“Following this, an expert standard-setting committee will be established [with its members] to write the standards. The initial publication of the standards is expected in December 2016,” he says.

Further, the ICM coalition declaration states that ethics will guide industry activities and foster public trust. To complement construction measurement standards, representatives will follow ethical principles that guide the international profession.

Once the standards are created, members will promote and adopt them and will encourage international markets to accept and adopt these standards.

In its standards alignment process, the coalition will use a tried and tested collaborative problem-solving model to develop international accounting standards, valuation standards and property measurement standards.

Each coalition member will have an equal stake in devising and communicating the standard to “promote a spirit of cooperation and compromise to reach a global consensus”.

The coalition believes that inconsistency in a fundamental aspect such as construction measurement and reporting can create huge uncertainty and misunderstanding and lead to risk.

According to research firm Global Construction Perspectives, the global construction industry is estimated to be worth $15-trillion by 2025.

Chetty says construction is an increasingly mobile and global industry, and investors, world bodies and national governments will benefit from the harmonisation of construction cost definition and measurement so that the costs of projects can be compared on a consistent, international basis.

“On an individual level, qualified construction professionals need to be able to communicate on an international basis, on a common basis, and use the data that is classified in a standard way,” he adds.

The ICMS coalition will continue to grow as further professional organisations join and industry corporations, contractors and key government stakeholders are encouraged to contribute to and lead the adoption of the new international framework in their capital markets.

Some of the organisations that have signed the declaration to become members include the International Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering; the Association of Cost Engineers in the UK; the Association of South African Quantity Surveyors; China Engineering Cost Association; the European Council of Construction Economists; the Canadian Institute of Quantity Surveyors; the Ghana Institute of Surveyors; and the African Association of Quantity Surveyors.