Uncovering cost overruns at a hotel casino
CASE STUDY
The Client
Lender of a $700 million construction loan for a $3 billion hotel-casino development.
The Challenge
The developer defaulted on the loan and the lender’s attorneys requested a project review to identify soft costs to date, forecast the cost to complete, develop cash flow projections and evaluate their options.
Our Solution
RSM’s Construction Advisory Services group assembled a cross-functional team that included CPAs with extensive contractor audit experience and engineers with extensive hands-on construction management experience. A comprehensive review of the current project budget, cash flow reports, bank loan draw requests, vendor and supplier contracts and construction budget reports revealed numerous cost overruns. Our findings included:
- Many hidden cost overruns not previously identified
- Overly optimistic budget assumptions misrepresented the truth
- Non-project costs included in the developer’s overhead
- Hard cost overruns not accounted for under the guaranteed maximum price (GMP) contract
- Unacknowledged schedule delays resulted in significant time-related cost overruns
Client Benefits
Our detailed cost analysis provided the client with an accurate project forecast. And, our findings regarding mismanagement helped the lender negotiate a quick and favorable turnover of the project to a new developer.
Lessons Learned
- Manage the soft costs as closely as the hard costs
- Don’t take a GMP contract price at face value
- Watch out for additional costs resulting from schedule delays
To learn more about our Construction Advisory Services, contact Director John Lincoln at 312.634.3199 or john.lincoln@rsmus.com.