Construction accounting and financial management

Vacation Time for Jobsite Employees 57Recording Office Rent 58Recording Office Depreciation 59Recording General Overhead Invoices 60Billing a Client 61 Billing for Retention 62Receiving

Steven J Peterson, MBA, PE

Weber State University

Prentice Hall

Upper Saddle River, New Jersey

Columbus, Ohio

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

1 Construction industry—Accounting 2 Construction industry—Finance

3 Managerial accounting I Title

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This book is dedicated to John Peterson, a good friend who

encouraged me to study business.

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Several years ago I was asked to teach a course on construction accounting and nance The course was to cover the fundamental principles needed by construc-tion managers to successfully manage the finances of construction companies Inpreparing to teach this course I found that these principles were scattered amongmany disciplines, including business management, engineering economics, ac-counting, estimating, project management, and scheduling After I reviewed theavailable textbooks, two things were apparent First, the material was often pre-sented in a generic fashion and failed to address how the principles applied to theconstruction industry For example, in most accounting textbooks only a fewpages were devoted to the accounting procedures for long-term contracts, whichcomprise a bulk of the projects for general construction companies Second, withthe topics scattered among many disciplines and textbooks, the topic of how thedifferent components of construction financial management were interrelatedand interacted was being ignored

fi-Financial management may be defined as the use of a company’s financialresources and encompasses all decisions that affect a company’s financial health.Many everyday decisions affect a company’s financial health The difference be-tween a marginally profitable and a very profitable company is good financialmanagement Business schools teach the fundamental principles of financialmanagement; however, because of the many unique characteristics of the con-struction industry, the usefulness of these financial principles as taught by busi-ness schools is limited To be useful, these principles must be adapted specifically

to the construction industry For example, in the construction industry ment is mobile and may be needed for multiple jobs during a single month Tra-ditional accounting methods and financial statements do not allow a company toproperly manage and account for its equipment

equip-This book was written to help construction professionals—both those who areworking in the construction industry and those seeking a degree in constructionmanagement—learn how the principles of financial management can be adapted toand used in the management of construction companies This book will be mostuseful for general managers and owners of companies who are responsible formanaging the finances of the entire company; however, many of these principlesare useful to project managers and superintendents For the project manager or

superintendent who desires to stand out in a company, there is no better way than

to improve the profitability of their project through the principles of sound cial management The book also discusses how owners and general managers canmanage construction projects by sound management of their project managers,superintendents, and crew foreperson

finan-This book explains common financial principles, demonstrating how theseprinciples may be applied to a construction situation and how these principles af-fect the financial performance of a company Many of the examples included inthis book are based on actual situations encountered by the author

This book is organized in five parts: introduction to construction financialmanagement, accounting for financial resources, managing costs and profits,managing cash flows, and making financial decisions

The first part—comprising Chapter 1—introduces the reader to construction

financial management, explains why construction financial management

is different than financial management in other industries, and definesthe role of a construction financial manager

The second part—comprising Chapters 2 through 6—describes how to

account for a company’s financial resources Accounting for theseresources is built around a company’s accounting system

The third part—comprising Chapters 7 through 11—examines how to

manage the costs and profits of a construction company This must bedone at the project level as well as at the company level

The fourth part—comprising Chapters 12 through 16—looks at how to

manage a company’s cash flows and how to evaluate different sources

of funding cash needs

The fifth part—comprising Chapters 17 and 18—explores ways to

quantita-tively analyze financial decisions

After reading this book, you should have a better understanding of thefollowing:

❑ The basic financial principles that are widely used in the business world and how to modify them so that they work for the constructionindustry Application of these principles will help you better manageyour business

❑ Construction accounting systems, which will help you manage theaccounting systems and use accounting information to manage acompany

❑ Financial and accounting principles, so that you may interact with accountants and bankers at a professional level

To access supplementary materials online, instructors need to request an

instruc-tor access code Go to www.pearsonhighered.com/irc, where you can register

for an instructor access code Within 48 hours after registering, you will receive aconfirming e-mail, including an instructor access code Once you have receivedyour code, go to the site and log on for full instructions on downloading the ma-terials you wish to use.

This textbook brings all of the key financial management principles needed

by construction managers under one cover, addressing how they are applied inthe construction industry and how they interact Many of the examples in thisbook are based on my fourteen years of experience in construction financialmanagement Join me on a journey of discovery as we discuss the fundamentalprinciples of financial management that are needed to make a construction com-pany a financial success

Particular thanks are due to Richard J Gebken (Missouri State University),Ahmad Hadavi (Northwestern University), Kelly Strong (Iowa State University),Syed M Ahmed (Florida International University), Laura Lucas (Indiana Univer-sity–Purdue University, Indianapolis), Jonathan Shi (Illinois Institute of Technol-ogy), and Brent H Weidman (Brigham Young University) for their assistancewith the text review

Best Wishes,Steven J Peterson, MBA, PE

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P ART I I NTRODUCTION TO C ONSTRUCTION F INANCIAL

M ANAGEMENT 1

C H A P T E R 1

What Is Financial Management? 5Why Is Construction Financial Management Different? 5

Project Oriented 6 Decentralized Production 7 Payment Terms 7

Heavy Use of Subcontractors 7

Who Is Responsible for Construction Management? 8

What Does a Financial Manager Do? 8

Accounting for Financial Resources 8 Managing Costs and Profits 10 Managing Cash Flows 11 Choosing among Financial Alternatives 13

Conclusion 13Problems 13

P ART II A CCOUNTING FOR

F INANCIAL R ESOURCES 15

C H A P T E R 2

Cost Reporting versus Cost Control 18The General Ledger 20

Method of Accounting 20

Cash 20 Accrual 22 Percentage of Completion 22 Completed Contract 23

The Balance Sheet 24

Assets 24 Liabilities 27 Owner’s Equity 29

The Income Statement 30

Revenues 31 Construction Costs 31 Equipment Costs 33 Overhead 36 Other Income and Expenses 36 Income Tax 36

The Job Cost Ledger 37The Equipment Ledger 43Conclusion 45

Labor Charged to a Job 51Labor Charged to General Overhead 53Paying an Employee’s Wages 55

Paying Payroll Taxes 56Paying for Benefits 56

Vacation Time for Jobsite Employees 57Recording Office Rent 58

Recording Office Depreciation 59Recording General Overhead Invoices 60Billing a Client 61

Billing for Retention 62Receiving Payment from a Client 62Purchase of Equipment with a Loan 63Loan Payment 64

Equipment Depreciation 64Leased Equipment with an Operating Lease 65Leased Equipment with a Capital Lease 66Lease Payments on a Capital Lease 67Amortization of a Capital Lease 68Invoice for Equipment Repairs 69Equipment Charged to a Job 70Equipment Charged to an Employee 71Sale of Equipment 72

Purchase of Inventory 73Charging Inventory to a Job 74Recording Changes in Costs and Profits in Excess of Billings 75Recording Changes in Billings in Excess of Costs and Profits 76Conclusion 77

Problems 77

C H A P T E R 4

Committed Costs and Estimated Cost at Completion 81Overbillings and Underbillings 86

Internal Controls 89Computerized Accounting Systems 90Conclusion 92

Problems 92

C HAPTER 5

Straight-Line Method 96Sum-of-the-Years Method 98Declining-Balance Method 102

MACRS 108Placing in Service and Disposing of an Asset 108IRS Standard Recovery Periods and Depreciation Methods 109Section 179 Deduction 118

Depreciation for Nontax Purposes 118Conclusion 121

Problems 122References 124

C HAPTER 6

Depreciation and Financial Analysis 127Quick Ratio 128

Current Ratio 129Current Liabilities to Net Worth Ratio 130Debt to Equity Ratio 131

Fixed Assets to Net Worth Ratio 132Current Assets to Total Assets Ratio 133Collection Period 134

Average Age of Accounts Payable 136Assets to Revenues Ratio 137Working Capital Turns 138Accounts Payable to Revenues Ratio 140Gross Profit Margin 141

General Overhead Ratio 141Profit Margin 142

Return on Assets 143Return on Equity 144Degree of Fixed Asset Newness 145Conclusion 146

Subcontracts 159 Equipment 160 Other 161 Monitoring and Controlling General Overhead Costs 161

Monitoring Job Profitability 161

Cost-Loaded Schedule 164 Schedule Performance Index 165 Cost Performance Index 168

Target Levels for CPI and SPI 170

Project Closeout Audit 172

Conclusion 173Problems 173

C HAPTER 8

Cash Equivalents and Allowances 181Payroll Taxes 182

Unemployment Insurance 184Workers’ Compensation Insurance 186General Liability Insurance 187

Insurance Benefits 187Retirement 188Union Payments 188Other Benefits 189Conclusion 190Problems 190

C HAPTER 9

What Is General Overhead? 193The General Overhead Budget 194Items to Include in the General Overhead Budget 195Estimating General Overhead 201

Types of Costs 203Sample of a General Overhead Budget 205Conclusion 216

Problems 216

C HAPTER 10

The Profit Equation 221Contribution Margin 223Projecting Break-Even Volume of Work 224Projecting Break-Even Contribution Margin Ratio 226Adjusting the Financial Mix 228

Profit and Overhead Markup 230Conclusion 233

Problems 233

C HAPTER 11

Sources of Profit 237Allocation of General Overhead 241Profit Center Analysis 244

Crews as Profit Centers 244 Project Management as Profit Centers 246 Estimators as Profit Centers 247

Types of Jobs as Profit Centers 247 Customers as Profit Centers 251 Equipment as Profit Centers 252

Conclusion 253Problems 254

P ART IV M ANAGING C ASH F LOWS 257

C HAPTER 12

CASHFLOWS FOR CONSTRUCTIONPROJECTS 259

Cash Flow for Projects with Progress Payments 260Cash Flow for Projects with a Single Payment 285

Conclusion 288Problems 289

C HAPTER 13

Corporate versus Personal Income Tax 295Taxable Income 296

Payment of Income Taxes 298Income Tax Rates 298

Marginal or Incremental Tax Rate 302Capital Gains and Losses 303

Tax Consequences of Depreciation 304Nondeductible Expenses/Costs 308Tax Credits 309

Alternate Minimum Tax 309Projecting Taxable Income 310Conclusion 310

Problems 311References 312

Determining the Minimum Monthly Balance 333

Fine Tuning, What If, and Sensitivity Analysis 334

Conclusion 336Problems 337

C HAPTER 15

Equivalence 342Single-Payment Compound-Amount Factor 343Single-Payment Present-Worth Factor 347Uniform-Series Compound-Amount Factor 350Uniform-Series Sinking-Fund Factor 352Uniform-Series Present-Worth Factor 355Uniform-Series Capital-Recovery Factor 357Cash Flow Diagrams 359

Complex Cash Flows 360Find Unknown Periodic Interest Rates 366Inflation and Constant Dollars 371Conclusion 372

Loans and Lines of Credits 383Loans 385

Long-Term Loans 386 Amortization Schedule 394 Closing Costs 396

Short-Term Loans 404

Lines of Credits 407

Compensating Balance 407 Commitment Fee 411

Leasing 413Trade Financing 413Credit Cards 415Equity Financing 416Selecting a Banker 416

Applying for a Loan 417Financial Documents 418Conclusion 418

Study Period 431 Shortening an Alternative’s Life 432 Lengthening an Alternative’s Life 433 Repurchasing an Alternative 433

Net Present Value or Present Worth 435Incremental Net Present Value 444Future Worth 448

Annual Equivalent 451Rate of Return 453Incremental Rate of Return 458Capital Recovery with Return 461Payback Period without Interest 462Payback Period with Interest 465Project Balance 467

Noneconomic Factors in Decision Making 471Conclusion 471

Problems 471

C HAPTER 18

INCOME TAXES AND FINANCIAL DECISIONS 477

Losses Carried Forward 478Different Tax Rates 479Depreciation 481Capital Gains 482

Tax Credits 483After-Tax Cash Flows 485Conclusion 494

In this section we introduce you to construction financial management, how it is ferent from financial management in other industries, and why construction compa- nies need to use good financial management This section includes:

dif-❑ Chapter 1: Construction Financial Management

I

Introduction to Construction Financial

Management

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In this chapter you will learn what financial management is and why the financial management of construction companies is different from financial management of most other companies.

In 1997, 10,8671construction companies in the United States failed, bringing thetotal for the eight-year period beginning in 1990 to more than 80,0002construc-tion companies These failures include only those business failures that resulted

in a loss to their creditors and do not include contractors who closed their doorswithout leaving their creditors with a loss The 1997 failure rate translates to 118failures per 10,0003construction companies or 1.18% of the construction com-panies These failures are divided among companies of all ages Figure 1-1 showsthe breakdown of these failures by age of the business During 1997 the greatestnumber of business failures was for construction companies that had been oper-ating for longer than 10 years.4

1

Construction Financial Management

1Dun & Bradstreet, Business Failure Record, 1986–97, annually as quoted by The Center to Protect Worker’s Rights, The Construction Chart Book, 3rd Edition, September 2002 Note: Dun & Bradstreet

stopped publishing business failure data after 1997.

2Dun & Bradstreet, Business Failure Record, 1986–97, annually as quoted by Surety Information fice, Why Do Contractors Fail?, downloaded from http://www.sio.org/html/whyfail.html down-

Since 1988 the construction industry has experienced a average business failure rate when compared to the failure rate of allbusinesses.6

higher-than-The number of construction companies doing business in the UnitedStates declined from 709,590 in 2000 to 698,898 in 2001,7 resulting in a netdecline of 10,692 companies or 1.5% for the year This statistic does not repre-sent the true number of companies that went out of business during the yearbecause the actual number of construction companies that went out of busi-ness is offset by the number of new construction companies that were startedduring the year

In 2002, two of Japan’s largest construction companies—Sato Kogy Companyand Nissan Construction—filed for bankruptcy in the same month.8 Also inthe same month, Germany’s second-largest construction company, Philipp Holzmann AG, which had been in business for longer than 150 years, filed forbankruptcy.9

By 2006, nearly one in four contractors (23.6%) of the 850,029 tion contractors that were in business at the beginning of 2004 had gone out ofbusiness These numbers include all sectors of the construction industry exceptsingle-family residential contractors (SIC 1521).10

construc-Large and small, old and new, domestic and foreign construction nies are among the statistics of failed construction companies What are thesources of failure for construction companies? The Surety Information Office—

compa-an office that collects data on surety bonds—has identified six broad warningsigns that a construction company is in trouble They are “ineffective financialmanagement systems bank lines of credit constantly borrowed to the limits poor estimating and/or job cost reporting poor project management nocomprehensive business plan [and] communication problems.”11 Four ofthese six sources of failure are directly related to the financial management of thecompany Without sound financial management, construction companies aresetting themselves up for failure

6Dun & Bradstreet, Business Failure Record, 1986–97, annually as quoted by The Center to Protect Worker’s Rights, The Construction Chart Book, 3rd Edition, September 2002.

7U.S Census Bureau, CBP United States Economic Profiles, 2000 and 2001 downloaded from http://

www.census.gov/epcd/cbp/view/cbpus.html.

8The Associated Press, Nissan Construction to File for Bankruptcy, The New York Times on the Web, April 1, 2002, and Ken Belson, Contractor in Japan Is Seeking Bankruptcy, The New York Times on the

Web, March 5, 2002.

9Edmund L Andrews, Kirch in Danger of Bankruptcy After Rescue Talks Break Down, The New York

Times on the Web, April 3, 2002, and Skyscrapers.com.

10BizMiner, as reported by the Surety Information Office, Why Do Contactors Fail? Surety Bonds Provide Prevention & Protection, 2007, downloaded from http://www.sio.org/html.whyfail.htm.

11Surety Information Office, Why Do Contractors Fail?, downloaded from http://www.sio.org/html/

whyfail.html downloaded on April 3, 2003.

WHATIS FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT?

Financial management is the use of a company’s financial resources This includesthe use of cash and other assets—such as equipment Many everyday decisions af-fect a company’s financial future For example, the decision to bid on a large proj-ect can have great impact on the finances of a company When deciding whether tobid on a project, a manager may need to address the following questions: Does thecompany have enough cash resources to perform this work or will the companyneed outside financing? Can the company get bonded for this work? If not, whatchanges need to be made in the company’s financial structure so the company canget a bond for the project? Should the company hire employees to perform thework or should the company subcontract out this labor? Should the company lease

or purchase the additional equipment needed for this project? If the company chases the equipment, how should it be financed? Will this project require thecompany to increase its main office overhead? And, finally, what profit and over-head markup should be added to the bid? The answers to all of these questions willaffect the company’s finances The answer to one of the questions may change theavailable options to other questions For example, if the manager decides to hireemployees to perform the work on the project, the project will require more finan-cial resources than if the company had hired subcontractors to perform the laborand may leave the company with insufficient resources to purchase the additionalequipment, leaving leasing the equipment as the only option

pur-WHYIS CONSTRUCTION FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT DIFFERENT?

Construction companies are different from most other companies and are facedwith many unique challenges and problems not faced by other companies inother industries Although the construction industry is producing a product—as

do manufacturing plants—the construction of buildings, roads, and other tures is different from manufacturing of most other products Because of theseunique characteristics the financial management principles applied to otherproduct-producing industries often need to be modified before they are applied tothe construction industry, otherwise they are useless

struc-To understand the unique characteristics and challenges faced by the agers of construction industries, let’s compare the management of a constructioncompany to the management of a manufacturing plant For this example we look

man-at the manufacturing of fiberglass insulman-ation The manufacturing of fiberglassbatt insulation can be summarized in the following steps:

1 Sand and other ingredients necessary to make glass are delivered to the plantand stored in silos

2 The glass-making ingredients, delivered to the mixing bin by conveyor belts

or other means, are mixed in the specified proportions

3 After mixing, the ingredients are fed into a furnace, where they are heated tomake molten glass.

4 The molten glass is passed through a machine that spins the glass into fibers,cools the fibers, and adds liquid binders which causes the glass fibers to sticktogether

5 The spun glass is placed on a conveyor belt, where the speed of the conveyorbelt controls the thickness of the insulation

6 As the insulation proceeds along the conveyor belt, it is cut to width, andpaper backing is added if required

7 Finally, the insulation is cut to length, packaged, and stored for shipment.Now that you have a basic understanding of the process used to manufac-ture fiberglass insulation, let’s compare the management of this process to themanagement of a construction company

Project Oriented

The insulation manufacturer is process oriented, whereas the construction pany is project oriented Although the insulation manufacturer produces differ-ent types of insulation, the range of products that they produce is limited In theabove example the insulation produced may be of different thickness or R values,different widths, and with or without paper backing and packaged in rolls orbundles of 8-foot batts All of these products are similar with slight variations.For many construction companies, each product is unique but often the productsare very different It is not uncommon for a construction company to be working

com-on a tenant finish in a high-rise tower, a fire staticom-on, and an apartment complex

at the same time Even when a construction company is working on similarproducts—such as a homebuilder or a company building a number of conven-ience stores—the projects are often different due to site conditions and locations,which affects the availability of labor and materials

Because insulation manufacturers have a limited number of products theyproduce repeatedly, it is easier for them to determine their production costs When

a manager has produced a million square feet of R-11 insulation with paper backingpackaged in a 15-inch-wide by 40-foot-long roll it is easier to project the cost to pro-duce the next 10,000 square feet than it is if the product has never been producedbefore Construction companies often give clients fixed prices for a product that thecompany has never built or for a product that the company has never built using thelocal group of suppliers and subcontractors available at the project location

The insulation manufacturer sells the same product to a wide variety ofbuyers at locations other than the place the insulation is manufactured In theconstruction industry, projects are often custom built for a specific owner on aspecific location The insulation manufacturer can deal with fluctuation in de-mand by producing and storing extra products when demand is slower for usewhen the demand is higher It is relatively easy to store 5,000 square feet of in-sulation for immediate shipment to meet some future demand With most of a

construction company’s work occurring at the individual project’s location, theconstruction company cannot store unused production during slow times foruse on future projects How can you store 500 cubic yards of excavation for immediate use on some future project? To deal with this, the construction com-pany must constantly bid new work to keep the company’s employees workforcefully utilized or build speculative projects—projects without owners or buyers.Speculative building is a risky venture for the company because the product can-not be moved and often must be modified before it can be sold to another buyer.

No other industry is as project based as is the construction industry Almosteverything a construction company does is a project Because of this, a construc-tion company must keep accurate construction costs for each and every projectthat it constructs Not only must the cost be kept for each project, but also thecost must be kept for each group of components on a project This data is neces-sary to control the costs of the current project and also so the cost of the compo-nents may be used in the bidding of future projects With each project requiring

a different mix of labor, materials, and equipment, knowing the cost of the ponents of a project is necessary to bid future projects

com-Decentralized Production

The insulation manufacturers perform all of their work at a centralized location,whereas the construction company performs its work at a number of decentral-ized locations Insulation manufacturing plants are set up at a fixed location withthe equipment being dedicated to a specific manufacturing process for years Em-ployees come to the same plant year after year In the construction industry theequipment and employees are seldom dedicated to a single project year after year.Equipment and employees may move from job to job on a regular basis As a re-sult, the location of each employee and piece of equipment must be tracked toensure that their costs are charged to the correct job Additionally, each crew andpiece of equipment must be managed as a project center

Payment Terms

The insulation manufacturer bills the buyer at the time the insulation is shipped

or when it is ordered with the expectation that the buyer will pay the full billwithin a specified number of days For many construction companies, their workconsists of long-term contracts for individual projects with monthly progress pay-ments being made by the owner as the project is being built Additionally, theowners often withhold retention—funds used to ensure the contractor completesthe construction project—thus deferring payment of a portion of the progress pay-ment As a result, construction companies have unusual cash flows and requiremodification to accounting and other financial procedures to handle retention

Heavy Use of Subcontractors

The insulation manufacturer would never subcontract out a step in its turing process, yet many construction companies rely heavily on subcontractors’

manufac-work The use of subcontractors allows a construction company to tap into a contractor’s financial assets during the construction process The use of subcon-tractors has a great impact on the finances of a construction company.

sub-Because of these unique characteristics it is important for the manager of aconstruction company to have a sound understanding not only of financial man-agement but also of how financial management principles are applied to the con-struction industry The tools that financial managers are taught in businessschools must be modified to take into account the unique characteristics of theconstruction industry if they are to be useful to construction managers

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FORCONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT?

The person ultimately responsible for the financial management of a tion company is often the owner or general manager Often (especially in smallercompanies) many of these tasks are delegated to estimators, superintendents, orproject managers—particularly those tasks that are project specific For this rea-son, and because many project managers, superintendents, and estimators aspire

construc-to move up within the company or start their own construction business, it is portant for all construction management students to understand the principles

im-of financial success for a construction company Nothing will put an employee

on the fast track to success within a company faster than increasing the pany’s profitability through sound construction financial management In this

com-book the term financial manager is used to designate superintendents, project

managers, estimators, general managers, or owners who are responsible for all orpart of the financial management of a construction company

WHATDOES AFINANCIAL MANAGERDO?

The financial manager is responsible for seeing that the company uses its cial resources wisely A financial manager’s responsibilities may be broken downinto four broad areas that include accounting for financial resources, managingcosts and profits, managing cash flows, and making financial decisions

finan-Accounting for Financial Resources

Financial managers are responsible for accounting or tracking how the company’sfinancial resources are used, including the following:

❑ Making sure that project and general overhead costs are accuratelytracked through the accounting system

❑ Ensuring that a proper construction accounting system has been set upand is functioning properly

❑ Projecting the costs at completion for the individual projects andensuring that unbilled committed costs—costs that the company has

committed to pay but have not received a bill for—are included in theseprojections.

❑ Determining whether the individual projects are over- or underbilled

❑ Making sure that the needed financial statements have been prepared

❑ Reviewing the financial statements to ensure that the company’sfinancial structure is in line with the rest of the industry and trying toidentify potential financial problems before they become a crisis

Chapters 2 through 6 will help prepare you to fulfill these functions

In Chapter 2 you will be introduced to the structure of construction cial statements, including the different ledgers used by construction accountingsystems You will also learn the difference between accounting systems that areused for cost reporting and systems that are used for controlling costs, as well asthe different accounting methods available to construction companies Because

finan-of the unique characteristics finan-of construction companies, there are some keydifferences between accounting systems and financial statements for the con-struction industry and other industries Before you can understand how to readconstruction company financial statements or understand how construction costsare tracked and managed, you must understand how construction accountingsystems operate

In Chapter 3 you will gain a better understanding how different accountingtransactions are processed in the accounting system There are a number ofunique transactions that take place in construction accounting that do not occur

in other industries Most of these transactions are a result of the construction dustry’s focus on job costing, equipment tracking, and accounting for long-termcontracts Understanding these transactions is important for three reasons: First,some project costs—such as labor burden and equipment costs—are often gener-ated by the accounting system rather than an invoice or time card Understand-ing how these costs are obtained will help you gain a better understanding how toestimate these costs and incorporate them in the financial analysis of the project.Second, financial managers must review the accounting reports for errors—improperly billed costs and omitted costs—and ensure that the necessary correc-tions are made Understanding how the costs are generated will help you betterunderstand how to interpret the accounting reports Finally, for the general man-ager and owner, understanding construction accounting is necessary to ensurethat the accounting system is set up to meet the needs of the company Manyconstruction companies are using substandard accounting systems because themanagement does not understand how accounting systems should be structured

in-to meet the needs of the construction industry

In Chapter 4 you will increase your understanding of construction ing systems You will learn to track committed costs outside the accounting sys-tem if your company’s accounting system does not track committed costs, whichwill also help you understand how accounting systems track committed costs Youwill learn to use committed costs to project the estimated cost and profit atcompletion for projects You will also learn to calculate over- and underbillings

account-Finally, you will learn about the internal controls needed to protect your financialresources and what to look for in computerized construction accounting systems.

In Chapter 5 you will learn the differences among the methods available fordepreciating construction assets, including the methods used for tax purposes.Understanding the difference in depreciation methods is necessary for a manager

to interpret the financial statement and financial ratios, which is covered in thenext chapter Simply put, changing the method of depreciation can have signifi-cant impact on the company’s financial statements An understanding of depre-ciation is also necessary when preparing income tax projections, which isdiscussed in Chapter 13

In Chapter 6 you will learn to use financial ratios to analyze the company’sfinancial statements, including comparing the company’s ratios to industrialaverages This will include adapting commonly used ratios to the unique charac-teristics of the construction industry Analysis of the financial statements willhelp the financial manager identify problems before they become a crisis Theseproblems may be life threatening to the company (such as realizing that the com-pany will not be able to pay its bills in the upcoming months) or simple planningissues (such as identifying that the company’s equipment is aging and that fundsneed to be set aside to replace this equipment in the next few years)

Managing Costs and Profits

Financial managers are responsible for managing the company’s costs and ing a profit for the company’s owners Financial managers rely heavily on the re-ports from the accounting system in their management of costs Managing thecompany’s costs and profits includes the following duties:

earn-❑ Controlling project costs

❑ Monitoring project and company profitability

❑ Setting labor burden markups

❑ Developing and tracking general overhead budgets

❑ Setting the minimum profit margin for use in bidding

❑ Analyzing the profitability of different parts of the company and makingthe necessary changes to improve profitability

❑ Monitoring the profitability of different customers and making thenecessary marketing changes to improve profitability

Chapters 7 through 11 will help to prepare you to fulfill these functions

In Chapter 7 you will learn to monitor and control construction costs formaterials, labor, subcontractors, equipment, other costs, and general overhead.You will also learn to measure the success of the project by monitoring prof-itability, using the schedule performance index, the cost performance index, andproject closeouts These skills help financial managers determine the success ofprojects and identify problem areas on projects, regardless of whether you are aproject manager or superintendent who wants to know how your project is doing

or a general manager or owner who wants to know how well your project agers and superintendents are running their projects.

man-In Chapter 8 you will learn to determine the labor burden markup Thishelps you better understand how to project these costs, whether they are to beused to bid a new job, price a change order, or project the cost to complete theproject This helps the general manager and owner determine the labor costsneeded to prepare a general overhead budget

In Chapter 9 you will learn how to prepare a general overhead budget thatmay be used to track overhead costs It is easy for a company to squander its profits

by failing to control general overhead costs Construction managers often spendenormous amounts of time and effort budgeting, tracking, and controlling con-struction costs while ignoring general overhead costs Just as a project manager orsuperintendent tracks and manages construction costs on a project, the generalmanager or owner needs to track and manage the general overhead costs The key

to doing this is to set and follow a general overhead budget A general overheadbudget is also needed to prepare the company’s annual cash flow projection, which

is discussed in Chapter 14

In Chapter 10 you will learn to set profit margins for use in bidding andhow the profit changes as the volume of work changes You will also learn to de-termine the volume of construction work and profit and overhead markup nec-essary to cover the costs associated with the general overhead Profits are used topay for general overhead costs and provide the owners with a profit If the profitsare insufficient to cover the general overhead costs the company will consume itsavailable cash and fail If the profits fail to provide the owner with a reasonableprofit, the owner may decide there are better places to invest his or her moneyand the company will lose financing

In Chapter 11 you will learn to analyze the profitability of different parts ofthe company and identify where the company needs to make changes to improveprofitability You will learn to choose between hiring a subcontractor and self-performing work You will also learn to monitor the profitability of different cus-tomers and identify which customers should be developed and which customersyour company would be better off without

Managing Cash Flows

Financial managers are responsible for managing the cash flows for the company Many profitable companies fail because they simply run out of cashand are unable to pay their bills The duties of a financial manager include thefollowing:

❑ Matching the use of in-house labor and subcontractors to the cashavailable for use on a project

❑ Ensuring that the company has sufficient cash to take on an additionalproject

❑ Preparing an income tax projection for the company

❑ Preparing and updating annual cash flow projections for the company.

❑ Arranging for financing to cover the needs of the construction company.Chapters 12 through 16 will help prepare you to perform these functions

In Chapter 12 you will learn to develop a cash-flow projection for a tion project from both the perspective of a construction company that is receivingprogress payments or draws from the project’s owner and from the perspective of aconstruction company that receives a single payment when the project is sold—such as is the case with many homebuilders For companies in either of these situ-ations, the company must pay for some or all of the construction costs—especiallylabor—from the company’s funds before being reimbursed for these costs To coverthese costs the company needs cash Because inadequate funding of the construc-tion company can spell doom to a construction project as well as to all of the com-panies involved, it is important that managers accurately project both the amountand timing of the cash required by a construction project Understanding the cashflow for a construction project is a prerequisite to preparing a cash flow for an en-tire construction company, which is discussed in Chapter 14

construc-In Chapter 13 you will learn the fundamentals of income taxes and how toprepare an income tax projection Income taxes are a significant expense to thecompany and need to be included in the company’s annual cash flow projection.Having an unexpected income tax bill can reduce the funds available for use onconstruction projects to a dangerously low level

In Chapter 14 you will learn how to prepare an annual cash flow projectionfor a construction company This is necessary to ensure that the company hassufficient cash for the upcoming year Should a financial manager find that thereare insufficient funds, he or she will have time to arrange for the necessary financing to provide the necessary funds Annual cash flow projections for acompany are prepared by projecting the annual revenues and construction costsfor the construction company by combining the cash flows from the individualjobs or are based on historical data The financial manager must then combinethe projected revenues, construction costs, the general overhead budget, and theprojected income taxes with the company’s available cash to determine the cashneeds of the company

In Chapter 15 you will learn to convert cash flows occurring in one time period to an equivalent cash flow occurring at another time period or into a uni-form series of cash flows occurring over successive periods Understanding thetime value of money is a prerequisite to understanding debt financing and how tocompare two or more financial options, which are the topics of Chapters 16, 17,and 18 Additionally, you will learn how to adjust interest rates for inflation

In Chapter 16 you will learn about financial instruments that can be used

to provide the necessary cash for a construction company’s operation You willalso learn to compare debt instruments with different conditions and learn howloan provisions and closing costs can increase the effective interest rate on a loan

or line of credit An understanding of these principles helps you reduce ing costs and determine the best way to provide the cash needed to operate a

borrow-construction company Success in obtaining financing for a company can allowthe company to take on additional projects, whereas failure to obtain financingcan spell the doom of a company.

Choosing among Financial Alternatives

Financial managers are responsible for selecting among financial alternatives.These decisions include the following:

❑ Selecting which equipment to purchase

❑ Deciding to invest the company’s limited resources in which area of thebusiness

There are many financial tools that are available to quantitatively analyze thealternatives In Chapters 17 and 18 you will learn to use these tools

In Chapter 17 you will learn ten quantitative methods that may be used toanalyze financial alternatives and choose the alternative that is best for the com-pany Without some quantitative method it is hard for managers to determinewhich option is best Understanding these skills is necessary for any managerwho must decide where to invest limited capital

In Chapter 18 you will learn how income taxes can influence the choice offinancial decisions and how to incorporate income taxes into the decision-makingtools from Chapter 17 If income taxes affected all alternatives in the same way,income taxes would not be an issue; however, income taxes can make some finan-cial alternatives preferable With income tax rates of up to 38.6% financial man-agers must take income taxes into account by weighing financial alternatives

CONCLUSION

A construction company is a risky venture Each year, many construction nies go out of business Operating a successful construction company requires aspecialized set of financial management skills, because of the unique nature of theconstruction industry Unlike other industries, the construction industry faces anumber of challenges: (1) constantly building unique, one-of-a-kind projects, (2)building a project at a different location each time, (3) dealing with retention andprogress payments, and (4) relying heavily on the use of subcontractors to com-plete the projects This book is designed to help the reader develop the financialmanagement skills required to become a successful construction manager

compa-PROBLEMS

1 According to the Surety Information Office, what are the six warning signsthat a construction company is in financial trouble?

2 Who is responsible for financial management in a construction company?

3 Why is construction financial management different from the financialmanagement of other companies?

4 What activities are involved in accounting for the company’s financialresources?

5 What activities are involved in managing the company’s costs and profits?

6 What activities are involved in managing the company’s cash flows?

7 List some examples of financial decisions that construction managers mustmake

In this section we look at how to account for the company’s financial resources counting for these resources is built around a company’s accounting system This section includes the following chapters:

Ac-❑ Chapter 2: Construction Accounting Systems

❑ Chapter 3: Accounting Transactions

❑ Chapter 4: More Construction Accounting

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In this chapter you will be introduced to the structure of construction financial ments, including the different ledgers used by construction accounting systems You will also learn the difference between accounting systems that are used for cost re- porting and systems that are used for controlling costs, as well as the different ac- counting methods available to construction companies Because of the unique characteristics of construction companies, there are some key differences between accounting systems and financial statements for the construction industry and other industries Before you can understand how to read construction company financial statements or understand how construction costs are tracked and managed, you must understand how construction accounting systems operate.

state-Construction accounting systems include the software, hardware, and personnelnecessary to operate a construction accounting system Construction accountingsystems serve four purposes

First, the accounting system processes the cash receipts (collectingpayments) and disbursements (paying bills) for the company Theaccounting system should ensure that revenues are billed and collected

in a timely fashion and that timely payments are made only for bonafide expenses incurred by the company Failure to collect revenues orcareless payment of bills can quickly deplete the cash reserves of acompany and, if left unchecked, can bankrupt a company

Second, the accounting system collects and reports the data needed toprepare company financial statements that are used to report thefinancial status of the company to shareholders and lending institutions.These reports are needed to assure shareholders and lending institutionsthat the company is solvent and is managing its financial assets in awise manner

Third, the accounting system collects and reports the data needed to prepareincome taxes, employment taxes, and other documents required by the

2

Construction Accounting Systems

government Failure to pay taxes and file other required documents—such

as W-2s and 1099s—on time results in the assessment of penalties

And, finally, the accounting system collects and provides the data needed

to manage the finances of the company, including data for the company

as a whole, each project, and each piece of heavy equipment Tosuccessfully manage the company’s financial resources, the accountingsystem must provide this data quickly enough for management toanalyze the data and make corrections in a timely manner Accountingsystems that fail to do this are simply reporting costs

COST REPORTING VERSUS COSTCONTROL

Cost reporting is where the accounting system provides management with the counting data after the opportunity has passed for management to respond toand correct the problems indicated by the data When companies wait to enterthe cost of their purchases until the bills are received, management does notknow if they are under or over budget until the bills are entered, at which timethe materials purchased have been delivered to the project and may have beenconsumed The extreme case of cost reporting is where companies only look atthe costs and profit for each project after the project is finished Cost reporting istypified by the accounting reports showing where a company has been financiallywithout giving management an opportunity to proactively respond to the data.Cost control is where the accounting system provides management with theaccounting data in time for management to analyze the data and make corrections

ac-in a timely manner Companies that enter material purchase orders and tracts, along with their associated costs, into their accounting system as committedcosts before issuing the purchase order or subcontract allow management time toaddress cost overruns before ordering the materials or work Committed costs arethose costs that the company has committed to pay and can be identified before abill is received for the costs For example, when a contractor signs a fixed-price sub-contract he or she has committed to pay the subcontractor a fixed price once thework has been completed and, short of any change orders, knows what the work isgoing to cost Accounting systems that track committed costs give management time

subcon-to identify the cause of the overrun early on, identify possible solutions, and takecorrective action Cost control is typified by identifying problems early and givingmanagement a chance to proactively address the problem A lot of money can besaved by addressing pervasive problems—such as excessive waste—early in the project

If a company’s accounting system is going to allow management to controlcosts rather than just report costs, the accounting system must have the follow-ing key components:

First, the accounting system must have a strong job cost and equipmenttracking system The accounting system should update and report costs,including committed costs and estimated cost at completion on a weekly

basis Having timely, up-to-date costs for the project and the equipment is amust if management is going to manage costs and identify problems early.Second, the accounting system must utilize the principle of management

by exception It can be easy for managers to get lost in the volumes ofdata generated by the accounting system The accounting system shouldprovide reports that allow management to quickly identify problem areasand address the problems For example, as soon as bills are entered intothe accounting system, management should get a report detailing allbills that exceed the amount of their purchase order or subcontract

Problems that are buried in volumes of accounting data are often neveraddressed because management seldom has time to pour through all ofthe data to find the problems or if they are found they are often foundtoo late for management to address the problem Providing reports thatflag transactions that fall outside the acceptable limits is a necessity ifmanagement is going to control costs By having reports that flag itemsthat fall outside acceptable limits, management can make addressingthese items a priority

Third, accounting procedures need to be established to ensure that things

do not fall through the cracks These procedures should include thingssuch as who can issue purchase orders and what to do when a bill isreceived for a purchase order that has not been issued The proceduresshould also identify the acceptable limits for different types of

transactions Procedures ensure that the accounting is handled in aconsistent manner and give management confidence in the data that it

is using to manage the company

Finally, the data must be easily and quickly available to management andother employees who are directly responsible for controlling costs Itdoes little good to collect cost data for use in controlling costs if the datacannot be accessed Where possible the reports should be automaticallyprepared by the accounting software This eliminates the time and effortneeded to prepare the reports manually Additionally, frontline supervi-sors who are responsible for control costs should readily have access totheir costs Holding supervisors responsible for costs at the end of a jobwhile not giving them access to their costs throughout the project deniesthem the opportunity to proactively control costs

The accounting system for many construction companies consists of threedifferent ledgers: the general ledger, the job cost ledger, and the equipment ledger.The general ledger tracks financial data for the entire company and is used to pre-pare the company’s financial statements and income taxes The job cost ledger isused to track the financial data for each of the construction projects The equip-ment ledger is used to track financial data for heavy equipment and vehicles Allconstruction companies should have a general ledger and a job cost ledger Com-panies with lots of heavy equipment or vehicles should have an equipment ledger

THE GENERAL LEDGER

Like all other companies, construction company accounting systems have ageneral ledger The general ledger consists of all of the accounts necessary totrack the financial data needed to prepare the balance sheet, income statement,and income taxes A chart of accounts lists all of the accounts in the generalledger A sample chart of accounts is shown in Figure 2-1 In the chart of ac-counts, the accounts for the balance sheet are listed before the accounts for theincome statement In Figure 2-1, accounts 110 through 430 are used for thebalance sheet and accounts 500 through 950 are used for the income state-ment The accounts on the chart of accounts appear in the order they appear in

on the balance sheet and income statement; however, not all accounts from thechart of accounts appear on the balance sheet or income statement becausesuccessive accounts may be rolled up into a summary account that appears onthe balance sheet or income statement Other items—such as profit—appear onthe balance sheet and income statement that are not included in the chart ofaccounts because they are calculated from accounts on the chart of accounts.The way transactions are handled in the general ledger is based on the account-ing method used by the construction company

METHOD OF ACCOUNTING

There are four methods of accounting available to construction companies Theyare: cash, accrual, percentage of completion, and completed contract The cashand accrual methods are two widely used accounting methods and are used inmany industries The percentage-of-completion and completed contract methodsare used when companies enter long-term contracts, which are defined by the In-ternal Revenue Code as “any contract for the manufacture, building, installation,

or construction of property if such contract is not completed within the taxableyear in which such contract is entered into.”11 The key difference between thesemethods is how and when they recognize income, expenses, and profits A con-struction company may use a different method of accounting when preparing itsfinancial statements than it does when it is preparing its income taxes Let’s look

at these accounting methods

Cash

Cash is the easiest of the accounting methods to use Revenue is recognizedwhen the payment from the owner is received and expenses are recognizedwhen bills are paid Profit at any point equals the cash receipts less the cashdisbursements Because of the easiness of its use, it is often a favorite of small

12 Title 26, Subtitle A, Chapter 1, Subchapter E, Part II, Subpart B, Section 460.

CHART OF ACCOUNTS

120 Accounts Receivable-Trade 740 Fuel and Lubrication

121 Accounts Receivable-Retention 750 Taxes, Licenses, and Insurance

140 Costs and Profits in Excess of Billings 799 Equipment Costs Charged to Jobs

150 Notes Receivable

810 Car and Truck Expenses

220 Construction Equipment 812 Repairs and Maintenance

824 Employee Training

311 Accounts Payable-Retention 830 Insurance

320 Billings in Excess of Costs and Profits 835 Taxes and Licenses

379 Other Current Liabilities 855 Dues and Memberships

380 Long-Term Liabilities 860 Publications and Subscriptions

865 Legal and Professional Services

430 Current Period Net Income 880 Bank Fees

881 Interest Expense

891 Unallocated Labor

650 Other

910 Other Income

F IGURE 2-1 Chart of Accounts