ABSTRACT
Cost estimating is the practice of forecasting the cost of completing a project with a defined scope. It is the primary element of project cost management, a knowledge area that involves planning, monitoring and controlling a project's monetary costs. Cost estimates are typically revised and updated as the project's scope becomes more precise and as project risks are realised, cost estimating is an iterative process. A cost estimate is a summation of all the costs involved in successfully finishing a project, from inception to completion. These project costs can be categorised in a number of ways and levels of detail, but the simplest classification divides costs into two main categories: direct costs and indirect costs. Cost accounting is the process of recording, classifying, analysing, summarising and allocating costs associated with a process, and then developing various courses of action to control the costs.
