(e) Internal controls are very important in a complex civil engineering project such as th

Question

(e) Internal controls are very important in a complex civil engineering project such as the Giant Dam Project.

Required:

Describe the difficulties of maintaining sound internal controls in the Giant Dam Project created by working

through sub-contractors. (4 marks)

Answer 1

正确答案：
(e) Control and sub-contractors
Specifically in regard to the maintenance of internal controls when working with sub-contractors, the prominent difficulties
are likely to be in the following areas:
Configuring and co-ordinating the many activities of sub-contractors so as to keep progress on track. This may involve taking
the different cultures of sub-contractor organisations into account.
Loss of direct control over activities as tasks are performed by people outside R&M’s direct employment and hence its
management structure.
Monitoring the quality of work produced by the sub-contractors. Monitoring costs will be incurred and any quality problems
will be potentially costly.
Budget ‘creep’ and cost control. Keeping control of budgets can be a problem in any large civil engineering project (such the
construction of the new Wembley Stadium in the UK) and problems are likely to be made worse when the principal contractor
does not have direct control over all activities.
Time limit over-runs. Many projects (again, such as the new Wembley Stadium, but others also) over-run significantly on time.
Tutorial note: only four difficulties need to be described.