Blogs

The Intersection of Safety and Finance

By John Welches posted 08-05-2021
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For all the right reasons, safety is a central theme in the construction industry. For crews in the field, safe practices can literally be a matter of life and death. For the accountants and financial planners back at the office, safety is important, too: not just because they also care about the wellbeing of their coworkers, but also because safety incidents drive up costs. Finance professionals working in the construction industry can add value to their organizations by becoming part of the safety conversation. Among other things, helping executives and field supervisors understand the “business side” of their safety efforts can give them added context. ...
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Creating Digital Worksites: The 5 Step Guide To Transform Your Construction Business For Future

By Edward Williams posted 07-16-2021
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The need for digitization is intense in every industry and construction is no exception. But, being notoriously resistant to changes, the construction industry is still lacking behind the others when it comes to adopting new technological solutions for improving efficiency. According to a report , less than six percent of construction firms utilize digital planning tools to the fullest, while 93% of them agree that digitization will impact every process positively. This is one of the reasons why construction is the least digitized industry in the USA with productivity remaining flat for the last 20 years. After the pandemic, several players in ...
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When to Pass The Receiver!

By Michael King posted 05-04-2021
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QUESTION:     DO CHANGES TO RECEIVERSHIP LAW MATTER TO MY COMPANY? ANSWER:        THE UNIFORM COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE RECEIVERSHIP ACT CAN REALLY HELP YOU OR REALLY HURT YOU. What are the statutory powers of these new receivers? The Uniform Commercial Real Estate Receivership Act ("UCRERA") grants some of the most frequently used equitable powers of equitable receiverships to statutory receivers by default, with no specific court order needed.  The receiver by statutory authority has the ability to: Control and manage property; Operate a business related to receivership properties; Pay debts related to receivership property; ...
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How Technology Is Transforming The Future Of the Construction Industry

By Edward Williams posted 05-04-2021
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At present, the construction industry is going through an extensive transformation. Though 2020 turned out to be an unfavorable year for many, the business has started to boom again, paving the way for opportunities in the pipeline. The situation has resulted in construction companies experiencing extraordinary pressure due to competitive bids and timelines. In addition to this, the ever-growing scarcity of skilled workers and labor resources has made contractors bear the challenge of projects running 20 percent over time and 80 percent over budget, as per the reports shared by McKinsey . However, construction companies are trying to curb this pressure by ...
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Chicago General Contractor looking for Finance/Accounting Associate

By Nicholas Jones posted 04-19-2021
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The Finance & Accounting Associate is responsible for assisting in accounts receivable, invoice and accounts payable processing, account reconciliation and other financial tasks. The Finance & Accounting Associate reports to the CFO and works with the President, Vice Presidents and entire employee group. Responsibilities: Provides accounting and clerical assistance Maintains accounting records Perform all necessary account, bank and other reconciliations Enters daily key accounts payable information and maintain invoice processing systems including code, post and receipts (check, verify and process invoices) Assist and support company personnel ...
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Employee Utilization for Production

By Nicolaos Kritikos posted 03-16-2021
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Good morning Everyone, I am looking to see if there is anyone that has any information or excel workbooks that can help with figuring out a good way to manage monthly production against more specified benchmarks.  I am currently the controller of a Finish Carp and Painting company and trying to get our field managers more involved in understanding the impact of production from the field employees.  Any book or excel suggestion would greatly be appreciated.
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What is Tax Code 179

By William Butler posted 02-15-2021
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What is tax code 179? Section 179 of the IRS tax code allows businesses to deduct the full purchase price of qualifying equipment and software purchased or financed during the tax year. That means that if you finance or lease a piece of equipment, you can deduct the FULL PURCHASE PRICE from your gross income. Who Qualifies for Section 179? Businesses that purchase, finance, or lease new or used business equipment during the tax year should qualify for the Section 179 Deduction (assuming they spend less than $3,630,000). Advantage of Tax Code 179 The main Advantage of Financing or leasing equipment is that you can deduct the full amount ...
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Streamlined Small Business Bankruptcies

By Michael King posted 01-21-2021
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QUESTION:     WILL THE DEADLINES SET BY THE SMALL BUSINESS REORGANIZATION ACT OF 2019 ACTUALLY SPEED UP SMALL BUSINESS BANKRUPTCIES? ANSWER:        SMALL BUSINESS REORGANIZATIONS WILL ONLY BE FASTER IF THE DEADLINES ARE ENFORCED! Other than sunrise and sunset, few deadlines are self-enforcing! The mandatory expedited deadlines in the Small Business Reorganization Act won’t speed up cases unless judges enforce them.  If the Standing Trustees and the creditors actively urge courts to enforce the rules, there is a chance that small business reorganizations will be timely completed. What are the basics of the new Subchapter ...
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The Small Business Reorganization Act: Blessing or Curse?

By Michael King posted 12-04-2020
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QUESTION:  SHOULD I WORRY ABOUT THE SMALL BUSINESS REORGANIZATION ACT OF 2019? ANSWER:  CREDITORS SHOULD BEWARE OF SIGNIFICANT NEW PROTECTIONS BEING GIVEN DEBTORS UNDER THE SMALL BUSINESS REORGANIZATION ACT! The History of Small Business Bankruptcies. In October 2005, I wrote: The costs of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization are often more than a small business debtor can handle.  Statistics show that many small business Chapter 11 reorganization proceedings eventually become Chapter 7 liquidation proceedings.  Congress wanted to help small business debtors move through the bankruptcy process more swiftly and so it created the concept of the ...
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Microsoft Teams Tips, Tricks & Best Practices

By Carol Hagen posted 10-21-2020
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Our CFMA (Valley of the Sun) webinar on Teams Zoom & Skype has passed and while we had almost a dozen members attend, Microsoft Teams seems to be the clear winner.  To that end I thought you’d all benefit from a few Microsoft Teams recommendations, tricks & tips.  Hope you all put this to good use! How to turn off notifications : https://www.onmsft.com/how-to/how-to-manage-notifications-in-microsoft-teams-and-not-get-annoyed If you ever need to open two channels in the same account at the same time , this “How to run multiple instances of Microsoft Teams with two different accounts” is awesome!  https://www.onmsft.com/how-to/how-to-run-multiple-instances-of-microsoft-teams-with-two-different-accounts ...
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Microsoft Teams Tips, Tricks Best Practices

By Carol Hagen posted 10-21-2020
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Our CFMA (Valley of the Sun) webinar on Teams Zoom & Skype has passed and while we had almost a dozen members attend, Microsoft Teams seems to be the clear winner.  To that end I thought you’d all benefit from a few Microsoft Teams recommendations, tricks & tips.  Hope you all put this to good use! How to turn off notifications : https://www.onmsft.com/how-to/how-to-manage-notifications-in-microsoft-teams-and-not-get-annoyed If you ever need to open two channels in the same account at the same time , this “How to run multiple instances of Microsoft Teams with two different accounts” is awesome!  https://www.onmsft.com/how-to/how-to-run-multiple-instances-of-microsoft-teams-with-two-different-accounts ...
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Construction Company looking for strong Staff Accountant

By Anthony DiFerdinando, Jr. posted 10-07-2020
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To All: Construction company located inside the DC beltway looking for a strong staff accountant with 2-5 years of GL experience.  Great place to work.  Immediate opening. Please forward resume to tdiferdinando@gmail.com Thank you in advance for your efforts. Tony
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Quick Survey - Payroll

By John Barbee posted 07-08-2020
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How many companies control or process payroll through the accounting department and how many companies control or process payroll through the human resources department? To encourage responses, just type Accounting or HR" Thank you very much.     John R. Barbee Vice-President of Accounting and Controller O: 704.897.2297 E: jbarbee@hep-petra.com W:   www.hep-petra.com 11330 Vanstory Drive, Suite 101 Huntersville, NC 28078
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Note From Your CFMA Chapter President!

By Joel Van Egdom posted 07-06-2020
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Greetings, Siouxland Chapter of CFMA! I’m hoping everyone had an enjoyable 4 th of July! With the arrival of July we have heat and humidity continuing in the Midwest and local baseball seasons in full swing. Over the first number of days of July, we have also seen COVID-19 case trends increasing in areas across the United States, and we ask that you continue to keep those impacted in your thoughts and prayers as individuals and businesses have been significantly impacted both in our local communities and around the world. Many months have flown by since our local chapter last had the opportunity to meet in person. On April 1, we transitioned to a new CFMA ...
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CAN FACEBOOK USE FACIAL-RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY ON MY PHOTOGRAPH TO MATCH IT WITH OTHER PICTURES?

By Michael King posted 02-14-2020
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ANSWER:   FACEBOOK USES FACIAL-RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY TO MATCH FACES, BUT IT MAY NOT BE LEGAL UNDER ILLINOIS STATUTE. Expensive privacy violation on social media? Some citizens of Illinois brought a class-action lawsuit against Facebook claiming somewhere around $35 billion for privacy violations!  Patel v. Facebook, Inc. , 932 F.3d 1264 (9 th Cir., 2019).  (The plaintiffs apparently don't understand that "private" and "social" are antonyms.) The Ninth Circuit said that Facebook runs one of the biggest social media platforms in the world and has over 1 billion active users.  About seven out of ten adults in the U.S. use Facebook.  (Our household ...
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Punishing Foreigners for Corrupt Practices

By Michael King posted 12-16-2019
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Q:  HOW FAR DOES THE U.S. FOREIGN CORRUPT PRACTICES ACT REACH? A  THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ENFORCES THE FOREIGN CORRUPT PRACTICES ACT IN "EVERY CORNER OF THE GLOBE!" But I work for a foreign company, I am not a U.S. citizen and I never set foot in the United States?! In November, 2019, Lawrence Hoskins was convicted of six counts of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, three counts of money laundering and two counts of conspiracy in a U.S. District Court in Connecticut. Mr. Hoskins is a citizen of the United Kingdom and was working for a French company.  He was never physically present in the ...
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HR Meets E-Sign

By Michael King posted 11-14-2019
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QUESTION: CAN I MAKE OUR EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENTS ELECTRONIC? ANSWER: YES, BUT YOU NEED TO PROVE THAT THE EMPLOYEE ACTUALLY AGREED TO THE ELECTRONIC TRANSACTION. Can I sandwich an arbitration agreement in an electronic employment contract? Jaime Odom worked for Which Wich Superior Sandwiches as a marketing manager. She had a beef with the sandwich shops. She sued claiming that she was sexually harassed at the job, retaliated against for complaining about the harassment, and not paid her full wages. Which Wich said Jaime had to arbitrate the dispute because she had electronically signed an arbitration agreement as part of the employment ...
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Beyond Pen and Paper...Digital Contracts

By Michael King posted 10-23-2019
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WHY ARE COMPANIES STILL STRUGGLING WITH ELECTRONIC TRANSACTIONS 20 YEARS AFTER THE LAWS SAID THEY                               ARE VALID? ANSWER:   PEOPLE HAVE DIFFICULTY UNLEARNING THOUSANDS OF YEARS OF RELIANCE ON HAND-WRITTEN SIGNATURES.   The laws of electronic signatures and e-transactions. The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act ("E-SIGN Act") became the law of the United States on June 30, 2000. The Uniform Electronic Transactions Act ("UETA") was released by the Uniform Law Commission in 1999 and enacted in Arizona in 2000. The E-SIGN Act allows the use of electronic records to satisfy any statute, regulation, ...
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Controller Needed

By Jillane Brown posted 10-22-2019
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Controller for Heavy Highway contractor specializing in concrete maintenance in Selma, NC needed. We are a 30+ year old business that acts as a GC and subcontractor. Construction Controller CPA Preferred 7 + Yrs. Experience Minimum The Controller is responsible for all areas relating to financial reporting. This position will be responsible for developing and maintaining accounting principles, practices and procedures to ensure accurate and timely financial statements. The Controller will use their prior construction cost accounting experience to analyze cost records to ascertain distribution of costs for service agreements, design and construction ...
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$5M in Overtime for Want of a Comma

By Michael King posted 08-30-2019
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QUESTION:    C'MON! IT'S ONLY A COMMA!!!???   ANSWER:      A MISSING COMMA COST ONE COMPANY FIVE MILLION DOLLARS!   Oakhurst Dairy had to pay its delivery drivers five million dollars to settle a wage and hour dispute about overtime pay all because of a missing comma! O'Connor v. Oakhurst Dairy, 851 F.3d 69 (1 st Cir. 2017). What does punctuation have to do with an employment dispute? "For want of a comma, we have this case." That is how the court started its opinion concerning a dispute between a Maine dairy company and the dairy delivery drivers. The case involved the scope of an exemption from Maine's overtime law. The court continued: ...
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