60 Seconds With Nancy Anderson, Cost Estimator for National Defence
Video / March 21st 2023
Transcript
Nancy Anderson: As a finance officer, you don't often get to see such a direct impact of your work, and to have that opportunity was really special.
Hi, my name is Nancy Anderson. I'm a cost estimator at National Defence, and I'm here to do the 60 Second Challenge.
"What is cost estimating?"
It is the process of trying to determine how much it will cost to purchase an asset from the moment we start thinking what that asset could be, to the moment that we dispose of that asset. So it's called a cradle to grave cost estimate, and how much that program or asset will cost the department to exist, and to become a thing for Defence.
"What do you wish more people understood about our cost estimates?"
I wish that more people understood that they were a snapshot of a moment of time. That they're really a product of the information and assumptions driving them, and as we get more information and the project becomes more refined, those cost estimates are going to change.
"What are some high-profile files you've worked on?"
I've worked on the majority of our Navy files. I've worked on Arctic offshore patrol ships, joint support ships, and Canadian Surface combatants.
"What has provided you with the greatest sense of professional accomplishment as a cost estimator?"
The first time I saw one of our assets on the field that I had helped cost was a really big moment for me. It was really motivational to have that kind of direct impact on the Canadian Armed Forces and their work.
That is my sixty seconds!