Project Budget Research Articles

Applied Corporate finance textbook: Part 1 (draft)

This is a draft of Part 1 for the textbook on Applied Corporate finance developed for the benefit of WIUT students. So far, it covers the basics of capital budgeting and special cases of investment projects (costs-only projects, contigent projects), containing training exercises and case-studies for students.

浅谈我国工程造价管理与预算编制

浅谈我国工程造价管理与预算编制

FACTORS AFFECTING CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTIVITY IN BRAZIL: COMPARISON WITH RECENT INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH

Executing projects according to its estimated cost and schedule is fundamental to guarantee the economic and financial viability of the businesses associated with them. In this context, the estimated duration of an activity is very important for the development of the project schedule and budget. Therefore, determining the main factors that contribute to labor productivity becomes imperative. This research identified the main factors affecting labor productivity in construction projects around the world. Then, it was verified the pertinence of these factors to the Brazilean industry . The 56 factors identified were prioritized, according to the importance index, and categorized into four main groups: management, labor, external and technological. Factors such as: poor material management, lack of construction manager’s leadership, site supervision inefficiency, strikes and lack of tools are at the top of the list. It was also observed the balance between the management, technological and external groups. Finally, when compared to researches carried out in other countries, there is a reasonable correlation between the results identified by this research and those found by previous researches.

Budget Management and Project Performance, A Case Study of Equity Agency Banking Project

Budget Management and Project Performance, A Case Study of Equity Agency Banking Project

The impact of foreign markets globalization on the price and functionality of electronic access control systems

Research background: The research, which is the subject of the paper, is based on the global expansion of the use of electronic access control systems using biometric data for user verification. Due to the globalization of products from foreign markets to Slovakia, there is a competition between suppliers. The disadvantage is that organizations that are considering procuring an electronic access control system focus their attention only on its price. Globalization and global use have neglected the skills gap between European, American, and Asian markets. Purpose of the article: The paper will aim to point out, through a case study, the financial and functional differences of electronic access control systems. In the case study, a comparison of three different systems with the possibility of procurement on the European, American, and Asian markets will be performed on the building - administrative building. Methods: The article will mainly use methods such as the global method and the optimization model of the financial plan. As well as a case study, the cooperation of achieved results and analysis of possibilities of foreign markets. Findings & Value added: The results achieved by the paper will be globally usable in the conditions of European countries. These will be the conclusions of a case study that will point to the appropriateness of choosing an electronic access control system using biometric features in a standard office building. We can also consider the creation of a project budget usable for organizations as one of the added values.

Selection and Optimization of Software Development Life Cycles Using a Genetic Algorithm

In the software field, a large number of projects fail, and billions of dollars are spent on these failed projects. Many software projects are also produced with poor quality or they do not exactly meet customers’ expectations. Moreover, these projects may exceed project budget and/or time. The complexity of managing software development projects and the poor selection of software development life cycle (SDLC) models are among the top reasons for such failure. Various SDLC models are available, but no model is considered the best or worst. In this work, we propose a new methodology that solves the SDLC optimization problem using a genetic algorithm. The methodology selects the best SDLC and optimizes the completion time of the selected model. This study aims to help project managers in a software development organization select the proper SDLC model for their projects and optimize the selected model by minimizing the project completion time. The proposed SDLC model selection approach is based on a selection matrix that consists of a set of selection criteria and information related to the project’s nature given by the project managers. Our methodology optimizes the selected SDLC model by reducing the project completion time and assigning duration for each phase. Several experiments were conducted to obtain the optimal completion time for the selected SDLC models. These experiments showed that our algorithm can optimally minimize the completion time of a given project and assign a duration for each phase. Experimental results showed that our methodology can reduce the completion time of a given project and produce realistic and optimal completion times for different SDLC models.

РЕАЛИЗАЦИЯ НАЦИОНАЛЬНЫХ ПРОЕКТОВ В ЧАСТИ ЦИФРОВИЗАЦИИ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОГО УПРАВЛЕНИЯ В СУБЪЕКТАХ РФ

The article presents the experience of the development and mastering of digital technologies in the state administration of the Khanty­ Mansi Autonomous Okrug — Ugra. The work is focused primarily on assessing the progress of the regional project «Digital Public Administration» by assessing the degree of achievement of targets, execution of the project budget, identifying «problem areas» and risks, as well as developing proposals and recommendations.

Prediction of effort required to design software for smart city applications

In present era smart cities are essential for further development. The fast growth in the urban population is a serious concern for city administration. It leads to various challenges while handling problems of resource crunch and managing them. Developments that relate to smart cities are helping the administration address these problems. Its initial effort prediction and its scalability are the main features for the completion of a successful smart-city project. The initiative depends on many factors that are inter-related. It is not possible to change or optimise certain kinds of aspects separately. The last-minute change in the schedule raises the project budget and time. In the early phases of the project, a realistic and concrete project plan needs a fair estimate of effort. This projected effort helps to monitor and handle the activities of application creation by the developer. Unfair allocation of efforts and resources between development activities, including software projects, contributes to the failure of smart city projects, too. Therefore, for smart city ventures, the secret to success is an accurate estimation of implementation activities at the earliest. Numerous approaches are available for effort prediction of software as well as hardware projects used to develop the smart city projects. Hence, the gap in the different methods available creates thrust areas for researchers to investigate and propose an effort prediction model for smart city-based projects. In this paper, a model has been formulated that takes into consideration a set of critical factors for a given IoT based application used to develop smart city in the subject, and it further provides estimation for the effort.

Authorities’ Fiscal Forecasts in Latin America: Are They Optimistic?

Do governments in Latin America tend to be optimistic when preparing budgetary projections? We address this question by constructing a novel dataset of the authorities' fiscal forecasts in six Latin American economies using data from annual budget documents over the period 2000-2018. In turn, we compare such forecasts with the outturns reported in the corresponding budget documents of the following years to understand the evolution of fiscal forecast errors. Our findings suggest that: (i) for most countries, there is no general optimistic bias in the forecasts for the fiscal balance-to-GDP ratio (though there may be for the components); (ii) fiscal forecasts have improved for some countries over time, albeit they have worsened for others; (iii) in terms of drivers, we show that forecast errors for the fiscal balance-to-GDP ratio are positively correlated with GDP growth and terms of trade changes and negatively with GDP deflator surprises; (iv) forecast errors for public debt-to-GDP ratios are negatively associated with surprises to GDP growth; (v) lastly, budget balance rules seem to help contain the size of the fiscal forecast errors.

Factors that Needs Improvement in Participatory Budgeting Projects to Achieve Community Development Goals in Port Loko District and City Council

The purpose of the study is to find out and recommend the factors that need improvement in the future implementation of participatory budgeting in Port Loko District and City Council in order to achieve community development goals. As our study is based on primary data, we collected 420 questionnaires to analyse our findings. A lot of factors were identified and analysed using Garret Ranking Techniques.

The participative budget of making a city sustainable: quintuple helix approach

For transition economies, urban management processes are also in transition, which also means a situational opportunity to apply an integrated approach to the implementation of innovative projects, in which economic and political, as well as social, socio-cultural and environmental directions of development can receive a positive stimulus. Purpose of the study is to analyze the structure of participatory budgeting projects on the continuum “science and education – environment”, in accordance with the methodological approach to justify the innovative development of the city (based on helix-modeling). The paper has outlined an approach to activation the principles of sustainable and inclusive development at the local level, on the example of the participatory budget of Kyiv city in Ukraine. At the methodological level, the stages of the evolution of helix-modeling to the quintuple level have been analyzed in detail, the results of which are proposed to be implemented in accelerating the transformation of the projects structure aimed at the development of economic, social and environmental aspects of citizens life, namely in the fields of education, science, culture, sports, ecology, etc. Analysis of the change in the structure of participatory budgeting in Kyiv for the period 2017-2019 allows us to talk about the optimistic transition scenario of the city and the country in whole to the real pace of achievement the Sustainable Development Goals 2030. Strengthening the current positive changes with the help of state support, as well as ensuring a sufficient responsible investment, allows at a project level to succeed in improving the sustainability of the city.

PREDICTING COST CONTINGENCY FOR PRIVATE PROJECTS: CASE STUDY IN VIETNAM

Actual cost in construction projects has tended to exceed the project budgets. Thus, cost contingency from the initial of the project is the significant budget to complete project activities. Cost contingency is an important element of cost estimation to protect project stakeholders such as owners, contractors, and architects from the risks of the project. This paper reviewed the previous studies to find the factors affecting cost contingency and proposed a regression model to predict the cost contingency for private projects in Vietnam. Through industry survey, project performance information from a total of 48 private projects in Vietnam was gathered. The research also compared with other studies to have an overview about cost contingency predicting methods. The key benefit of this research is that the project managers can use this model as another forecasting method to get a better quality cost management. The further research can be focused on developing the model for other project types in Vietnam.

Odchylenia i wykonania budżetu oraz harmonogramu przedsięwzięć budowlanych monitorowanych przez nadzór bankowy na przykładzie budynków zbiorowego zamieszkania

Kluczowymi elementami decydującymi o powodzeniu lub porażce przedsięwzięć budowlanych są czas i koszt. Celem artykułu jest analiza i ocena przebiegu zróżnicowanych przedsięwzięć budowlanych w zakresie badania odchylenia i wykonania budżetu oraz harmonogramu przedsięwzięć budowlanych. Obliczenia wykonane zgodnie z metodyką wartości wypracowanej (ang. earned value method – EVM) pozwoliły na ocenę rzeczywiście wypracowanych harmonogramów oraz kosztów poszczególnych zadań inwestycyjnych. Dane do analizy pozyskano z własnych doświadczeń i pracy zawodowej autorów artykułu świadczących usługi bankowego inspektora nadzoru w latach 2006-2019 w imieniu banków udzielających kredyty inwestycyjne dla zamówień niepublicznych.

Pandemic as an accelerator of digital transformation in the insurance industry: evidence from Ukraine

Pandemic affects insurance industry both directly, via health shocks, and indirectly, via financial shocks, as well as via shift in the policyholder behavior and distribution channels. The paper contributes to understanding the impact of COVID-19 on the global and Ukrainian insurance market, provides insights into implementing digital measures and technologies for insurers, in response to changes caused or accelerated by pandemic, building the capabilities to survive and exploit the changing market.A research of the the dynamics of Ukrainian insurance market changes during the quarantine period was conducted, the main tech achievements of leading insurers were investigated. The paper highlights priorities that insurers need to address in the wake of pandemic (distribution destruction, reinvention of the customer experience, cost structure changes, new protection offerings and new revenue pools), deals with different business strategies that insurers can follow to adopt and pivot in the low-touch economy and reveals new opportunities to extend insurers’ protection offerings and establish new sources of revenue emerged with digital transformation. AcknowledgmentThis project was financed by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Poland as part of the «Regional Initiative of Excellence” Programme for 2019–2022. Project No. 021/RID/2018/19. Total project budget: PLN 11 897 131,40.

ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF PROMISING COLLECTION OF SOUR CHERRY VARIETIES

A long-term comprehensive study of collection of sour cherries samples collected in the Krymsk Experimental Breeding Station, VIR Branch from the VIR Collections of Plant Genetic Resources as part of the state task VIR (budget project No. 0662–2019–0004), allowed us to identify promising varieties and establish with they a variety study site. As a result of the work done, adaptive varieties, best in terms of their complex of characteristics, resistant to the main diseases, allowing the creation of a conveyor belt by ripening time, were revealed: Chudo-vishnya, Igrushka, Nochka, their average fruit mass varied from 5.5 to 8.5 grams. The studied varieties had high ratings of fresh fruits, and their technological assessment of their suitability for processing showed that these varieties can be recommended for production use.

Tiempos de cambio y pandemia en Latinoamérica. Perspectivas y desafíos de las políticas culturales uruguayas

This article aims to give an account of the challenges and perspectives of Uruguayan cultural policies in the face of two recent factors of change in Latin America:changes in the political sign of governments and the covid-19 pandemic. In this text there is an analysis through the approach to theoretical concepts of policies and cultural rights, the inaugural speeches of the Uruguayan presidents Vázquez (progressive) and Lacalle Pou (liberal), their programs, and the current budgetary project; as well as an additional analysis of the regional situation and the pandemic through press articles. Considering the current moment of Latin American, from the Uruguayan case we could point out that the government’s new orientation would seem to face a paradigm shift in the conception of cultural policies and rights. In that sense, in the institutional changes proposed by the government, its cultural conception seems to be weighed against the consolidation of tools that – in this context of uncertainty and pandemic – strengthen the sector.

A model utilizing the artificial neural network in cost estimation of construction projects in Jordan

PurposeCost estimation is one of the most significant steps in construction planning, which must be undertaken in the preliminary stages of any project; it is required for all projects to establish the project's budget. Confidence in these initial estimates is low, primarily due to the limited availability of suitable data, which leads the construction projects to frequently end up over budget. This paper investigated the efficacy of artificial neural networks (ANNs) methodologies in overcoming cost estimation problems in the early phases of the building design process.Design/methodology/approachCost and design data from 104 projects constructed over the past five years in Jordan were used to develop, train and test ANN models. At the detailed design stage, 53 design factors were utilized to develop the first ANN model; then the factors were reduced to 41 and were utilized to develop the second predictive model at the schematic design stage. Finally, 27 design factors available at the concept design stage were utilized for the third ANN model.FindingsThe models achieved average cost estimation accuracy of 98, 98 and 97% in the detailed, schematic and concept design stages, respectively.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper formulated the aims and objectives to be applicable only in Jordan using historical data of building projects.Originality/valueThe ANN approach introduced as a management tool is expected to provide the stakeholders in the engineering business with an indispensable tool for predicting the cost with limited data at the early stages of construction projects.

CAPACITY UTILIZATION ANALYSIS OF HPLC INSTRUMENTS FROM THE ASPECT OF HUNGARIAN FOR- AND NON-PROFIT SECTOR

This study focuses on the development of a method in order to measure and evaluate the capacity utilization of forty laboratory instruments in the analytical field of chromatography in the two major sectors, namely non-profit and for-profit. The procurement of the laboratory instruments was either from own institution’s budget or European Union projects funded. The primary objective of this survey is to identify appropriate laboratory capacity utilization and productivity measures and analyze the potential cost benefit. The measurements were carried out by idle-time indicators for a 12-months/ a year period of time to determine the efficient utilization of the laboratory devices. The analyzed data were gathered from the Hungarian laboratory market as an own research. The significant difference was found between the classifications and periods of idle times for an HPLC instrument for non-profit and profit-oriented institutes and thus capacity utilization is slightly different in these two cases. Based on the results, at last it was stated that a number of effect of EU resources on R&D development and their significance is still unsolved and so a more complex survey has to be carried out in future in the major sectors of the laboratory B2B market. In this work only the most important aspects based on the Research and Development activities were examined for sustainable economic development. Naturally, the conceptual scope and extent of this study do not permit all the possible issues to be examined from every aspect, thus it will be endeavored to point out merely the most relevant considerations.

FORMALIZATION AND GENERAL METHODICAL CONCEPT OF COST ENGINEERING IN THE SYSTEM OF CRISIS MANAGEMENT OF CONSTRUCTION ENTERPRISES

The article proves that value engineering (Value engineering) is a set of methods and tools for managing the value of an investment project at all stages of its life cycle, determines the economic relations among the participants. It is determined that cost engineering includes: formation of the project budget (budget planning of the project, assessment of the efficiency of capital investments, investment assessment) estimated pricing; examination (verification of the accuracy of the determination) of the estimated cost of construction; formation of construction cost; cost control of the project implementation process analysis of actual costs (construction costs). Cost engineering of investment and construction projects is closely related to the concepts: project risk management, integrated project cost management (TCM – total cost management). The use of cost engineering allows to complete the project within the planned time and budget with full satisfaction of previously defined expectations of the Customer, ie with full achievement of all predetermined results. Thanks to considerable experience and high qualification, in realization of projects in the EPC format (Engineering, Procurement, Construction – the contract of full volume of works "turnkey"), experts can achieve reduction of investment and operational costs of the investor by 10-15%. In integrated project management, all methods and tools of cost engineering can be used, such as technological audit, price audit, the method of mastered volume, the application of which are given with the use of economic and mathematical modeling.

Quantifying the hydraulic properties of fractured rock masses along a borehole using composite geological indices: A case study in the mid and upper Choshui River Basin in Central Taiwan

Comprehensive information on vertical variations in hydraulic conductivity along a borehole is indispensable for characterizing the complexity of the hydraulic properties of fractured bedrock aquifers or for use as input data for groundwater modeling. This study presents a practical method for addressing various engineering concerns (e.g., project budget, completion time, manpower, and direct measurement of hydraulic properties from rock core specimens) when obtaining detailed and continuous hydraulic conductivity data along a borehole. Based on in-situ hydrogeological data collected from 26 boreholes located in the Choshui River Basin of Central Taiwan, eight individual and six composite geological indices were investigated to determine their correlations with the hydraulic conductivity of fractured rocks through bivariate analysis. The correlation analysis results indicate that all composite geological indices have higher correlations with the hydraulic conductivity than individual indices do. Moreover, the greater the number of individual geological indices integrated into one composite index, the higher the correlation. Based on the correlation results, quantification models for predicting the hydraulic conductivity using the composite geological indices were developed using regression analysis techniques. The performances of various statistical models were evaluated and compared. The regression analysis results for all six predictive models show that a power law relationship exists between each composite geological index and the hydraulic conductivity, and that the coefficient of determination ranges from 0.77 to 0.88. Therefore, the newly developed models can serve as an alternative for obtaining vertical hydraulic conductivity data when the budget for onsite hydraulic test is limited. • Models for predicting the hydraulic conductivity in boreholes are developed. • Eight individual and six composite geological indices are used. • All composite indices have high correlations with hydraulic conductivity. • The developed models are proven to be reliable.