CBA continues to advise the client on all matters relating to time, quality and money until agreement of a final account.

Its performance-based systems can considerably reduce the client's financial risk during the construction process.

Our role as quanity surveyors may sound complicated but essentially it comes down to one thing - the management of our clients' money. We treat it as we would our own and respect it accordingly.

Our functions in this respect are numerous and varied - from costing, planning, procurement, control of information, financial reporting, interim payments, through to agreement of final accounts. The constant factor is the discipline of our management.

Good preparation is fundamental to that discipline. Clearly defined requirements, realistic timescales and the right team are the indispensable ingredients of quality - and their existence depends on our ability to understand, advise, communicate and negotiate. Only this way can we ensure that our early cost advice is accurate and that every step subsequently taken matches the original plan of action.

We believe that we're fortunate to work with talented people on a wide range of different projects - and that ours is the job of helping to make worthwhile buildings happen.

We recognise that our appointment to a project involves a large element of trust. But we're confident that our track record speaks for us. The main reason that clients return to CBA is that they know their project will be built on time, to budget - and built well.