With more than 30 years experience in the construction and real estate industries, PRIME CFO is uniquely positioned to help your business succeed.
We understand the everyday risks and challenges your company faces in a very competitive industry. Let us help you build a strong financial foundation to help your business run efficiently with a strong internal control system in place.
PRIME CFO will also improve your financial reporting so it is meaningful and timely, both at the project level and for your overall business. PRIME CFO will enable you to get control over your financial situation – and cash flow – so you can make sound business decisions on a daily basis.
Prime CFO is engaged to provide the following financial management services:
Financial Accounting & Reporting
Financial Accounting & Reporting
For any business to be successful, decisions need to be made based upon reliable and timely financial information. While this is a fundamental concept that is easily understood, all too often business owners don’t receive accurate and timely financial statements and other critical financial information needed to run their business. Many companies don’t have the resources or expertise to manage the financial reporting process. Redundant processes and other internal inefficiencies contribute to the lack of information.
Let Prime CFO do the heavy lifting for you by outsourcing the financial reporting function to us. We have the knowledge and experience to analyze, review and improve your company’s underlying processes and internal control system so you can get the data and reporting necessary to make better decisions. We will develop more efficient processes that reduce the cost and time to generate financial information. We will help you understand the financial reports so you can make informed business decisions and drive your company’s growth and profitability. Your information will be accurate, consistently received and you will gain the confidence of your creditors, investors and other stakeholders.
Prime CFO can help contractors produce interim financial information required by third parties, such as your bank and bonding company. We can also help produce financial statements to get ready for an audit. Prime CFO understands construction joint ventures and can provide joint venture financial statements and present this information to the joint venture partners.
For most contractors, financial reporting starts at the job level. Each job’s financial status directly impacts the contractor’s overall financial statements. Prime CFO has the expertise to design and implement the project level reporting processes and controls to keep you informed of each job’s progress and where it is headed.
Let us design executive level reports to give contractors insight into how their company is performing:
- Gross profit by job
- Cash flow by job
- Over/ under billing by job
- Backlog schedule
- Percentage completion / work in process
- Backlog forecast
- Other ad-hoc reports
Cash flow is what every business needs to survive and thrive. Cash management is at the heart of a company’s overall effort to increase profitability. For many businesses, the key to success is the management of the company’s cash flow.
Unique aspects of the construction industry make it challenging to manage cash. Construction is cyclical and project based. Most contractors have to contend with retainage payments and wait long periods to receive payment, while they are paying certain project costs, payroll and overhead expenses up front. The multiple relationships between owner, contractor and subcontractor also tend to complicate the cash management process. The most successful contractors know where their cash is on a daily basis and are focused on the cash flow cycle.
Prime CFO can help your business develop a cash management plan so you can gain control over your cash flow.
We will:
- Implement the policies and procedures you need to optimize cash flow.
- Design and implement cash management policies regarding the safeguarding and investment of the company’s cash balances.
- Develop cash flow forecasts for each project.
- Develop cash flow forecasts for the company.
- Help you select the appropriate cash management services from your bank.
- Use ratio analysis so you can understand key drivers, set liquidity goals and identify opportunities for improvement.
Having the ability to obtain credit is vital to the success of a construction company. Many contractors require credit financing to meet working capital needs, purchase equipment or as backup liquidity to support the work program.
Prime CFO has experience with obtaining financing for contractors. We can assist in obtaining lines of credit, term loans, letters of credit, equipment financing and leasing. Our services include preparing the documentation required by the bank, evaluating various loan proposals and providing advice, and negotiating loan terms.
Like many businesses, contractors are widely associated with a high degree of risk due to the nature of their activities, processes and environment. Contractors employ various risk management techniques for minimizing risk through advance planning. Prime CFO can help you evaluate and improve your company’s risk management practices. Implementing risk management practices helps protect your assets, control your insurance costs and avoid costly and time-consuming legal disputes.
Our risk management services include:
- Helping you evaluate and choose an insurance representative.
- Working with your broker or insurance consultant to develop a comprehensive coverage program and identify cost saving opportunities.
- Assessing construction contracts for financial risk exposure and working with your attorney and insurance consultant to mitigate construction project risk.
- Applying best practices for managing subcontractor risk exposure.
- Assembling annual property and casualty insurance renewal packages.
- Coordination and completion of the annual insurance audit
We can assist your company with its surety company relationship. Surety credit is the lifeblood of contractors. Surety companies want to know they are extending credit to contractors with a track record of completing successful projects. They also expect to be provided with quality financial information and internal management reports on a timely basis. Work in process schedules, cash flow and financial forecasts are an important part of every bonding meeting. Prime CFO can assist with the preparation of financial statements, forecasts and the necessary internal reports so you can obtain the greatest amount of credit available. We will help you manage your balance sheet so your surety company will extend the maximum support it can to your company. Prime CFO can assist with presenting this information to your surety company in the way it needs and in the negotiations of your surety agreement. Prime CFO’s experience will help you build confidence with your surety company so you can build a more successful business over the long term.
Information Technology Services
Construction is one of the most information intensive industries – a single construction project can produce volumes of drawings, project manuals, contracts, change orders, payment applications and administrative data. Accurate, timely information is needed to make lightning-quick decisions to manage projects and provide feedback to management. Contractors need to employ the latest technologies to achieve the greatest efficiencies, time and cost savings to remain competitive.
Prime CFO helps contractors assess their information technology needs, develop strategic technology plans and guide the implementation of new systems. We will help determine if you are getting the most out of your current system, or if a major overhaul is needed. We take an unbiased view of your technology environment and processes, suggest improvements to reduce inefficiencies, and work with your management team to identify and select technology solutions that meet your business needs.
Our review encompasses the following construction management applications and platforms:
- Accounting and financial management
- Financial reporting
- Project administration
- Job cost and project management
- Service work
- Inventory management
- General purpose functions
- ERP systems
- Cloud computing
- Mobile devices
Our services include:
- IT assessments
- Systems planning, selection and implementation
- Vendor contract negotiation
- Process / workflow review and efficiency optimization
Prime CFO provides practical HR solutions for our clients. For small to mid sized clients, our services include:
- Providing guidance to management staff on issues relative to HR activities
- Preparing and administering employment policies and ensuring compliance with applicable laws
- Developing employee compensation programs
- Analysis and selection of employee benefit plan alternatives
- Interfacing with benefits vendors
- Recruiting and hiring
- Reorganization strategies
- Training and development of accounting personnel
- Policy and procedure review
Strategic Planning , Budgeting & Forecasting
Many owners of construction companies spend very little time when it comes to developing a strategic plan for their business. The inability to plan and set specific objectives is a major reason contractors fail.
Strategic planning is a process, not a one-time event. Successful contractors make annual planning and strategic planning an integral part of their business. They have a vision, develop a plan and execute it to reach their goals and objectives.
Prime CFO is uniquely qualified to help contractors develop their annual budgets and strategic plans, and we can help you set up the best practices to measure progress towards your goals. Our depth of knowledge in the construction industry can help you identify the key factors that impact your business, identify risks and opportunities, analyze alternatives and develop and implement the strategic plan.
We are experts in building budgets and forecasts, enabling you to focus your time on value added discussions and strategic thinking.
Here are some of the strategic planning, budgeting and forecasting services we offer:
- Guide the strategic planning process
- Develop the annual budget
- Provide long term forecasts
- Apply performance review techniques to regularly review performance against the budget and forecast
- Provide variance analysis with budget vs. actual performance comparisons
- Implement rolling forecasts to provide insight into where the business is headed
- Provide performance review analysis at the job level
- Provide variance analysis at the job level
- Cash flow forecasts
- Balance sheet forecasts
Prime CFO is a valuable resource when it comes to helping contractors increase profitability. We take an unbiased view of your operation, and suggest specific ways to improve your top line margin and bottom line profitability. The result: your operation is stronger and your business is more valuable.
- Our contract review service is geared to maximizing your cost recovery so you are not missing out on billing opportunities and lost profits.
- Operational reviews will look at your processes to see where inefficiencies can be reduced and costs mitigated.
- We review your general and administrative costs on a line item basis to see where savings can be achieved.
- We oversee the proposal process from key vendors, analyze alternatives and recommend the best option for your company.
- Claim & litigation support
- Analytical Review
- Ratio Analysis
- Benchmarking
- Audit preparation & support
- Labor & equipment burden rates
- Revenue recognition issues
- Equipment lease vs. buy decisions
- Prequalification submissions
- Specialized reporting
- Licensing applications
- Bid and estimating support
- Vendor / Subcontractor prequalification