It oversees the planning and implementation and ensures that the costing objectives are met. It also provides an important link to the university s Vice-Chancellor and Council. Steering committee members should meet on a fortnightly or monthly basis to review progress and provide direction. This involves summarising the tasks to be completed, the estimated time needed for each task and the overall time required by the project. The tasks and the time required to complete them will differ from project to project.
Most projects take from three to six months to create the first costing system.
However, a simple desk study, which makes a rough estimate of the cost of a limited number of activities or services, may take a few weeks. Achieving the benefits of enhanced costing information requires incurring costs. Internal and external costs should be budgeted up-front. This will enable a careful comparison of the costs and deliverable s. The projects scope and objectives need to be communicated to the university at large.