by Simplar | Jun 12, 2025 | Built Environment, Business of Construction, Financial Management and Risk, Financial Management and Risk, Leadership, Leadership, Risk Management, Risk Management, Weekly Construction Message
Contractors often wait too long to employ the business management expertise of a qualified Chief Financial Officer. Small and mid-size businesses across all industries have traditionally left accounting to a bookkeeper, hiring an outside accounting firm to close the...
by Simplar | Jun 2, 2021 | Business Development, Business Development, Business Development, Business, Strategic and Project Planning, Leadership, Leadership, Leadership, Weekly Construction Message
My overview of the construction industry breaks down the management function into three broad categories: 1. Getting the work 2. Doing the work 3. Accounting for the work. The Chief Financial Officer’s (CFO’s) role in “Accounting for the work” is...
by Simplar | Jun 25, 2026 | Business Failure, Business Failure, Financial Management and Risk, Financial Management and Risk, Risk Management
The instrument rated construction company financial management that we have been discussing these past few weeks is not simply a metaphor. Most of the contractors that failed mid-project when my company was completing construction projects for sureties were surprised...
by Simplar | Jun 4, 2026 | Built Environment, Business of Construction, Financial Management and Risk, Financial Management and Risk, Leadership, Weekly Construction Message
Piloting a plane by instruments is the practice of navigating and controlling an aircraft using only the cockpit displays, entirely independent of outside visual references like the horizon or landmarks. It requires precise cross-checking, interpretation, and control....
by Simplar | May 21, 2026 | Built Environment, Financial Management and Risk, Leadership, Leadership, Risk Management, Risk Management, Weekly Construction Message
Magicians only perform a trick once for the same audience. A second time and the trick loses its luster. The third time around the audience figures it out. The trick no longer fools the audience and the magic is gone. Legacy Tricks of the Trade We contractors start...