Extended and Dual Services CM Responsibilities

Overview
This guide covers the Professional Practice topic Extended and Dual Services CM Responsibilities as tested on the CMAA Certified Construction Manager (CCM) examination. It explains why the topic matters, defines the key terms, walks through how the responsibilities work in practice under the CMAA Standards of Practice and Code of Professional Ethics, and finishes with targeted strategies for answering exam questions on this subject.

Why This Topic Is Important
The traditional construction manager acts as the owner's agent, giving independent advice while having no financial stake in design or construction outcomes. In the modern market, however, CM firms frequently expand their offerings. They may provide extended services that go beyond the core CM scope (such as program management, commissioning, move management, or facility start-up), or they may provide dual services in which the same firm also designs, builds, or finances the project it is managing. Both situations change the CM's exposure to conflicts of interest, alter the standard of care and liability, and require different contract language, disclosures, and internal controls.

The CCM exam tests this topic because the credential is built on the premise that a CM holds a fiduciary-like duty of loyalty to the owner. When a CM takes on added or overlapping roles, that loyalty can be compromised unless the CM manages the arrangement properly. Questions in this area measure whether a candidate understands when independence is at risk, what disclosure and consent are required, how scope and compensation must be defined, and how to protect both the owner and the integrity of the profession. Getting these questions right demonstrates professional judgment, not just technical knowledge.

What It Is: Key Definitions
1. Core (Basic) CM Services. The standard scope of agency CM services described in the CMAA Standards of Practice: project management, cost management, time management, quality management, contract administration, safety management, sustainability, risk management, and technology management across the pre-design, design, procurement, construction, and post-construction phases. In pure agency CM, the CM is compensated by fee, assumes no construction risk, and holds no contracts with trade contractors.

2. Extended Services. Additional services the owner asks the CM to perform that fall outside the basic scope but do not conflict with the agency role. Typical examples include:
- Program management across multiple projects
- Site selection, feasibility studies, and master planning support
- Financing assistance and public funding or grant coordination
- Permitting and regulatory agency liaison beyond normal coordination
- Value engineering studies and constructability reviews at an enhanced level
- Commissioning, start-up, training, and operations and maintenance manual development
- Move management, furniture-fixtures-equipment (FF&E) procurement, and occupancy planning
- Claims analysis, dispute resolution support, and expert testimony
- Post-occupancy evaluation and warranty administration
- Building information modeling management and facilities data turnover
Extended services expand the breadth of the CM's work while maintaining the CM's position as the owner's independent advisor.

3. Dual Services (Dual Roles). Situations in which the CM firm, or an affiliated entity, performs a second function on the same project that is normally performed by a different party. Common forms include:
- CM plus Designer: the CM firm or its affiliate also provides architectural or engineering design.
- CM plus Constructor: the CM holds trade contracts, self-performs work, or provides a Guaranteed Maximum Price, which is the CM-at-Risk model.
- CM plus Developer or Financier: the CM has an equity or financing interest in the project.
- CM plus Supplier or Vendor: the CM or an affiliate furnishes materials, equipment, or systems.
- CM plus Inspector or Testing Agency: the CM also performs independent inspection or testing it would ordinarily oversee.
Dual services change the nature of the CM's position because the firm now has a financial or professional interest in the very work it is evaluating on the owner's behalf.

4. Conflict of Interest. Any circumstance in which the CM's personal, financial, or business interests could impair, or appear to impair, its independent judgment on behalf of the owner. The CMAA Code of Professional Ethics requires CMs to avoid conflicts where possible and to fully disclose any actual or potential conflict to the client, allowing the client to make an informed decision.

How It Works: Governing Principles
A. The Owner's Interest Comes First. Regardless of the service model, the CM owes the owner undivided loyalty, competent service, and candid advice. When extended or dual services are proposed, the CM must evaluate whether the arrangement serves the owner's objectives or primarily the CM's business interests.

B. Full and Timely Disclosure. Before accepting an extended or dual role, the CM must disclose in writing:
- The nature of the additional role or interest
- Any affiliated companies, ownership relationships, or financial stakes
- How the arrangement could affect the CM's independence or the owner's costs
- The safeguards the CM proposes to manage the conflict
Disclosure must occur early enough for the owner to choose a different course. A disclosure made after the fact does not satisfy the ethical standard.

C. Informed Written Consent. Disclosure alone is not enough. The owner must knowingly accept the arrangement, and that acceptance should be documented in the CM agreement or a written amendment. Public owners often require additional approvals, board actions, or procurement procedures when a CM shifts to a dual role.

D. Scope Definition in the Agreement. Extended services must be specifically described in the contract, including deliverables, schedule, staffing, and compensation. Services not listed in the basic scope should not be assumed. A well-drafted agreement distinguishes basic services, additional services available on request, and excluded services, and it defines how additional services are authorized and paid for.

E. Competence and Licensure. The CM must possess, or obtain through qualified subconsultants, the expertise and any required professional licenses for the extended or dual service. For example, providing design requires licensed architects or engineers; acting as constructor may require a contractor's license and appropriate bonding and insurance.

F. Appropriate Compensation and Risk Allocation. Agency CM services are normally compensated by fee. When the CM assumes construction risk (CM-at-Risk), compensation typically includes a fee plus reimbursable costs within a GMP, and the CM must carry commercial general liability, builder's risk coordination, and often performance and payment bonds. When the CM provides design, professional liability insurance must respond. The agreement should clearly state which standard of care applies to each role.

G. Organizational Safeguards. When dual roles are accepted, the CM should implement controls such as:
- Separate project teams or business units for the CM function and the design or construction function
- Independent review or third-party oversight for cost estimates, change orders, and payment applications that involve the CM's own work
- Transparent open-book accounting
- Clear documentation of decisions affected by the dual role

H. Standard of Care and Liability Shift. In agency CM, the CM's liability is generally limited to professional negligence in performing management services. When the CM becomes the constructor, it assumes responsibility for means and methods, site safety, trade contractor performance, and schedule and cost guarantees. When it becomes the designer, it assumes responsibility for design adequacy and code compliance. The exam frequently tests recognition that the CM's risk profile changes with its role.

I. Ethical Prohibitions. The CM may not accept undisclosed compensation, gifts, or kickbacks from parties it evaluates; may not use confidential owner information for its own benefit; and may not misrepresent its qualifications to obtain extended or dual work. Fair competition among contractors and suppliers must be preserved even when the CM or its affiliates are participating.

How Extended Services Are Typically Handled
1. The owner identifies a need beyond basic services, or the CM recommends a service that would benefit the project.
2. The CM confirms the service is within its competence and does not create a conflict.
3. The parties agree on a written scope, schedule, fee, and deliverables, usually by amendment or an additional services authorization.
4. The CM performs the service under the same professional standard of care and reports to the owner as it would for basic services.
5. Documentation and records are maintained consistently with the project filing system.

How Dual Services Are Typically Handled
1. The potential dual role is identified, either by the owner's choice of delivery method (for example, selecting CM-at-Risk) or by a CM proposal.
2. The CM discloses all affiliations and interests in writing.
3. The owner evaluates whether the benefits (single point of responsibility, early cost commitment, speed) outweigh the loss of independent oversight, and considers engaging a separate owner's representative if needed.
4. The owner provides informed written consent, and the contract is restructured to reflect the new roles, insurance, bonding, compensation, and standard of care.
5. Safeguards such as team separation, open-book accounting, and independent cost review are implemented and monitored.
6. Throughout the project, the CM documents how conflicts were managed and keeps the owner informed of any new interests that arise.

Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Extended and Dual Services CM Responsibilities
Tip 1: Identify the role before you answer. Read the scenario and determine whether the CM is acting as pure agent, CM-at-Risk, designer, or some combination. The correct answer almost always depends on which hat the CM is wearing. If the stem says the CM holds trade contracts or provides a GMP, think risk, insurance, bonding, and means and methods. If the stem says the CM is advising on a project built by others, think independence and fee-based advice.

Tip 2: Disclosure plus consent is the default correct answer for conflicts. When a question describes a potential conflict of interest, the CMAA-aligned response is to disclose the situation fully and in writing to the owner and let the owner decide. Answers that involve silently proceeding, disclosing only if asked, or disclosing after the work is complete are wrong. Answers that automatically refuse all work may also be wrong if disclosure and consent would have resolved the issue.

Tip 3: Protect the owner's interest. When two answer choices both seem reasonable, choose the one that preserves the owner's ability to make an informed decision and that keeps the CM's advice objective. The exam rewards owner-centered judgment.

Tip 4: Scope must be in writing. For extended services questions, remember that services outside the basic scope require a written amendment or additional services authorization defining scope, schedule, and compensation. Avoid answers that suggest the CM should simply perform extra work and bill later, or assume it is included.

Tip 5: Competence and licensure are prerequisites. If a scenario asks whether a CM should accept a design or construction role, check whether the CM has the qualifications, licenses, insurance, and bonding capacity. The ethical answer never involves representing qualifications the firm does not have.

Tip 6: Watch for liability and standard of care shifts. Questions may ask what changes when an agency CM converts to CM-at-Risk. Key changes: the CM holds subcontracts, assumes cost and schedule risk through the GMP, becomes responsible for site safety and means and methods, needs contractor-type insurance and bonds, and loses its purely independent advisory status.

Tip 7: Recognize safeguards as correct practices. Separate teams, open-book accounting, independent cost estimates, and third-party review of change orders involving the CM's own work are all legitimate controls. If an answer describes such a safeguard in a dual-role scenario, it is likely correct.

Tip 8: Eliminate absolute or self-serving answers. Choices containing words like always, never, or only, and choices that benefit the CM at the owner's expense, are usually distractors. The exam tests balanced professional judgment.

Tip 9: Remember public owner constraints. For public projects, dual roles may be restricted by statute or procurement rules. If a question involves a public agency, favor answers that reference compliance with applicable procurement laws and obtaining required approvals.

Tip 10: Connect to the Code of Professional Ethics. Many questions on this topic are really ethics questions. Recall the core duties: serve the client with integrity, represent qualifications honestly, avoid and disclose conflicts, compete fairly, maintain confidentiality, protect public safety, and uphold the profession.

Sample Question Walkthroughs
Scenario 1. An agency CM learns that a sister company within its corporate parent intends to bid as a mechanical subcontractor on the project. What should the CM do?
Reasoning: This is a potential dual interest. The CM must disclose the relationship to the owner in writing before bids are received, recommend safeguards (such as excluding the CM from evaluating that bid or having the owner evaluate independently), and let the owner decide whether the sister company may participate. Proceeding without disclosure or simply ignoring the relationship would violate the Code of Ethics.

Scenario 2. An owner asks the CM to add commissioning and move management for an additional fee. What is the appropriate step?
Reasoning: These are extended services. The CM should confirm competence, then execute a written amendment defining scope, deliverables, schedule, and compensation. No conflict of interest exists, so the main issue is proper documentation and qualification.

Scenario 3. Midway through design, the owner wants the agency CM to convert to CM-at-Risk and provide a GMP. What changes must the CM address?
Reasoning: The contract must be restructured; the CM must obtain appropriate insurance and bonding, assume responsibility for trade contracts, means and methods, and site safety; compensation shifts to fee plus cost of work within a GMP; and the owner should understand that the CM is no longer a fully independent advisor and may want a separate owner's representative for oversight.

Quick Recap
- Basic CM services are fee-based, independent, and advisory.
- Extended services expand scope without compromising independence; they require written authorization, defined deliverables, competence, and compensation.
- Dual services place the CM in a second role (designer, constructor, financier, supplier, inspector) and create actual or potential conflicts of interest.
- Dual services require early full written disclosure, informed owner consent, restructured contracts, appropriate insurance and bonding, and organizational safeguards.
- The CM's standard of care and liability change with its role.
- On the exam, identify the role, prioritize the owner's interest, insist on disclosure and written consent, require written scope for extra work, and eliminate self-serving or absolute answers.

Mastering this topic demonstrates the professional judgment at the heart of the CCM credential: the ability to grow a practice while never compromising the trust the owner places in the construction manager.