Contractors Center Point

McKonly and Asbury, LLP Along With Murray Risk Management and Insurance and Woolford Law Hold Spring Construction Seminar

On Thursday, May 19th2011, McKonly and Asbury, LLP along with Murray Risk Management and Insurance and Woolford Law, held there Spring 2011 Construction Seminar. The Seminar, with nearly 100 in attendance, was held at the Eden Resort in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

The seminar started with a presentation on LEAN for the construction industry presented by Michael Hoffner, CPA and David Blain of McKonly and Asbury, LLP. Mr. Hoffner and Mr. Blain covered key concepts of LEAN and provided practical guidance for implementation of LEAN for contractors and those in the construction market. Jamie Malachowski of McKonly and Asbury, LLP provided a brief analysis on energy credits available to contractors and ways that contractors could take advantage of those credits.

Doug Dvorchak, ARM of Murray Risk Management and Insurance presented on Controlling Workers Compensation Costs. Mr. Dvorchak covered the calculation of premium, experience modification factors and discussed effective tools to reduce workers compensation cost. Mr. Dvorchak's presentation was followed by a discussion on How to Obtain and Maintain Bonding Credit in Troubled Times by Lydia Mantle of Murray Risk Management and Insurance. Mrs. Mantle covered the current state of the surety market, provided a surety outlook, discussed mechanisms to obtain and maintain bonding and covered the seven decisions that can make or break a surety program.

Finally, the day ended with an enlighting and very educational presentation from Tim Woolford, ESQ of Woolford Law. Mr. Woolford discussed the Prevailing Wage Act in Pennsylvania. Mr. Woolford focused on recent trends in the act, the outlook for future changes to the act and current enforcement trends in the act. The seminar was followed by a reception afterwords.

To view a copy of the presentation, please go to the events page of Contractors Center Point (www.contractorscenterpoint.com/events) and view the PDF under the May 19, 2011 Construction Seminar.

For more information on the May 19, 2011 seminar or to learn more about upcoming seminars in construction, please contact the construction professionals of McKonly and Asbury, LLP.

Construction Backlog Grows 4 Percent in First Quarter of 2011

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) today reported Tuesday May 17th that its Construction Backlog Indicator (CBI) for the first quarter of 2011 averaged 7.3 months, a 4 percent increase from 7.1 months during the fourth quarter of 2010, and up from 6.1 months, or an increase of 21 percent, from one year ago. CBI is a forward-looking indicator that measures the amount of construction work under contract to be completed in the future.

 

Regional Highlights

• The Northeast, led by recovery in financial services and technology, and the Middle States, led by growth in activity related to natural resources and industrial production, have experienced significant backlog expansion in recent quarters.
• The South continues to report the lengthiest backlog of any major region, with backlog rising by more than a month, up from 7 months to 8.2 months, over the past two quarters. Over the past four quarters, backlog is up by 1.75 months.
• Despite recent growth, the Middle States continue to experience the smallest backlog on average, largely because this region of the country experienced the sharpest reduction in backlog during the worst of the economic downturn.

IRS Will Delay to 2013 Its Rule On 3% Contractor Withholding

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service has approved a one-year delay—to Jan. 1, 2013—of a requirement that government agencies must withhold 3% of their payments to contractors. Design and construction groups oppose the mandate. The extension was published on May 9 in an IRS final rule and will apply to federal, state and local agencies' payments. The mandate, part of a 2006 statute, originally was to take effect at the start of 2011. The 2009 economic stimulus act extended the deadline until Jan. 1, 2012. The mandate applies to agencies whose total annual spending on goods and services is $100 million or more. Construction and other business groups have criticized the 3% requirement for holding up funds needed to complete projects and for increasing administration costs. Three bills are pending in Congress to repeal the mandate.

For more information on 3% contractor withholding rule, please contact the construction professionals at McKonly and Asbury, LLP.

Time Is Running Out to Sign Up for the Spring 2011 Construction Seminar on May 19!

Sign up today for the Spring 2011 Construction Seminar on May 19! Hosted by McKonly & Asbury, Murray Risk Management and Insurance, and Woolford Law, this seminar will feature subject matter relevant to you and your business. 

The seminar will be held at the Eden Resort & Suites at 222 Eden Road in Lancaster, PA. Registration will begin at 12:30pm and the seminar will run from 1:00pm until 4:00pm. After the seminar, join us for drinks and snacks as we enjoy a time of networking from 4:00pm – 5:30pm. The cost to attend is $25, and CPE credits will be available. 

Speakers and topics include:

• Mike Hoffner and David Blain, McKonly & Asbury – “LEAN for Construction: A ‘How To’ Regarding the Use of LEAN Techniques for Contractors and Those in the Construction Markets”
• Jamie Malachowski, McKonly & Asbury – “Review of Energy Credits Available in the Construction Market”
• Doug Dvorchak, Murray Risk Management and Insurance – “Controlling Workers Compensation Costs”
• Lydia Mantle, Murray Risk Management and Insurance – “Thinking Outside the Box: Maintaining/Obtaining Bonding Credit in Troubled Times”
• Tim Woolford, Woolford Law – “A Primer on Prevailing Wage Compliance” 

To register for this event, please contact Erin Hench at ehench@macpas.com or by calling (717) 972-5814.

Construction Jobless Rate Improves in April

Construction's jobless rate improved in April, declining to 17.8% from March's 20%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. Last month's figure also was markedly better than the industry's April 2010 level of 21.8%, but construction's rate remained the worst among major U.S. industries.

BLS's latest monthly employment update, released on May 6, shows that construction gained 5,000 jobs in April, according to preliminary numbers.
 
But the bureau also observed that total construction employment "has shown little net movement since early 2010, after having fallen sharply during the prior three years."

The Fundamentals – Bid and Estimation

In today’s economic environment many people and businesses are evaluating and re-evaluating how they are budgeting and spending their hard earned money.  Payrolls have been cut, costs have been minimized but have you thought about the fundamentals that helped you reach your previous successes?  

Spring training is about to begin for baseball and with some certainty its safe to assume that teams across baseball will practice and practice, the fundamentals of the game.  You often hear that the best teams play solid fundamental baseball.   Those teams practice things that it’s players have been doing since they were 5 years old when they first learned the fundamentals of the game.  The bottom line is that as long as baseball is played, fundamentals will be the core to any good organization.  Is running a business really that different?  The construction professionals of McKonly and Asbury, LLP say, no.    

Whether you are a business owner that has watched your business grow from the very beginning or a finance executive that has recently come on board to help a business reach its potential, we would ask if you have considered the fundamentals of the business.  At this point in the economic recovery you may be scratching your head as to what other costs you could possibly cut.  Everything has been cut in your mind; you can’t possibly cut any more costs.  This may be true from the surface, but simply cutting payroll may not be a permanent solution for your success.