IntermediateBEHAVIORAL
At CyD Ltda for BHP you worked as Cost Engineer / Project Controller — describe a time when you identified a cost overrun on a BHP project, how you traced the root cause, and what controls you put in place to prevent recurrence.
Project Accountant
General

Sample Answer

On a brownfield upgrade for BHP I noticed our month-to-date cost burn was running 28% above plan — about $1.2M overrun on a $4.3M phase — during the third month. I pulled the detailed cost ledger, compared committed PO lines, and met with site procurement and the engineering lead. It turned out two subcontractor change orders had been coded to the wrong WBS and several small material variances were double-booked. I corrected the coding, negotiated one change order back to the original scope saving $180k, and tightened controls: mandatory PO-to-WBS mapping, weekly three-way reviews (procurement, engineering, accounting) and automated alerts for variances >5% or $50k. Over the next two months we brought the phase back within 2% of forecast and avoided repeat miscoding.

Keywords

Detected 28% overrun (~$1.2M) on a $4.3M phaseRoot causes: miscoded WBS and duplicate bookingsControls: PO-to-WBS mapping, weekly three-way reviews, automated variance alerts