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The Flash Report
The Flash Report
Last week I highlighted the critical day-to-day usefulness of liquidity ratios in alerting a CEO that he might be flirting with financial difficulty. Today I would like to back up and take a look at the bigger picture – the CFO’s critical role in helping manage a … Read the rest “The Flash Report”
Liquidity
Liquidity
If I learned anything from ten years operating the world’s largest workout firm for sureties engaged in construction bonding, it’s that liquidity (or the lack thereof) is the most important predictive metric on a construction company’s balance sheet. Economic conditions, shrinking construction markets, soaring wage inflation, materials costs, and … Read the rest “Liquidity”
Let’s Get Real
“Let’s Get Real”
In a recent article I wrote the following:
“There is a downside to the great market we are enjoying because some construction enterprises will grow too fast and the rate of growth can be lethal. Most construction enterprises were involuntarily downsized when the current market recovery began. … Read the rest “Let’s Get Real”
Customer Anti-Relations
Customer Anti-Relations
In construction, the customer is often seen as an adversary. Contractors have a contentious relationship with owners, architects, and designers and most owners see contractors as potentially problematic vendors that bear watching. This relationship often devolves into contract disputes, slow pay, costly legal action, blown budgets, broken … Read the rest “Customer Anti-Relations”
Overhead the Silent Killer
Overhead
The Silent Killer
I have rarely had much success talking to construction company management about overhead. Whenever I broach the subject of controlling overhead at one of my seminars, I can see eyes gradually glaze over and the assembled home office people stealing glances at their cell phones or … Read the rest “Overhead the Silent Killer”
Never Ask a Texan
Subject: Quality over quantity
Never Ask a Texan…
…the size of his spread. It’s not polite. I made that mistake while touring a Texas cattle ranch with the owner many years ago. The rest of the tour was spent in comparative silence. When we got back to the headquarters I … Read the rest “Never Ask a Texan”
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