Secrets of Bonding

 When it comes to Bid and Performance Bonds, nothing may be required more often than financial statements and WIP schedules (Work In Process aka Work On Hand).  For mood music, click here.

The WIP schedule could be required monthly for active bidders.  Certainly, the construction company management team monitors this critical info.  It tells the tale of how things are going, and where they’re headed. Profitability is revealed.  It is a preview of the upcoming Profit and Loss section in the next financial statement.  Poor results on the WIP schedule equal low Gross Profits on the next P&L – and maybe a net loss.

Let’s look at a couple of examples and see if you can spot what’s going on.  For the sake of illustration, we’ll use an abbreviated format.

On each of the following WIP schedules, compare the expected profit upon completion to the original profit estimate.

Joe Shmoe Construction

Project	Current/Revised Contract Amount	Original Gross Profit Percentage	Billed to Date	Costs to Date (Including change orders)	Revised Remaining Costs to Complete
1001	$1,000,000	10%	$700,000	$602,000	$202,000

Is the current profit projection more or less than originally expected?

1. More
2. Less
3. Exactly right

 

Global Construction and Gutter Cleaning

Project	Current/Revised Contract Amount	Original Gross Profit Percentage	Billed to Date	Costs to Date (Including change orders)	Revised Remaining Costs to Complete
4321	$1,000,000	10%	$700,000	$602,000	$410,000

Is the current profit projection more or less than originally expected?

1. More
2. Less
3. Exactly right

 

Dummenhappie Contracting

Project	Current/Revised Contract Amount	Original Gross Profit Percentage	Billed to Date	Costs to Date (Including change orders)	Revised Remaining Costs to Complete
007	$1,000,000	10%	$700,000	$630,000	$270,000

Is the current profit projection more or less than originally expected?

1. More
2. Less
3. Exactly right

 

Got your answers?  Let’s go over these:

Joe Shmoe originally projected $100,000 profit (10% of $1,000,000).  Now it has nearly doubled! (602,000+202,000=804,000.   1,000,000-804,000=196,000)  “a. More”

Global starts with the same numbers (to help illustrate our point), but the costs are different.

(602,000+410,000=1,012,000   1,000,000-1,012,000= -12,000)  Not only has the profit margin slipped, it exceeds the contract amount resulting in a projected overall loss. “b. Less”

And finally Dummenhappie.  This one is amazing!  They are about ¾ of the way through the project (actually 70%), and right on target profit wise. The expected profits and total costs are exactly as predicted before they started the work.

(630,000+270,000=900,000   1,000,000-900,000=100,000)  “c. Exactly right”

Think about that. This answer “Exactly right” means prior to actually starting the project, they accurately predicted the exact number of labor hours.  Do you think the reality of the project might be somewhat different from the prediction?  Maybe they will hit unexpected obstacles and things will go slower (higher labor costs).  Or they may find more efficient ways to perform the work as it progresses (lower labor costs).  The cost of material purchases can also vary.  Get the point? It’s hard it imagine any project in which the costs can be perfectly predicted in advance.

So what’s going on here if Dummenhappie isn’t brilliantenluckie?  Our assumption is that the contractor has failed to RE-estimate the remaining costs to complete.  They are still relying on the original estimate – not analyzing the actual “costs to complete” during the life of the project.

Relying solely on the original cost estimate is a dangerous and weak practice.  The contractor may be unpleasantly surprised if unanticipated costs (such as labor inefficiency) have eroded the profit margin.  The worst part: They won’t know about it until the end, when it’s too late to make a correction!

Surety underwriters will detect if the remaining costs are not being reevaluated.  It reflects poorly on the contractor’s management practices.  It also means their profit projections may be totally unreliable.

The solution is to keep accurate records of the labor and material costs that go into each job, and periodically reevaluate (re-estimate) the remaining costs to complete. 

You can have a lot of fun with WIPS!  We’ve just touched on one part in this article. The analyst must not only review the profit trend, but also the method of calculation to confirm that accounting procedures are appropriate.

FIA Surety is a NJ based bonding company (carrier) that has specialized in Site, Subdivision, Bid and Performance Bonds since 1979 – we’re good at it!  Call us with your next one.

Steve Golia, Marketing Mgr.: 856-304-7348

First Indemnity of America Ins. Co.