As the manager of a fledgling QA group in the systems dept. we are being asked to present to senior management a cost justification. So far, in reading through some of the interesting similar experiences posted on this site the common thread seems to be that it is an intangible and the COQ has to be justified in ways other than dollar amounts. Has anyone out there succeeded in presenting to management a similar proposal based on intangibles?

Cost of Quality is quite tangible. The earlier you determine the costs and benefits of a QMS project, the better the info is going to be. You need to ensure that accounting practices capture the info that you need. This usually means creating additional account codes and reports. If your bean counter is any good they might know more about this than you suspect!
There is a reasonable amount of stuff on the web, as well as "STANDARDS" available on the topic. I have developed quite an archive on cost of quality.
You need to get yourself up to speed, then sit down with you team and do some brainstorming.
(Separate email coming)

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