The A List

CPAs offer tangible benefits to construction firms

Industry Outlook

Bart Adams, Kolb+Co. managing director of construction services, said construction companies should hire accountants to make sure all rules are followed.

“One of the biggest reasons is the Internal Revenue Code is huge,” Adams said of why construction firms need accountants. “For somebody to know all the different alternatives out there and figure out the complexities — if you make a mistake, you have to pay the tax. And the tax can be big. The tax could be over a million dollars.”

Adams said other tangible benefits to working with accountants include managing business expenses and developing financial plans.

Six primary areas Kolb+Co. focuses on when working with construction-related firms are: traditional audits, including reviews and tax returns; strategic business structure and financial planning; job cost accounting services; cost segregation analysis, which looks at depreciation; information technology consulting; and succession, merger and acquisition work.

Adams said the Brookfield accounting firm provides services unique to the construction industry, including executive work groups, where the accounting firm and construction clients come together to develop better ways to meet customer needs.

Adams said Kolb+Co. also helps construction businesses keep enough cash resources on hand.

He said many construction firms that have life insurance policies on key employees, for example, let policies terminate when they could sell them to recover some of the vested money.

“You can sell them for cash to somebody else who would like to buy that policy and hold on to it,” Adams said. “We’ve been able to release a few hundred thousand dollars that way.”

— Janine Anderson