There is an opportunity for construction financial professionals to play a different role within their company, but it will require a different type of leader. This presentation is designed for those individuals who recognize change is on the horizon and are interested in being part of that change. During the session, we will focus on four key areas of individual and organizational change including what new skillsets may look like, how to embark on the journey of individual growth while contributing to organizational growth, the importance and value of developing a personal brand while also your team, and the CFM / CFO's opportunity to bridge internal cultural gaps.

Learning Objectives:

• Discover and describe the three skillsets required of CFMs in the future.
• Define the five domains of modern leadership and the steps that tomorrow's leaders can take to design their own leadership path, including actionable items and tools.
• Identify the three benefits to creating and delivering a personal brand within the company, while leading your team in a collective and internal branding effort.
• Describe two common cultural gaps that exist within construction companies today and how the CFM plays a role in bridging internal and external teams.

1 CPE credit in the field of Personal Development.

This presentation will take a more advanced look at techniques for developing and implementing a successful strategy for contract negotiations, including a discussion of techniques used to preserve bid day margins, suggestions to mitigate non-negotiable risk through operations, a review of contract clauses most likely to impact profit and sample contract language to support margin preservation. 

Learning Objectives:

• Acquire advanced techniques for the development and implementation of a successful strategy for contract negotiations.
• Identify effective techniques for margin preservation and describe how to handle the contract clauses that impact profit.
• Describe effective approaches to communication with project team members to maximize the likelihood of success of contract negotiations, contract administration and project completion.

1.5 CPE credits in the field of Business Law.

Want to turn your accounting department into a cash flow generator? And this doesn't just mean billing more for the work you're doing. This session will focus on tips that every financial professional and construction business owner can do today to start generating cash from within the business' overhead. This presentation will discuss strategies for increasing cash flow, how CFMA and the Certified Construction Industry Financial Professional (CCIFP) certification can boost the bottom line, the value of forward-thinking reporting and analysis, and viewing accounting as a valuable profit center. 

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the strategies to turn your accounting department into a cash flow generator.
• Identify tips for staying on top of best practices and emerging cash flow strategies.
• Describe and implement best practices for using historical financial information in projections and forward-looking analysis.

1 CPE credit in the field of Business Management & Organization

Accounting departments are often considered to be a “cost center” or “overhead.” What if they were instead thought of as “value-added” or even a “profit center?" Effective budgeting, projections, and cash management are the keys. This presentation covers the accounting cycle, from a budget to monthly statements to updated projections, with a focus on the balance sheet — particularly cash — and includes lessons learned from dozens of contractors regarding things that can go right and wrong. 

Learning Objectives:

• Explain the difference between budgets, projections, the income statement, balance sheet, and cash forecasts and why they are important.
• Identify techniques to maximize cash flow and profit for your company or clients.
• Identify financial ratios that can help management assess the financial health of the organization.

1 CPE credit in the field of Accounting

Fraud can wreak havoc on an organization’s financial performance and undermine business objectives. No business is immune to fraud risks, and education is key to prevention. This presentation will provide stories from the trenches and often-overlooked prevention tips. You’ll be both educated and entertained during this fast-paced program designed for those with or without an accounting background. Anyone can benefit from this enlightening presentation, which will touch on the symptoms that management should watch for and focus on how organizations can better protect themselves. 

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the controls and other anti-fraud strategies that can help reduce the risk of fraud.
• Identify emerging fraud schemes and how to avoid becoming victim.
• Explore and describe how complex data analytics can be deployed for fraud detection.

1.5 CPE credits in the field of Behavioral Ethics

The success of construction entities and projects stems from numerous ever-changing factors and parties’ ability to adapt and manage the risks that come along with such change. This viewpoint has become even clearer over the past two years as the industry has dealt with unanticipated events. This presentation will provide an overview of the state of and trends within the construction industry, including an analysis of supply chain disruptions and delays as well as inflation, the resulting risks, and practical guidance from the legal and surety perspective as to how construction entities can manage these risks. 

Learning Objectives:

• Acquire information about the current state of and trends within the industry relating to entity and project risk.
• Discover and explain the economics behind supply chain disruptions and their effect on material prices.
• Identify risk management techniques from the legal perspective in dealing with current industry trends.
• Describe the surety’s view in analyzing these industry risks and steps entities can and/or are taking to manage them.

1 CPE credit in the field of Management Services

Dive deep into the process of the annual workers’ compensation and general liability insurance audits, including what you should be doing during the insurance policy year, how to prepare for the audits, and what to do in the post-audit time frame. This program will benefit new construction financial professionals as well as those who may be more seasoned and have experienced many audits. 

Learning Objectives:

• Gain best practices to prepare information for the audit process, including possible reductions in reportable wages and fringes.
• Identify and implement specific audit requirements that need to be gathered throughout the year, including W-9s, certificates of insurance, and Owner Controlled Insurance Program/Contractor Controlled Insurance Program documentation.
  
• Describe the ingredients to achieving the goal of leaving no dollars “on the table.”
  
• Compile and align successful negotiation strategies during and post-audit.

1 CPE credit in the field of Management Services

We are in a season where the need for leadership at all levels of an organization is more important than ever. How do we lead in this landscape? Many companies are struggling to keep great employees, fill new positions, navigate flexible work arrangements, and stay on top of ever-evolving employer mandates while also facing the realities of an unpredictable backlog and supply chain. 

Learning Objectives:

• Describe current best practices, and identify key personnel decisions that every organization needs to consider now.
• Acquire data and research findings regarding work hours, hybrid work arrangements, employee retention, and more.
• Explore and describe the balance between the work to be done and the needs and wants of the workforce and customers.
• Identify what it means to be inwardly sound and others focused and why these leadership attributes are more critical now.

1 CPE credit in the field of Specialized Knowledge

Are you unhappy with your current enterprise resource planning (ERP) system but unsure if it is time to replace it or continue to limp along? This informative session will discuss how to evaluate your current system, learn about current technology, and determine whether you should keep your existing solution or replace it with a more contemporary one. In addition, there will be valuable data on how to leverage new technology to extend the life of your current system if replacement is not a viable option. 

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the difference between an ERP system, accounting system, and point solutions.
• Differentiate the types of integration between systems, why they exist, and what value they bring. 
• Describe different trends in the ERP market and identify the driving forces behind those trends.
• Identify what functionality is expected in today's ERP market.
• Discover and describe what technology is available to get the most from your existing ERP investment.

1.5 CPE credits in the field of Information Technology

The number one challenge faced by every business is getting and keeping employees. Employers are facing a labor shortage, increased wages, and increased employee expectations. To grow beyond the competition, we have to do this better than the competition. 

Learning Objectives:

• Identify how to attract top talent, position yourself as the employer of choice, and get everyone involved.
• Compute the cost off turnover and apply the data to make smart decisions.
• Identify and implement retention program possibilities and the marketing formula for determining which strategies would be most cost-effective.
• Describe and adopt the engagement factor (call it culture, passion, meaning, etc., but it's all about the experience employees have).
• Identify ways to increase awareness of the total cost of managing and retaining employees, because every HR problem becomes a sales problem.

1.5 CPE credits in the field of Personnel/Human Resources

Prequalification programs have been well established for a long time, but questions still persist for many in how to choose the best subcontractor, and likewise as a sub, how to put in your best effort to get the job. This session will take a deep dive into understanding the prequalification process. Learn why some General Contractors (GCs) worry about Subcontractor failure, and for Subcontractors, learn how to become more comfortable with sharing financial information. Gain insight into best practices your company can implement to make your financial statement picture perfect. 

Learning Objectives:

• Identify and implement the steps to make the prequalification process successful in your company’s culture.
• Describe the types of information requested and how it is used.
• Explore the process in companies who have developed a successful prequalification process and identify best practices.

1 CPE credit in the field of Management Services

This session will discuss the inside story of an Arizona construction company's bankruptcy and explore how to identify potential red flags, as the road to ceasing operations was not a series of large cliffs but a series of small steps to that final cliff. We will also discuss what happened after the company closed along with some of the steps within the three-year process to wrap up loose ends. 

Learning Objectives:

• Review information on how the company progressed down the path of growth to ultimately close.
• Identify elements of contractor failure and how the company committed each of them.
• Explain what happened once the company hit the critical turning point that led to closing.
• Summarize the process of closing down the company.
• Explore and recognize how actions that were taken daily in the business led to its closing.

1.5 CPE credits in the field of Finance

This presentation will focus on the recently passed infrastructure package and its implications for heavy highway contractors and others that work on public projects. 

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the composition of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
• Identify how funds are likely to be spent and the timing of outlays.
• Assess the likelihood that contractors will have the capacity to deliver public work on time and cost-effective bases.
• Distinguish how the latest infrastructure package compares to prior ones.

1.5 CPE credits in the field of Specialized Knowledge

The opioid crisis is waging a war across the U.S. In 2020, over 93,000 Americans died of overdoses, and this number has doubled in the past five years. Seventy percent of these were the result of opioids, and 73% of the opioid overdoses are from the lethal synthetic fentanyl. Twenty-eight states had increases of 30% or more in opioid overdoses in 2020. Over 70% of workplaces are affected by this crisis, and construction workers and extended families are disproportionately at risk. Learn how to protect your workforce and your family from opioids through practical and proven first-dose prevention strategies. 

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the risks of soft tissue injuries and surgical procedures at work, home, and/or play (athletics/sports).
• Identify the mental and physical effects of chronic pain, and learn about alternatives to opioids and opioid-sparing protocols.
• Assess the human and financial consequences of opioids in workers' compensation and employee medical health benefit claims.
• Learn how Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocols optimize surgical outcomes in work- and/or home-related cases.
• Discuss recommendations, resources, and tools available to help companies and families address the risk of opioids.

1 CPE credit in the field of Specialized Knowledge