Cash is King

Cash is King

Cash is King Thomas C Schleifer, Ph.D. For the duration of this disrupted market and potential for recession, move cash flow management to the top of your CFO’s priority list and leave it there. Contractors rarely have enough cash on the balance sheet to see them...
Navigating Stormy Seas

Navigating Stormy Seas

Navigating Stormy Seas Thomas C Schleifer, Ph.D The Fed has just imposed another 75-basis point increase in its benchmark interest rate, and now even both sides of congress are howling. Prognosticators are worried that continued increases will push the economy into...
CLEAN UP YOUR BOOKS

CLEAN UP YOUR BOOKS

CLEAN UP YOUR BOOKS Thomas C Schleifer, Ph.D. While operating the nation’s largest workout firm for sureties, I had occasion to audit the financial statements of hundreds of construction companies that had failed mid-project. While the causes of those failures varied...
Recession – Yes or No?

Recession – Yes or No?

Recession – Yes or No? Thomas C Schleifer, Ph.D. As the Fed uses interest rates to joust with inflation, everyone wants to know if we’re headed into a recession. The dreaded R word is on everybody’s mind. Do I think we’re in for an immediate recession? How severe will...
Back To the Beginning

Back To the Beginning

Back To the Beginning Thomas C Schleifer, Ph.D. For 30 years I have been researching the causes of construction business failure. The study began years ago when I operated the largest national consultancy firm completing projects interrupted when bonded contractors...
No Guesses – No Surprises, Number Two

No Guesses – No Surprises, Number Two

No Guesses – No Surprises, Number Two Dr Thomas C Schleifer Last week we looked at how a construction CFO crafts a cash flow plan, project by project. A cash flow plan is also an essential part of a construction company’s mid-term (six months to a year)...