In the widest range of economic sectors, estimates are applied. They are involved in the budget system, the activities of private corporations. Estimates are among the most frequently used documents in the construction industry. Their development and examination can be carried out both in accordance with local internal corporate standards, and taking into account the provisions of official sources of law, operating at various levels. In which varieties are estimates most often presented? What is the specificity of their compilation in the Russian budget system?
What is an estimate?
Before considering how the development of estimates is carried out, we will study what it can be. In accordance with the widespread point of view, an estimate should be understood as an expenditure plan (in some cases also income) in the framework of a project or business line.
The document in question can also be applied in the context of solving accounting problems. In this case, the main part of the estimate may be a receipt plan, as well as the expenditure of funds that are used to finance various business tasks of the enterprise. There are estimates of budgetary institutions, which are a financial plan, according to which money should come at the disposal of a state or municipal organization, as well as be spent. As a rule, this estimate is used to evaluate the outcome of future financial transactions.
Estimated cost
It is necessary to distinguish between the term in question and the concept of “estimated cost”. What is its specificity?
An estimate is a document whose form has a structure adapted to financial tasks in the framework of the implementation of a project or a spending plan. The estimated cost is the amount of money that is needed to implement a project using a given list of materials and involving the planned work - that is, fixed in the form of the document under consideration. Obviously, the estimated cost is an integral part of the estimate. Without it, it actually acts only as a form.
The development of estimates almost always involves the calculation of the corresponding cost. Moreover, in order to solve this problem, the company can spend the greatest amount of resources - technical, personnel. It is worth noting that in some cases, the estimates - as forms, do not reflect the entire cost of the project. Sometimes it is fixed taking into account limits, and not actual indicators. The first, as a rule, do not satisfy the purpose of the estimate - as a document that allows you to reliably evaluate the costs (or income) in the framework of the project.
Application of estimates
Among the most common areas of application of this document are construction, accounting for budgetary obligations. As a rule, the schedule does not reflect the schedule in accordance with which specific business tasks are solved. Therefore, many enterprises prefer not to apply the appropriate type of documents when working with large projects, since in this case there is a possibility of inaccuracies in planning.
However, the development of estimates can be indispensable if the reflection of information on income or expenses in the framework of the project is required based on the structure of the contract, according to which the executing company contributes to the solution of the customer's tasks for the project. In this case, the estimate will be an integral part of the contract. It will require certification from both parties to the relationship.
In many cases, the estimate is presented not by one, but by several documents: as a rule, this is due to tasks specific to construction and industrial enterprises. In turn, small projects specific to the economic activities of small firms, for example, providing individual services for citizens, can be represented by a single source that has a simple structure.
Budgeting is a typical task for a budget institution. This document will reflect the income and expenses of the organization in accordance with the requirements of higher authorities or the provisions of regulatory legislation.
What is the difference between the estimate and the project?
There is a type of document close to the budget for its intended purpose, and in some cases also in structure, the project. First of all, it can be noted that the estimate can be part of the project, and this scheme for sharing the sources under consideration is widespread. The procedure for developing projects and estimates in this case can be fixed in general local regulatory sources due to the fact that both types of documents can be interrelated.
A project, as a rule, is a more substantial and complex source. It may provide, in particular, justifications for certain items of expenditure, or clarifications regarding sources of income. The estimate only fixes those and others.
A project is a document that usually requires more complex approval procedures, since the wording contained in it may concern the most diverse aspects of an implemented event, and not always related to its financial support. In turn, the development of a project estimate usually involves passing through a corresponding document to a smaller number of authorities upon approval.
Classification of estimates
Actually, what are the estimates? There are a large number of criteria by which these sources can be classified. The methods for developing cost estimates for the production or provision of services will primarily depend on the specific type of document.
There are sources of a local type. They record costs, as a rule, according to a rather narrow list of works or services ordered under the project. But the information reflected in the local estimates, as a rule, are as detailed as possible. This is the essence of the document under consideration - the limiting detail of costs. The development of a local type estimate is most often necessary due to the need to show the project participants intermediate figures for its cost at the initial stage of implementation, when a more detailed reflection of the indicators is difficult.
There are object estimates. In fact, they combine documents related to local ones, which correlate with any particular object - for example, a building or structure, if it is a construction estimate. It is noteworthy that the object document in many cases allows the company to take into account indirect costs, which may be associated, for example, with the seasonal increase in prices for any materials or work.
If the local source is most often developed independently by the company, then the contract for the development of an object-type estimate can already be concluded with a third-party specialized organization that provides services for the preparation of relevant documents.
The next type of documents that reflect income and expenses is a summary calculation. It reflects information on all existing estimates that can reliably assess the payment load of the enterprise associated with the implementation of the project.
The development of local estimates, object estimates, as well as those related to consolidated sources, can be carried out both according to internal corporate regulations, and taking into account legal norms fixed in federal legislation.
Another common criterion for the classification of estimates is their assignment to a particular economic sector. So, the development of estimates of transport costs or, for example, related to financial services can be carried out.
Among the most demanded documents of the corresponding type are those that are used in the field of construction, as well as in the activities of budgetary institutions. Consider their features in more detail.
Construction estimates
This type of estimates are developed in order to determine the amount of funds that are necessary for the implementation of construction projects - usually related to capital. Estimates in the construction are made taking into account the preferences of the customer who pays the related costs, and the priorities of the developer. It is supposed to find some compromise between these parties to the legal relationship. The development of estimates - the process in this case is actually a joint one. Achievement of compromise indicators in the coordination of the document is most often carried out by:
- a detailed discussion of each of the articles of the estimate, taking into account the cost of work and materials;
- competitive development of the document - when the customer, having sent the conditions suitable for the budget to several developers, waits until there are those among them who agree to work on the corresponding list of costs;
- involving a third party in the discussion of the estimate - as an intermediary (in some cases, making a strong-willed decision-making, if there is subordination between this subject and the parties to the legal relationship within the framework of the construction project).
For the formation of estimates in the construction industry, the classification of relevant documents is characteristic of the criteria that we considered above. That is, they can belong to the category of local, object, and summary.
The development of estimates for construction work, therefore, can be carried out taking into account the provisions of corporate regulations, as well as official standards and legal norms that are established in the legislation. In some cases, following the provisions of local and official sources of law may be due to an examination of the documents in question. We will study this aspect in more detail.
Examination of estimates
The development of estimates for the construction of a particular facility or for use in another business sector may suggest that the enterprise needs to attract external expertise in relation to the documents under consideration. What are its features?
The examination of estimates is one of the key stages in the implementation of commercial projects. It is carried out as an intermediate between cost planning and the direct execution of work (or the use of services). The examination under consideration is a procedure for the sequential analysis of documents that form an estimate (we noted above that there can be several, and in some cases they can be presented in large numbers). These procedures are carried out in accordance with local regulations, sometimes by official standards and other legal acts.
The development of estimates for design work may be accompanied by the need to identify specific algorithms for the examination of individual elements of project documentation, which may include different sources. Note that the involvement of the examination of the documents in question is not always carried out. Most often it is required if:
- if possible, it is necessary to eliminate the inconsistency of the draft with the provisions of normative acts;
- presumably there are errors in determining indicators of the planned cost of works and materials, the coefficients of price changes due to inflationary processes and other market patterns;
- it is necessary to calculate the cost of the project at current and predicted prices.
The examination, which assesses how well the development of cost estimates for the production or construction of facilities is carried out, can be private and public. The first type of procedure is most often involved in the preparation of project documents. The second type of expertise can be involved at any stage of the project. We study the specifics of both procedures in more detail.
Features of non-state examination of estimates
This type of examination is carried out mainly in order to assess the validity of the items recorded in the estimate, as well as the economic feasibility of the costs that are reflected in the document. Of course, the most important issues of private examination include determining whether the provisions of the estimate comply with the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation, in the jurisdiction of which is the legal relationship between the customer and the developer. Also, the social significance of the project can be taken into account.
A separate agreement is concluded between the company ordering the examination and the organization that provides it, which sets out specific issues that should be considered as part of the relevant procedure. The cost of the quality assessment of estimates is determined on the basis of market indicators or on a contractual basis.
Features of the state examination of estimates
The main task of the state examination is to assess how well the procedure for developing estimates and other documents in the framework of the project is observed based on established legislative standards. As a rule, when considering these sources, a competent government agency takes into account the category of construction projects (we will agree that this is a business sector). Those can be classified in this case based on their affiliation:
- to hazardous facilities;
- to technically complex structures;
- to unique objects.
Thus, the state examination shows whether the project documentation is suitable for an object that belongs to a certain category, the requirements of the legislation that are established for this type of buildings and structures.
The cost of state examination of estimates and related project documents is determined in separate regulatory acts. Most often, the costs of this procedure are presented by special state duties.
So, we studied how the estimates and related project documents in the construction industry are compiled. It can be noted that in general, according to similar principles, the corresponding sources are formed and applied in other major business sectors. The development of estimates of transport costs, for example, is implemented approximately according to the same algorithms. But there are nuances that characterize this procedure. The procedure for developing projects and estimates can vary significantly when comparing the activities of individual firms, if we consider the areas in which they are developing, from the point of view of legislative regulation, the specifics of business processes at the industry or enterprise level.
Another industry in which the use of such sources is widespread is the activity of budget organizations. These can be represented in a wide range - in relation to the numerous authorities operating in the Russian Federation at various levels. For example, we can consider the specifics of working with budget estimates in the Federal Customs Service. This department regularly solves the tasks associated with the development of relevant documentation.
Estimates in budget organizations: FCS regulations
The development of budget estimates in the customs authorities is carried out on the basis of the provisions of the Order of the Federal Customs Service of Russia No. 1627, adopted on December 27, 2007. This normative act approved the procedure for the preparation, adoption and maintenance of estimates by customs structures as part of the implementation of the federal budget in accordance with the requirements of the RF BC, as well as the orders of the Ministry of Finance.
The main task of the bodies reporting to the FCS is to make estimates correctly, to ensure uniform and targeted use of funds, which are reflected in these budget documents. We will study how the development of cost estimates is carried out directly, as well as their approval in the framework of the activities of customs structures.
Development and approval of estimates in the FCS
The essence of budget estimates in the bodies reporting to the FCS is to establish the size and distribution of the expenditure of financial resources based on cost limits brought to the customs structure that can be used to ensure the functioning of the relevant bodies.
Estimates in this case are compiled on the basis of established calculation indicators for the use of budget funds, as well as the trusted amount of liability limits. The financial document under consideration can only be approved if the body responsible for its preparation of the planned indicators substantiates.
The budget estimate of the TCF is drawn up directly by the recipient of funds from the budget and approved within 10 days after the adoption of the expense schedule. One of the copies of the relevant document is sent to the superior structure of the FCS for control purposes.
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