The 2024 Election’s Potential Impact on Tax Policy–Post-Election Version
With the election behind us, and Republican control in the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives ensured, the direction that anticipated...
3 min read
Ryan Everhart, CPA : October 13, 2020
October 7, 2020 - Hiring a new finance leader for your construction firm can be a challenge. Even the definition of an ideal candidate can be confusing.
Ryan Everhart, CPA, Audit Partner and Client Manager at Redpath, breaks it down into two main questions: "Do you need someone who's just going to do the day to day work?" he asks. "Or someone who's going to be a real visionary for your company?"
The line between the two can be hard to find during the hiring process. To help your firm make the right choice, Ryan says there are several considerations to keep in mind when hiring a construction finance leader.
Construction firms looking to size up their finance team, or even replace key members, need to be aligned on expectations of the role. Anyone with the responsibilities of a controller, for example, should be able to tell you what business decisions you need to consider to maximize profits.
According to Ryan, that's a key element not every construction firm considers when hiring finance leaders. Ideally, "a good controller should be a profit center." They should also be able to "communicate your other business goals," factoring other aspects of your business (like operations) into their decision-making to minimize missed opportunities for profit or return.
Ryan says the need for a forward-thinking finance leader is based on one simple fact: "All of your tax planning and financial direction is derived from accurate and timely information," he says, and when that information changes, you "may not know what [you're] missing." Rapid growth, especially among smaller contractors, often justifies a closer look at whether or not your finance team needs to evolve to keep up.
With accounting experience across several industries, Ryan says there are two specific attributes he advises construction companies in particular to look for in their finance leaders:
Hiring for a construction finance lead is challenging from several angles. You need to find someone capable of doing the work, communicating with your team to define business objectives, and starting quickly. But Ryan says "you've got to expand beyond the résumé" if you want to do more than fill a temporary need.
Next time you're interviewing a new (or additional) finance lead, add these to the checklist:
Amid these concerns, construction business owners should keep in mind the potential for growth in the finance role. "You can't get to 15 years with a company without getting through the first five," Ryan says. Forecast the near future of the role and consider whether or not the candidates have the capacity to grow with your company – and how you might foster that growth from an administrative perspective.
With the election behind us, and Republican control in the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives ensured, the direction that anticipated...
Editor's note: This piece was originally published in 2020 and has been updated to reference new changes in Illinois state law.
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