Benchmarking of Client’s Financial management practices in the construction sector of Pakistan

Abstract

The objective of this study is to describe financial management practices of Clients operating in Pakistan by means of qualitative and quantitative approaches. A total of 30 organizations were targeted as respondents. The research results refer to mean percentage of the frequency of the estimation of cost on the projects, methods used to determine whether the project is over or under billed, methods of recording cash flows, methods of checking financial status of projects, methods used for external financing, documents needed when applying for financing, methods used for financial decisions in different organizations and different causes of failure due to which any construction project could be unsuccessful. The research is undertaken to discuss:  The financial management practices which prevail in the local construction sector  Financial management problems that causes the failure of projects in the construction sector of Pakistan and  The mechanism to mitigate the present failure causes in local environment. The findings of this study can be used for improving overall financial management practices of clients in local construction sector through awareness campaigns, training workshops and skill development programs. This should then presumably result in competitive performance of various firms, thereby improving the effectiveness of financial management of projects to avoid construction project failure.