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Construction financial management, against a CPA.
They sound similar and they are not. A CPA looks backward and files. Construction financial management looks forward and steers.
In short
Construction financial management, against a CPA?
A CPA prepares and files what already happened. Construction financial management runs the job costing, the WIP schedule and the tax planning while the jobs are open. The numbers then change your decisions. They do not just record them. Blackthorne Wicker files in-house under an Enrolled Agent, so for most contractors it is one seat, not two.
Side by side6 lines
Forward. What this job will finish at, and what to do about it now.
Backward. What the year already did, filed after it closed.
Every dollar coded to a job, a phase and a cost code, every month.
Usually a company-wide profit and loss, with no job detail.
Prepared and kept current, in the form a surety expects.
Rarely produced unless a bond or bank asks for one.
Planned through the year and filed in-house under an Enrolled Agent.
They file at year end from the books you hand over.
Financials built to be read by a surety underwriter.
Financials built to be read by the IRS.
A licensed CPA is brought in to sign when one is necessary.
Signed in-house, where the firm does audits.
ProofHidden loss surfaced
“Eleven years thinking I understood my books. First month in, they found a job I thought made money had quietly lost about $80,000 over two years.”
General contractor, Phoenix AZ
$80,000
Questions3 answered
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01
Can you replace my CPA?
For most contractors, yes. We prepare and file your taxes, prepare your financial statements, forecast your cash, and advise you on the business, all of it built around construction. We work instead of a general CPA, not alongside one. Only one thing needs a CPA signature: an audited financial statement. When a bonding company or a bank needs one, we bring in a licensed CPA. You still deal only with us.
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02
Are you licensed to prepare and file my taxes?
An Enrolled Agent leads Blackthorne Wicker, a tax practitioner federally licensed by the IRS to prepare returns and represent clients before it. We prepare and file your taxes and prepare your financials in-house. We do not sign audited financial statements ourselves, since that carries a CPA signature. When you need one, we bring in a licensed CPA to sign it. Either way, you work with one team, us.
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03
Why not just use my CPA for everything?
Most CPAs serve every industry and were not trained on job costing, WIP schedules, retainage, or surety-ready financials. Those construction-specific mechanics are exactly where contractors lose money, and they are the whole job for us.
NextAustin, Texas
Which job loses money right now?
You cannot see the profit on a job. You must calculate it.