The final account is the final statement of the amount due to the contractor for a construction project. It takes the original contract sum and adjusts it for all variations, provisional sums, fluctuations, claims and other adjustments permitted by the contract.
Under traditional JCT contracts the QS prepares or agrees the final account with the contractor once the works are complete, and the agreed figure forms the basis of the final certificate. Under NEC4 the equivalent is the Project Manager’s final assessment of the amount due, made after the defects certificate has been issued. Agreeing the final account promptly reduces the risk of disputes and gives the client certainty on its outturn cost. To make that possible:
- agree the value of variations and compensation events as the project progresses, not at the end;
- keep clear records of instructions, measurements and correspondence;
- reconcile provisional sums and remeasurable items against what was actually built.
Related terms: Final Account Statement, Final Certificate, Variation, Compensation Event.
