The owner and finance committee of the media and performing arts center have formally recognized the KonradBeck cost management team for the monthly cost reporting on the $118 million venue. In a project funded largely by donors, the committee noted that every question about where money went could be answered with a number, a source and a date.
Why the reporting mattered
A donor-funded venue answers to more people than most projects. Board members, major donors, public funders and the community all want to know the same thing: is the money being spent the way we were told it would be? On this program, a vague answer was not an option. Neither was a late one.
What the report did differently
- One page first. Each report opened with budget, committed cost, estimate at completion and contingency remaining, in plain language, before any detail.
- Every change traced. The change order log linked each change to its cause, its approval and its effect on contingency, so nothing appeared in the forecast without a paper trail.
- Funding mapped to cost. Costs were tracked against each funding source and its restrictions, so the finance committee could see which gifts were paying for what.
- Cash flow forecast. A cash flow curve showed when funds would be needed, giving the development team time to align pledge collections.
Donors do not need a spreadsheet. They need to know their gift is safe. Clear cost reporting is how you tell them, every month.
Cost management lead, KonradBeck
The result
The venue reached opening night with its estimate at completion inside the approved budget and contingency drawdown documented from the first change to the last. Our thanks go to the owner's team and the finance committee, who asked hard questions every month and made the reporting better for it.
