Synopses & Reviews
Focusing on the principles of accounting and financial management needed to make construction projects and companies financially successful,
Construction Accounting and Financial Management provides the background for prospective and practicing construction managers. Making no assumptions about any special training, Professor Peterson leads the reader step by step through the business practices needed for solid decision making. All applications are related to the construction field.
Some of the key features include: - Determining the profitability of different construction activities, project types, and potential customers, allowing managers to focus on the best aspects of their business.
- Projecting costs from the first subcontract and purchase order as well as potential cost overruns so they can be quickly addressed.
- Projecting cash flow and cash requirements so managers can adjust business practices to avoid cash shortages.
- Tracking and accounting for heavy equipment costs, allowing managers to fairly charge them to the project and to determine the profitability of equipment use.
Synopsis
This book takes general business accounting and financial principles as well as engineering economics and adapts them to the unique characteristics of the construction industry. It provides all of the key financial management principles needed by construction managers under one cover, addressing how they are applied in the construction industry and how they interact. This book teaches students how to account for the company’s financial resources, how to manage the costs and profits of a construction company, how to manage the company’s cash flows, how to evaluate different sources of funding a company’s cash needs, and how to quantitatively analyze financial decisions.
Synopsis
Focusing on the principles of accounting and financial management needed to make construction projects and companies financially successful,
Construction Accounting and Financial Management provides the background for prospective and practicing construction managers. Making no assumptions about any special training, Professor Peterson leads the reader step by step through the business practices needed for solid decision making. All applications are related to the construction field.
Some of the key features include: - Determining the profitability of different construction activities, project types, and potential customers, allowing managers to focus on the best aspects of their business.
- Projecting costs from the first subcontract and purchase order as well as potential cost overruns so they can be quickly addressed.
- Projecting cash flow and cash requirements so managers can adjust business practices to avoid cash shortages.
- Tracking and accounting for heavy equipment costs, allowing managers to fairly charge them to the project and to determine the profitability of equipment use.
Synopsis
Written to benefit professionals already in the industry and students who are still seeking a degree, Construction Accounting and Financial Management provides the necessary background for construction managers to make key financial decisions.
Focusing on the principles of accounting and financial management required to make construction companies financially sound, the book covers such key topics as determining profitability of projects, projecting cash flow, and projecting costs.
In this new edition, Peterson has updated much of material to make it even more relevant to today’s students. Highlights include:
- Key topics include determining profitability, projecting costs and cash flow
- Updated average industrial ratios include 10 years of data.
- Updated the tax codes throughout the book
- All sidebar features now use Excel.
- Copies of these Excel files available with the book on the Companion CD-ROM.
About the Author
Steven Peterson, MBA, PE; Associate Professor of Construction Management, Weber State University.
Mr. Peterson’s specialty is the financial side of the construction industry, including construction accounting, finance, and estimating. He has written two textbooks. In his first textbook, Construction Accounting and Financial Management, he shows construction managers how to take common accounting, financial, and other business principals and adapt these to the unique characteristics of the construction industry. In his second textbook, Construction Estimating using Excel, he shows construction managers how to use the power of Excel throughout the estimating process. He has published a number of articles in Estimating Today, the Official Publication of the American Society of Professional Estimators.
Mr. Peterson came to Weber State University from the construction industry where he spent five years working as a senior project manager for medium sized companies. He began his career in construction in 1985 as an estimator for a small general contractor. Other work in the construction industry includes four years as site engineer for a hazardous/radioactive landfill, working as a superintendent, and overseeing the design and construction of Superfund cleanup projects for the State of Utah.
Professor Peterson graduated with a BS in engineering and a MBA from the University of Utah. He is a licensed professional engineer in the State of Utah.
Table of Contents
I. INTRODUCTION TO CONSTRUCTION FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT.
1. Construction Financial Management.
II. ACCOUNTING FOR FINANCIAL RESOURCES.
2. Construction Accounting Systems.
3. Accounting Transactions.
4. More Construction Accounting.
5. Depreciation.
6. Analysis of Financial Statements.
III. MANAGING COSTS AND PROFITS.
7. Managing Costs.
8. Determining Labor Burden.
9. Managing General Overhead Costs.
10. Setting Profit Margins for Bidding.
11. ProfitCenter Analysis.
IV. MANAGING CASH FLOWS.
12. Cash Flows For Construction Projects.
13. Projecting Income Taxes.
14. Cash Flows for Construction Companies.
15. Time Value of Money.
16. Financing a Company's Financial Needs.
V. MAKING FINANCIAL DECISIONS.
17. Tools for Making Financial Decisions.
18. Income Taxes and Financial Decisions.
Appendix A: Computerized Accounting Systems.
Appendix B: Excel Primer
Appendix C: Trend Analysis.
Appendix D: Derivation of Selected Equations.
Appendix E: Interest Factors.
Appendix F: Amortization Schedule.
Appendix G: Glossary.
Appendix H: List of Variables.