A mixed-use cost report, Gauteng
A finance lead was closing the statutory approvals cost category after construction. The project register showed an unexplained balance, while two municipal credits appeared in correspondence but not in the development cost report.
We traced 47 selected assessment and payment lines, separated the missing-credit issue from three absent receipts, and supplied a reference schedule for finance. The credits were posted after internal review; the absent receipts remained open with the project team rather than being presented as overpayments.
“The review picked up two credits that had never reached our development cost report. More importantly, every exception cited the receipt and tariff line, so finance could clear the items without a long handover.”
— Finance lead, property developer
An application register before handover
A development manager inherited a register assembled by several consultants. Application names were useful to the project team but did not consistently match authority references. A health check sampled 20 trails and mapped the fields needed before a complete reconciliation.
“I expected more definitive answers in the first week, but the health check correctly showed that our naming was the first problem. The preparation list gave each consultant a small, concrete record request, and the later reconciliation moved much faster.”
— Development manager, commercial project
Exceptions prepared for adviser review
On another close-out, six fee lines depended on whether an amended application superseded or supplemented an earlier assessment. We did not offer a planning conclusion. Instead, we assembled the notices, payment history and calculation differences into one chronology for the client’s planning adviser.
“Their restraint was useful. They did not pretend the application status was an accounting question; they put the evidence in sequence and showed us exactly where counsel’s view was needed.”
— Project quantity surveyor
Client names and identifying development details are withheld under engagement confidentiality. Stories are representative of completed work; outcomes depend on record quality and the relevant authority.