An Evaluation of Methodological Issues for Assessing Risk Impacts on Construction Cash Flow Forecast

Cash flow forecast is of great importance to construction contractors to prevent unsavoury consequences of liquidation and bankruptcy. Researchers over the last two decades have employed forecasting methodologies, which utilise the various elements of the cash flow equation. However, in spite of the quantity of research efforts, an accurate forecast of construction cash flow has been a difficult issue due to risks and uncertainties inherent in construction projects. This paper reports part of an on-going research concerned with assessing the impacts of risks and uncertainties on construction cash flow forecast. It attempts to clarify the terminological issues surrounding construction cash flow and use that as a basis to develop a construction cash flow concept. In addition, based on a literature review of previous researches in cash flow modelling, a conceptual classification of cash flow forecasting methodologies is developed. An evaluation of these methodologies assisted in developing a framework for assessing the impacts of risk on construction cash flow profile.