so thickly clustered together at this
central part of the city.
She was directed by Richard to pass along the narrow road which
then led between the houses and the Tolbooth on the south, and
which, being continued by a still narrower passage skirting the west
end of St Giles’ Church, formed the western approach to the
Parliament Close. Obeying his guidance in this tortuous passage, she
soon found herself at the opening, or the square space—so styled on
account of its being closed on more than one side by the meeting-
place of the legislative assembly of Scotland. Here a splendid scene
awaited her. The whole square was filled with the members of the
Scottish Parliament, Barons and Commons, who had just left the
House in which they sat together,—with ladies, who on days of
unusual ceremony were allowed to attend the House, and with
horses richly caparisoned, and covered with gold-embroidered foot-
cloths, some of which were mounted by their owners, while others
were held in readiness by footmen. All was bustle and magnificence.
Noblemen and gentlemen in splendid attire threaded the crowd in
search of their horses; ladies tripped after them with timid and
careful steps, endeavouring, by all in their power, to avoid contact
with such objects as were calculated to injure their fineries; grooms
strode heavily about, and more nimble lackeys jumped everywhere,
here and there, some of them as drunk as the Parliament Close claret
could make them, but all intent on doing the duties of attendance
and respect to their masters. Some smart and well-dressed young
gentlemen were arranging their cloaks and swords, and preparing to
leave the square on foot, by the passage which had given entry to
Master Richard and Lady Jean.
At sight of our heroine, most of these gallants stood still in
admiration, and one of them, with the trained assurance of a rake,
observing her to be beautiful, a stranger, and not too well protected,
accosted her in a strain of language which caused her at once to
blush and tremble. Richard’s brow reddened with anger as he
hesitated not a moment in stepping up and telling the offender to
leave the lady alone, on pain of certain consequences which might
not prove agreeable.
“And who are you, my brave fellow?” said the youth, with bold
assurance.
“Sirrah!” exclaimed Richard, so indignant as to forget himself, “I
am that lady’s husband—her servant, I mean,” and here he stopped
short in some confusion.
“Admirable!” exclaimed the other. “Ha! ha! ha! ha! Here, sirs, is a
lady’s lacquey, who does not know whether he is his mistress’ servant
or her husband. Let us give him up to the town-guard, to see whether
the black hole will make him remember the real state of the case.”
So saying, he attempted to push Richard aside, and take hold of
the lady. But he had not time to touch her garments with so much as
a finger, before her protector had a rapier flourishing in his eyes, and
threatened him with instant death, unless he desisted from his
profane purpose. At sight of the bright steel he stepped back one or
two paces, drew his own sword, and was preparing to fight, when one
of his more grave associates called out—
“For shame, Rollo!—with a lady’s lacquey, too, and in the presence
of the duke and duchess! I see their royal highnesses, already
alarmed, are inquiring the cause of the disturbance.”
It was even as this gentleman said, and presently came up to the
scene of contention some of the most distinguished personages in the
crowd, one of whom demanded from the parties an explanation of so
disgraceful an occurrence.
“Why, here is a fellow, my lord,” answered Rollo, “who says he is
the husband of a lady whom he attends as a liveryman, and a lady,
too, the bonniest, I daresay, that has been seen in Scotland since the
days of Queen Magdalen!”
“And what matters it to you,” said the inquirer, who seemed to be a
judge of the Session, “in what relation this man stands to his lady?
Let the parties both come forward, and tell their ain tale. May it
please your royal highness,” he continued, addressing a very grave
dignitary, who sat on horseback behind him, as stiff and formal as a
sign-post, “to hear the declarator of thir twa strange incomers. But
see—see—what is the matter wi’ Lord Wigton?” he added, pointing to
an aged personage on horseback, who had just pushed forward, and
seemed about to faint and fall from his horse. The person alluded to,
at sight of his daughter in this unexpected place, was, in reality,
confounded, and it was some time before he mastered voice enough
to ejaculate—
“Oh, Jean, Jean! what is this ye’ve been about? or what has brocht
you to Edinburgh?”
“Lord have a care of us!” exclaimed at this juncture another
venerable peer, who had just come up, “what has brocht my sonsie
son, Richie Livingstone, to Edinburgh, when he should have been
fechtin’ the Dutch by this time in Transylvania?”
The two lovers, thus recognised by their respective parents, stood
with downcast looks, and perfectly silent, while all was buzz and
confusion in the brilliant circle around them; for the parties
concerned were not more surprised at the aspect of their affairs, than
were all the rest at the beauty of the far-famed but hitherto unseen
Lady Jean Fleming. The Earl of Linlithgow, Richard’s father, was the
first to speak aloud, after the general astonishment had for some
time subsided; and this he did in a laconic though important query,
which he couched in the simple words,—
“Are ye married, bairns?”
“Yes, dearest father,” said his son, gathering courage, and coming
close up to his saddle-bow; “and I beseech you to extricate Lady Jean
and me from this crowd, and I shall tell you all when we are alone.”
“A pretty man ye are, truly,” said the old man, who never took
anything very seriously to heart, “to be staying at hame, and getting
yoursel married, all this time you should have been abroad, winning
honour and wealth, as your gallant granduncle did wi’ Gustavus i’ the
thretties! Hooever, since better mayna be, I maun try and console my
Lord Wigton, who, I doot, has the worst o’ the bargain, ye ne’er-do-
weel!”
He then went up to Lady Jean’s father, shook him by the hand, and
said, that “though they had been made relations against their wills,
he hoped they would continue good friends. The young people,” he
observed, “are no that ill-matched; and it is not the first time that the
Flemings and the Livingstones have melled together, as witness the
blithe marriage of the Queen’s Marie to Lord Fleming in the fifteen-
saxty-five. At ony rate, my lord, let us put a good face on the matter,
afore thae glowerin’ gentles, and whipper-snapper duchesses. I’ll get
horses for the two, and they’ll join the riding’ down the street; and
de’il hae me, if Lady Jean doesna outshine the hale o’ them!”
“My Lord Linlithgow,” responded the graver and more implacable
Earl of Wigton, “it may set you to take this matter blithely, but let me
tell you, its a muckle mair serious affair for me. What think ye am I
to do wi’ Frances and Grizzy noo?”
“Hoot toot, my lord,” said Linlithgow with a sly smile, “their
chance is as gude as ever it was, I assure you, and sae will everybody
think that kens them. I maun ca’ horses though, or the young folk
will be ridden ower afore ever they do more gude, by thae
rampaugin’ young men.” So saying, and taking Lord Wigton’s moody
silence for assent, he proceeded to cry to his servants for the best
pair of horses they could get, and these being speedily procured,
Lord Richard and his bride were requested to mount; after which
they were formally introduced to the gracious notice of the Duke and
Duchess of York, and the Princess Anne, who happened to attend
Parliament on this the last day of its session, when it was customary
for all the members to ride both to and from the House in an orderly
cavalcade.
The order was given to proceed, and the lovers were soon relieved
in a great measure from the embarrassing notice of the crowd, by
assuming a particular place in the procession, and finding
themselves confounded with more than three hundred equally
splendid figures. As the pageant, however, moved down the High
Street in a continuous and open line, it was impossible not to
distinguish the singular loveliness of Lady Jean, and the gallant
carriage of her husband, from all the rest. Accordingly, the trained
bands and city guard, who lined the street, and who were in general
quite as insensible to the splendours of “the Riding” as are the
musicians in a modern orchestra to the wonders of a melodrama in
its fortieth night,—even they perceived and admired the graces of the
young couple, whom they could not help gazing after with a stupid
and lingering delight. From the windows, too, and the “stair-heads,”
their beauty was well observed, and amply conjectured and
commented on; while many a young cavalier endeavoured, by all
sorts of pretences, to find occasion to break the order of the
cavalcade, and get himself haply placed nearer to the exquisite
figure, of which he had got just one killing glance in the square.
Slowly and majestically the brilliant train paced down the great
street of Edinburgh—the acclamations of the multitude ceaselessly
expressing the delight which the people of Scotland felt in this
sensible type and emblem of their ancient independence.
At length they reached the courtyard of Holyrood-house, where the
duke and duchess invited the whole assemblage to a ball, which they
designed to give that evening in the hall of the palace; after which all
departed to their respective residences throughout the town, Lords
Wigton and Linlithgow taking their young friends under their
immediate protection, and seeking the residence of the former
nobleman, a little way up the Canongate. In riding thither, the lovers
had leisure to explain to their parents the singular circumstances of
their union, and address enough to obtain unqualified forgiveness
for their imprudence.
On alighting at Lord Wigton’s house, Lady Jean found her sisters
confined to their rooms with headache, or some such serious
indisposition, and in the utmost dejection on account of having been
thereby withheld from the Riding of the Parliament. Their spirits, as
may be supposed, were not much elevated, when, on coming forth in
dishabille to welcome their sister, they learned that she had had the
good fortune to be married before them. Their ill-luck was, however,
irremediable, and so, making a merit of submitting to it, they
condescended to be rather agreeable during the dinner and the
afternoon. It was not long before all parties were perfectly reconciled
to what had taken place; and by the time it was necessary to dress for
the ball, the elder young ladies declared themselves so much
recovered as to be able to accompany their happy sister.
The Earl of Linlithgow and his son then sent a servant for proper
dresses, and prepared themselves for the occasion without leaving
the house. When all were ready, a number of chairs were called to
transport their dainty persons down the street. The news of Lady
Jean’s arrival, and of her marriage, having now spread abroad, the
court in front of the house, the alley, and even the open street, were
crowded with people of all ranks, anxious to catch a passing glimpse
of the heroine of so strange a tale. As her chair was carried along, a
buzz of admiration from all who were so happy as to be near it,
marked its progress. Happy, too, was the gentleman who had the
good luck to be near her chair as it was set down at the palace-gate,
and assist her in stepping from it upon the lighted pavement. From
the outer gate, along the piazza of the inner court, and all the way up
the broad staircase to the illuminated hall, two rows of noblemen and
gentlemen formed a brilliant avenue, as she passed along, while a
hundred plumed caps were doffed in honour of so much beauty, and
as many youthful eyes glanced bright with satisfaction at beholding
it. The object of all this attention tripped modestly along in the hand
of the Earl of Linlithgow, acknowledging, with many a graceful
flexure and undulation of person, the compliments of the spectators.
At length the company entered the spacious and splendid room in
which the ball was to be held. At the extremity, opposite to the entry,
upon an elevated platform, sat the three royal personages, all of
whom, on Lady Jean’s introduction, rose and came forward to
welcome her and her husband to the entertainments of Holyrood,
and to hope that her ladyship would often adorn their circle. In a
short time the dancing commenced; and, amidst all the ladies who
exhibited their charms and their magnificent attire in that
captivating exercise, who was, either in person or dress, half so
brilliant as Lady Jean?—Chambers’s Edin. Journal.
THE MONKEY:
A SECOND PASSAGE IN THE LIFE OF
WILLIAM M‘GEE, WEAVER IN HAMILTON.
By Robert Macnish, LL.D.
I dinna think that in a’ nature there’s a mair curiouser cratur than

a monkey. I mak this observe frae being witness to an extraordinar’
event that took place in Hamilton, three or four days after my never-
to-be-forgotten Battle of the Breeks.[6] Some even gaed the length to
say that it was to the full mair curiouser than that affair, in sae far as
the principal performer in the ae case was a rational man, whereas in
the ither he was only a bit ape. But folk may talk as they like about
monkeys, and cry them down for being stupid and mischievous, I for
ane will no gang that length. Whatever they may be on the score of
mischief, there can be nae doubt, that, sae far as gumption is
concerned, they are just uncommon; and for wit and fun they would
beat ony man black and blue. In fact, I dinna think that monkeys are
beasts ava. I hae a half notion that they are just wee hairy men, that
canna or rather winna speak, in case they may be made to work like
ither folk, instead of leading a life of idleness.
6. See ante, p. 223.
But to the point. I ance had a monkey, ane of the drollest looking
deevils ye ever saw. He was gayan big for a monkey, and was hairy a’
ower, except his face and his bit hurdies, which had a degree of
bareness about them, and were nearly as saft as a lady’s loof. Weel,
what think ye that I did wi’ the beastie? ’Od, man, I dressed him up
like a Heelandman, and put a kilt upon him, and a lang-tailed red
coat, and a blue bannet, which for security’s sake I tied, womanlike,
below his chin, wi’ twa bits of yellow ribbon. I not only did this, but I
learnt him to walk upon his twa hinder legs, and to carry a stick in
his right hand when he gaed out, the better to support him in his
peregrinations. He was for a’ the world like a wee man in kilts—sae
much sae, that when Glengarry, the great Heeland chieftain, wha
happened to be at Hamilton on a visit to the Duke, saw him by
chance, he swore by the powers that he was like ane o’ the Celtic
Society, and that if I likit he would endeavour to get him admitted a
member of that body. I thocht at the time that Glengarry was jokin’,
but I hae since had gude reason for thinking that he was in real
earnest, as Andrew Brand says that he and the Celts hae been like to
cut ane anither’s throats, and that he micht mean this as an affront
upon them. Hoosomever I maun do Glengarry the justice to say, that
had he got my Nosey (that was his name) made a member, he wadna
hae pruved the least witty or courageous o’ the society, and would
hae dune nae disgrace to the chief’s recommendation.
But I am fleeing awa like a shuttle frae the subject on hand. Weel,
it turned out in this manner, as ye shall hear. Ae afternoon towards
the gloamin’, I was obligated to tak a stap down to the cross wi’ a web
under my arm, which I had finished for Mr Weft, the muslin
manufacturer. By way of frolic—a gayan foolish ane I allow—I brocht
Nosey alang wi’ me. He had on, as for ordinar, his Heeland dress,
and walkit behind me, wi’ the bit stick in his hand and his tail
sticking out frae below his kilt, as if he had been my flunkey. It was,
after a’, a queer sicht, and, as may be supposed, I drew a hale crowd
o’ bairns after me, bawling out, “Here’s Willie M‘Gee’s monkey,” and
giein’ him nits and gingerbread, and makin’ as muckle o’ the cratur
as could be; for Nosey was a great favourite in the town, and
everybody likit him for his droll tricks, and the way he used to girn,
and dance, and tumble ower his head, to amuse them.
On entering Mr Weft’s shop, I faund it empty; there wasna leiving
soul within. I supposed he had gane out for a licht; and being gayan
familiar wi’ him, I took a stap ben to the back shop, leaving Nosey in
the fore ane. I sat for twa or three minutes, but naebody made his
appearance. At last the front door, which I had ta’en care to shut
after me, opened, and I look’t to see what it could be, thinking that,
nae doubt, it was Mr Weft, or his apprentice. It was neither the ane
nor the ither, but a strong middle-aged, redfaced Heelandman, wi’
specks on, and wi’ a kilt and a bannet, by a’ the world like my
monkey’s. Now, what think ye Nosey was about a’ this time? He was
sittin’ behind the counter upon the lang three-leggit stool that stood
forenent Mr Weft’s desk, and was turning ower the leaves of his
ledger wi’ a look which, for auld-fashioned sagaciousness, was
wonderfu’ to behold. I was sae tickled at the sight that I paid nae sort
of attention to the Heelandman, but continued looking frae the
backshop at Nosey, lauching a’ the time in my sleeve—for I jaloused
that some queer scene would tak place between the twa. And I wasna
far wrang, for the stranger, takin’ out a pound frae his spleuchan,
handed it ower to the monkey, and speered at him, in his droll
norland deealect, if he could change a note. When I heard this, I
thought I would hae lauched outright; and naething but sheer
curiosity to see how the thing would end made me keep my gravity. It
was plain that Donald had ta’en Nosey for ane of his ain countrymen
—and the thing after a’ wasna greatly to be wondered at, and that for
three reasons.
Firstly, the shop was rather darkish.
Secondly, the Heelandman had on specks, as I hae just said; and it
was likely on this account that he was rather short-sighted; and
Thirdly, Nosey, wi’ his kilt, and bannet, and red coat, was to a’
intents and purposes as like a human creature as a monkey could
weel be.
Nae sooner, then, had he got the note than he opened it out, and
lookit at it wi’ his wee, glowrin’, restless een, as if to see that it wasna
a forgery. He then shook his head like a doctor when he’s no very
sure what’s wrang wi’ a person, but wants to mak it appear that he
kens a’ about it—and continued in this style till the Heelandman’s
patience began to get exhausted.
“Can ye no shange the note, old shentleman?” quo’ Donald. Nosey
gied his head anither shake, and lookit uncommon wise.
“Is the note no goot, sir?” spake the Heelandman, a second time;
but the cratur, instead of answering him, only gied anither of his wise
shakes, as much as to say, “I’m no very sure about it.” At this Donald
lost his temper. “If the note doesna please ye, sir,” quo’ he, “I’ll thank
ye to gie me it back again, and I’ll gang to some ither place.” And he
stretchit out his hand to tak haud o’t, when my frien’ wi’ the tail,
lifting up his stick, lent him sic a whack ower the fingers as made him
pu’ back in the twinkling of an ee.
“Cot tamn ye, ye auld scoundrel,” said the man; “de ye mean to tak
my money frae me?” And he lifted up a rung big eneugh to fell a stot,
and let flee at the monkey; but Nosey was ower quick for him, and,
jumping aside, he lichted on a shelf before ane could say Jock
Robinson. Here he rowed up the note like a ba’ in his hand, and put
it into his coat pouch like ony rational cratur. Not only this, but he
mockit the Heelandman by a’ manner of means, shooting out his
tongue at him, spitting at him, and girning at him wi’ his queer
outlandish physiognomy. Then he would tak haud o’ his tail in his
twa hands, and wag it at Donald, and steeking his nieves, he would
seem to threaten him with a leatherin’! A’thegither he was desperate
impudent, and eneugh to try the patience of a saunt, no to speak o’ a
het-bluided Heelandman. It was gude for sair een to see how Donald
behavit on this occasion. He raged like ane demented, misca’ing the
monkey beyond measure, and swearing as mony Gaelic aiths as
micht hae saired an ordinar man for a twalmonth. During this time, I
never steered a foot, but keepit keekin’ frae the back shop upon a’
that was ganging on. I was highly delighted; and jalousing that Nosey
was ower supple to be easily catched, I had nae apprehension for the
event, and remained snug in my berth to see the upshot.
In a short time, in comes Mr Weft, wi’ a piece of lowing paper in
his hand, that he had got from the next door to licht the shop; and
nae sooner did Donald see him than he axed him for his note.
“What note, honest man?” said Mr Weft.
“Cot tamn,” quo’ Donald; “the note the auld scoundrel, your
grandfater, stole frae me.”
“My grandfaither!” answered the ither wi’ amazement. “I am
thinking, honest man, ye hae had a glass ower muckle. My
grandfaither has been dead for saxteen years, and I ne’er heard tell
till now that he was a fief.”
“Weel, weel, then,” quo’ the Heelandman, “I don’t care naething
about it. If he’s no your grandfaither, he’ll be your faither, or your
brither, or your cousin.”
“My faither or my brither, or my cousin!” repeated Mr Weft. “I
maun tell ye plainly, frien’, that I hae neither faither, nor brither, nor
cousin of ony description, on this side of the grave. I dinna
understand ye, honest man, but I reckon that ye hae sat ower lang at
the whisky, and my advice to ye is to stap awa hame and sleep it aff.”
At this speech the Heelandman lost a’ patience, and lookit sae
awfully fairce, that ance or twice I was on the nick of coming forrit,
and explaining how matters really stood; but curiosity keepit me
chained to the back shop, and I just thoucht I would bide a wee, and
see how the affair was like to end.
“Pray, wha are you, sir?” said Donald, putting his hands in his
sides, and looking through his specks upon Mr Weft, like a deevil
incarnit. “Wha are you, sir, that daur to speak to me in this manner?”
“Wha am I?” said the ither, drapping the remnant of the paper,
which was burnin’ close to his fingers, “I am Saunders Weft,
manufacturer in Hamilton—that’s what I am.”
“And I am Tonald Campbell, piper’s sister’s son to his grace the
great, grand Tuke of Argyll,” thundered out the Heelandman, wi’ a
voice that was fearsome to hear.
“And what about that?” quo’ Mr Weft, rather snappishly, as I
thocht. “If ye were the great, grand Duke of Argyll himsel, as ye ca’
him, I’ll no permit you to kick up a dust in my shop.”
“Ye scounrel,” said Donald, seizing Mr Weft by the throat, and
shaking him till he tottered like an aspen leaf, “div ye mean to speak
ill of his grace the Tuke of Argyll?” And he gied him anither shake—
then, laying haud of his nose, he swore that he would pu’t as lang as a
cow’s tail, if he didna that instant restore him his lost property. At
this sicht I began to grue a’ ower, and now saw the needcessity of
stapping ben, and saving my employer frae farther damage, bodily
and itherwise. Nae sooner had I made my appearance than Donald
let go his grip of Mr Weft’s nose, and the latter, in a great passion,
cried out—
“William M‘Gee, I tak ye to witness what I hae sufferit frae this
bluidthirsty Heelandman! It’s no to be endured in a Christian
country. I’ll hae the law of him, that I will. I’ll be whuppit but I’ll hae
amends, although it costs me twenty pounds!”
“What’s the matter?” quo’ I, pretending ignorance of the hale
concern. “What, in the name of Nebuchadnezzar, has set ye thegither
by the lugs?”
Then Mr Weft began his tale, how he had been collared and weel
nigh thrappled in his ain shop;—then the ither tauld how, in the first
place, Mr Weft’s grandfaither, as he ca’d Nosey, had stolen his note,
and how, in the second place, Mr Weft himself had insulted the
great, grand Duke of Argyll. In a word, there was a desperate kick-up
between them, the ane threeping that he would tak the law of the
ither immediately. Na, in this respect Donald gaed the greatest
length, for he swore that, rather than be defeated, he wad carry his
cause to the House of Lords, although it cost him thretty pounds
sterling. I now saw it was time to put in a word.
“Hout-tout, gentlemen,” quo’ I, “what’s the use of a’ this
clishmaclaver? Ye’ve baith gotten the wrang sow by the lug, or my
name’s no William M‘Gee. I’ll wager ye a penny-piece, that my
monkey Nosey is at the bottom of the business.”
Nae sooner had I spoken the word, than the twa, looking round the
shop, spied the beastie sitting upon the shelf, girning at them, and
putting out his tongue, and wiggle-waggling his walking stick ower
his left elbow, as if he had been playing upon the fiddle. Mr Weft at
this apparition set up a loud laugh; his passion left him in a moment,
when he saw the ridiculous mistake that the Heelandman had fa’en
into, and I thocht he would hae bursted his sides wi’ evendown
merriment. At first, Donald lookit desperate angry, and, judging frae
the way he was twisting about his mouth and rowing his een, I
opined that he intended some deadly skaith to the monkey. But his
gude sense, of which Heelandmen are no a’thegither destitute, got
the better of his anger, and he roared and lauched like the very
mischief. Nor was this a’, for nae sooner had he began to lauch, than
the monkey did the same thing, and held its sides in preceesely the
same manner, imitating his actions, in the maist amusin’ way
imaginable. This only set Donald a-lauching mair than ever, and
when he lifted up his nieve, and shook it at Nosey in a gude-
humoured way, what think ye that the cratur did? ’Od, man, he took
the note frae his pouch, whaur it lay rowed up like a ba’, and papping
it at Donald, hit him as fairly upon the nose as if it had been shot out
of a weel-aimed musket. There was nae resisting this. The haill three,
or rather the haill four, for Nosey joined us, set up a loud lauch; and
the Heelandman’s was the loudest of a’, showing that he was really a
man of sense, and could tak a joke as weel as his neighbours.
When the lauchin’ had a wee subsided, Mr Campbell, in order to
show that he had nae ill will to Mr Weft, axed his pardon for the
rough way he had treated him, but the worthy manufacturer wadna
hear o’t. “Houts, man,” quo’ he, “dinna say a word about it. It’s a
mistak a’thegither, and Solomon himsel, ye ken, whiles gaed wrang.”
Whereupon the Heelandman bought a Kilmarnock nicht-cap, price
elevenpence ha’penny, frae Mr Weft, and paid him wi’ part of the
very note that brocht on the ferlie I hae just been relating. But his
gude wull didna end here, for he insisted on takin’ us a’—Nosey
amang the lave—to the nearest public, where he gied us a frien’ly
glass, and we keepit talking about monkeys, and what not, in a
manner at ance edifying and amusing to hear.
THE LADDER DANCER.
Men should know why

They write, and for what end; but note or text,
I never know the word which will come next;
So on I ramble, now and then narrating,
Now pondering.—Byron.
It was a lovely evening in summer, when a crowd hallooing and

shouting in the street of L——, a village of the north of Scotland, at
once disturbed my reveries, and left me little leisure again to yield
myself to their wayward dominion. In sooth, I had no pretence for
indifference to a very singular spectacle of a something-like human
being moving in mid-air; and although its saltatory gambols in this
unusual situation could scarcely be called dancing, it was certainly
intended to be like it, however little the resemblance might be
approved. A something between a male and female in point of dress
—a perfect hermaphrodite in regard to costume—had mounted
herself on gigantic stilts, on which she hopped about, defying the
secrecy even of the middle floors of the surrounding houses, and in
some cases giving her a peep into the attic regions of less lofty
domiciles. In this manner, stalking about from side to side, like a
crane among the reeds, the very Diable Boiteux himself was never
more inquisitive after the domestic concerns of his neighbours, or
better fitted to explore them by his invisibility, than she was by her
altitude. Her presence in mid-air, in more than one instance, was the
subject of alarm to the sober inmates of the street, who, little
suspicious of such intrusion, might perhaps be engaged in household
cares which did not court observation, or had sunk into the
relaxations of an undress, after the fatigues and heat of the day.
Everywhere the windows might be heard thrown up with impatient
haste,—the sash skirling and creaking in its ascent with the violence
of the effort, and immediately after, a head might be seen poked
forward to explore the “whence” and “wherefore,”—in short, to ask in
one word, if it could be so condensed, the meaning and purpose of
this aërial visitor.
The more desultory occupations of a little village hold but loosely
together the different classes of it. Master and servant approach
more nearly,—the one is less elevated, and the other less depressed,
than in great towns,—a show is at least as great a treat to the one as
to the other, and there is nothing in their respective notions of
decorum to repress their joyous feelings, while under the irresistible
impulse of the inimitable Mr Punch, or of the demure and clumsy
bear, treading a measure with the graces of a Mercandotti. In short,
the more simple elements of a villager’s mind are, like their own
more robust frames, more easily inflamed;—there is more excitable
stuff about them, because they are less frequently subjected to the
tear and wear of novelty, which towns constantly afford. The
schoolmaster and the schoolboy alike pour out from the lowly straw-
roofed “academy,” with the same eager and breathless haste, to catch
a first glance, or secure a favourable post. Syntax and arithmetic—
blessed oblivion!—are for the moment forgotten. Think of the
ecstacies of the little culprit, who was perhaps under the rod, if at
that awful moment a troop of dancing dogs, with their full
accompaniment of pipe and tabor, came under the school window,
and was at once gladdened with a respite and a show. One moment
watching the grim smile of the pedagogue; next lost in wonder at the
accomplished puppets—nothing to disturb his bliss but the trammels
of Concordance, or the intricacies of the Rule of Three.
But if mere novelty has such delights for the younger portion, to
escape from the monotony of village life has not less charms for the
graver class of its inhabitants. An old gentleman, evidently
unmindful of his dishabille, popped his head forth of his casement,
heedless of the red Kilmarnock in which it was bedight, and gazed
with eager curiosity on the ambitious female who had now passed his
lattice. He seemed to have caught a hint of the dereglement of his
own costume, by remarking that of his female neighbour at the
adjoining window, who exposed courageously the snowy ringlets
which begirt the region of bumps and qualities, in place of the brown
and glossy curls, which, till that ill-fated moment, were supposed to
have belonged to it.[7] He withdrew from sight with some
precipitation, but whether in horror of his own recklessness, or in
deference to the heedlessness of his neighbour, must for ever remain
in doubt. Is it then strange if there was quite a revel-rout in the
streets of the little village, when old and young alike responded to the
wonder of the scene? To whatever quarter she passed, not a window
was down; labour was suspended to witness feats which no labour of
theirs could accomplish. Women, bearing with them the marks of the
household toils in which they had been last engaged, stood at their
doors, some with sarcastic, but all with curious gaze; while the
sunburnt Piedmontoise at times danced on her stilts a kind of mock
waltz, or hobbled from side to side, in ridicule, as it would seem, of
the livelier measure and footing of the quadrille. When, mounted on
the highest point of her stilts, she strided across the way, to collect or
to solicit pence, the little urchins hanging about their mothers, clung
more closely to them as she approached, and looked up to her,
doubting and fearful, as fish are said to be scared by a passing cloud.
She was most successful among the male spectators of the village.
Her feats with them excited no feelings of rivalry, and their notions
of decorum were not so easily disturbed as those of their helpmates,
who, in refusing their contribution, never withhold their reprobation
of such anti-Christian gambols.
7. I love to luxuriate in a note: it is like hunting in an unenclosed country. One
word about the affectations of Graybeards. Among all the ten thousand reasons for
their gray hairs, no one ever thought of years as being at least a probable cause. It
is one of the very few hereditary peculiarities of physical constitution, which are
loudly proclaimed and gladly seized, to apologise for the sin of hoary locks. Acute
sorrow, or sudden surprise;—indigestion—that talismanic thing, the nerves—love,
speculation—or anything, in short, are all approved theories to explain their first
intrusion among the legitimate ringlets of male and female persons of “no
particular age.” Even it is said that people have awoke gray who lay down under
very different colours; of course, they had had a bad dream, or lain on the wrong
side, but no conscientious perruquier could have sworn to their identity under such
a metamorphosis. In short, gray hairs are purely accidental; they have nothing to
do with years; and being deemed a misfortune, have from time immemorial been
always spoken of with reverence, but nowhere that I can recollect are they spoken
of with affection, save in the beautiful song, “John Anderson, my Jo,” where the
kind-hearted wife invokes blessings on the frosty pow of her aged partner.
“Gae awa wi’ you, ye idle randie! Weel sets the like o’ sic misleard
queans to gang about the country playing antics like a fule, to fules
like yoursel,” was the answer given by a middle-aged woman, who
stood near me, to the boy who carried round a wooden platter for the
halfpence, and who instantly retired, to save herself from the latter
part of her own reproach, dragging with her a ragged little rogue,
who begged hard to remain till the end of the exhibition. By this time
the procession had reached the end of the street, where some of the
better class of the inhabitants resided, and some preparations were
made for a more elaborate spectacle. The swarthy Savoyard, who
accompanied the ladder-dancer, after surveying the field, seemed to
fix his station opposite to a respectable-looking house, whose
liberality he evidently measured by its outward pretensions.
There is no state of helplessness equal to that of ignorance of the
language in which a favour is to be craved, and you may estimate the
proficiency of the foreigner in the intricacies of our own dialect by
the obsequiousness of his smile, which he at once adapts to the
purposes of solicitation, and of defence against insult and ridicule.
While with a look of preparation he bustled about, to gain attention,
he grinned and nodded to the windows which were occupied, while
he held a ladder upright, and placing his hat at the bottom of it to
receive the niggard bounty of the spectators, he stood at the back of
it, supporting it with both his hands. The lady of the stilts now
advanced, and resting on one of them, with considerable address
lifted up the other and pushed it forward, with an action that seemed
to denote something like a salutation, or obeisance,—a kind of aërial
salaam. At this moment the hall-door was opened, and a portly-
looking woman of middle-age, evidently the mistress of the
household, came forward and planted herself on the broad landing-
place of the stair. There was about this personage the round, full look
which betokens ease and affluence; and the firm, steady step which
argues satisfaction with our condition. She fixed herself on the door-
step with the solid perpendicularity of Pompey’s Pillar, and now and
then turned round to some young girls who attended her, as if to
chide them for mixing her up with so silly an exhibition.
I had supposed that the Piedmontoise would have laid aside her
stilts when she ascended the ladder, but far from it, for in this
consisted the singularity of the exhibition. She climbed the ladder,
still mounted on them, then descended like a cat on the other side of
it; she hopped down as she had hopped up, with equal steadiness

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5 Jobsite general conditions 53

6 Overhead and proﬁt 65

9 Earned value analysis 109

10 Activity-based costing 117

12 Equipment use and depreciation 147

13 Cash ﬂow 165

14 Payment requests 182

16 Financial close-out of the construction project 208

17 Time value of money 222

18 Taxes and audits 233

1.1 Cost accounting cycle 7

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ABC activity-based costing

Financial management overview

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Introduction to the built environment

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By Robert Macnish, LL.D.

I dinna think that in a’ nature there’s a mair curiouser cratur than

Men should know why

It was a lovely evening in summer, when a crowd hallooing and

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