ABSTRACT
Management consultants, by the nature of their business, live in a world where winning the work means survival of their firm, and improvements to their salary. Some will do whatever it takes to win the work. Others genuinely care about the service they provide. The two are not always mutually exclusive. Projects, especially construction projects, typically apply specialised project management techniques to mitigate the volatility, cost overruns, significant delays in completion and failures with which such projects are often associated. Audit represents one type of independent external oversight often utilised to provide an opinion on current project status and quality of management. Several years later, that research led to the development of a methodology for scoping and procuring performance audits. The predominant guidance available at the time was typically written by governmental audit offices, specifically for their projects, or by consultants eager to sell services; there existed no substantial guidance for the layman or practitioner.
