Feasibility Study

Financial Management of building projects Process Overview Management of Building Projects introduction Need identified for building works Initiate Project feasibility study Project Proposal Manage Contracts, Requisitions and Invoices OUFAL Managed Projects Reporting Manage Claims (Capital Accounts) Complete Project Reconcile Project Key Financial Controls

Feasibility Study

Update (September 2012)
All forms are completed by, or under guidance from, a Project Manager, please refer to the Capital Project Initation Page for further information.

1. Set-up for feasibility study

Subject to the necessary FEA approvals, and before activity and expenditure can occur on a feasibility study, the project and award (funding) must be setup in Oracle Financials.

The approved Feasibility Expenditure Approval (FEA) document is sent to the UED finance team who set up a new project and any BESC (Building & Estates Sub-Committee) funding in Oracle Financials (Projects). The form is then passed to the Capital Accounts team in the Finance Division who set up all other funding and arrange any external funding claims and internal departmental or other funding contributions.

Note: BESC is a PRAC Sub-Committee that oversees central University budgets for repairs and maintenance, the rolling programme and minor works. 


2. Carry out feasibility study

A Feasibility Team appointed by UED carries out the feasibility study. From a financial perspective a feasibility study should cover the following:

  • Options Analysis – comparing the ‘do nothing’ option with other feasible options; usually carried out by the UED-appointed quantity surveyor with input from the project departmental representative
  • Capital cost assessment – usually carried out by a UED-appointed quantity surveyor
  • Revenue cost impact – involving the Divisional Financial Controller (DFC)
  • VAT & other tax issues - involving the Tax Team
  • Funding (capital & revenue) – involving the Development Office and Capital Projects Accounts Team
  • Legal issues – involving Legal Services
  • Accounting treatment – involving Financial Reporting Team
  • The feasibility study will provide much of the information for the full Project Proposal. Further guidance on feasibility studies is available in the Estates Regulations.

The key deliverable from the study is a Feasibility Report, which sets out the options and includes initial cost plans.

3. Review feasibility report

The PSG and UED will review the final report and make one of the following decisions:

  • Continue with the project
  • Decide if further study is needed – go back to: Feasibility Study
  • Decide if the project should not continue – all documentation should be filed for future reference, and no further action taken in this process.