Abstract:

Construction projects consist of four stages, namely design/planning stage, tender stage, construction stage and final account/defect liability stage or being referred to as post-contract. The role and performance of various project participants and contracting parties in a construction project in each stage can influence the project success. Although many research studies that addressed construction projects performance by examining critical factors to the project success or failure have been carried out, most of them focused on construction stage with little attention to final account stage. In basic terms, final account in construction contracts is defined as the agreed statement of the amount of money to be paid at the end of a project contract by the owner to the contractor. The backlogs in the settlement of final account have been existed for decades where the important factors that significantly affect this settlement are, among other things, largely founded as contractual-related, contractorrelated and management-related. These factors usually attract less attention and priority by project participants and contracting parties in the final account stage. Besides, undue protracted inaction makes settlement of final account more difficult and thus often give rise to the dispute without a reason. Final account settlement satisfaction is considered as favourable if that final account is achieved within the prescribed time frame, where it is considered as adverse if it was achieved beyond the prescribed time frame. On the other hand, delays in the settlement of the final account represent additional cost to the contractor where in the majority of cases, the owner is anxious to know his ultimate financial commitment. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to investigate the perception and consciousness of construction industry players on the closing of final account in construction project in Malaysia towards effective management. This aim can be achieved via its objective in identifying the important attribute factors that can clearly distinguish between on-time settlement and delayed settlement of final account projects. This paper reviews the literature of a few forms of contract used in Malaysia. It is anticipated that the finding reported in this paper could assist the planning of future strategies and guidelines for the development of constructions projects in Malaysia.