Project Manager’s Guide to Accounting Practices, Cost Controls and Financial Reports

As a Project Manager, you have an integral role in delivering projects on time and on budget. However, you can stumble without a clear understanding of how overheads, project costs, and planned profits are integral pieces of project success. In this course, your instructor, Wayne Newell draws on his 35 years of financial and construction contracting experience to help you recognize problem projects, identify unwanted expenses, increase productivity, manage overhead expenses, and address labor shortages. With a clear understanding and appreciation of the financial side of the business, project managers will be better empowered to support on-time and on-budget project delivery.

Financial understanding is necessary to sustain and improve profits. You’ll learn how and why accountants do what they do and how PMs contribute to accounting processes, financial reviews, and reports. Importance is placed on the processes to ensure the monthly financial reports are consistent and reliable.

Cost control is critical to project performance. PMs learn the causes, costs, and remedies of low productivity, overhead expense controls, impact of revenue and cost accruals, methods to support equipment acquisitions, close-out evaluations, and many more proven methods and strategies. 

The major issue facing contractors’ productivity today is the forecasted labor shortage by 2030. This course identifies 8 of the major causes and offers methods to resolve them with a focus on attracting young people to your company.

Technology is the future of construction in improving productivity, eliminating inefficiencies, attracting younger workers, and making job sites safer. This course identifies some of the recent advances that will benefit contractors including cloud computing, collaborative software, BIM, drones, wearables, and offsite and prefab construction.

In this course you will learn:

• The role and ultimate goal of the project manager
• Risks and challenges in the construction industry
• Why revenue and cost accruals are mandatory processes
• The Rules - Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
• The accounting cycle and mandatory processes
• The best policies and tactics to manage accounts receivable
• To justify fixed asset acquisitions with future savings
• To ensure payment for ALL change orders
• Why fixed assets are recorded at historic cost and not market values
• Why labor is the most controllable cost in construction
• The causes and mitigation techniques of lost productivity
• Why the PM report and KPIs are critical management tools
• How to navigate the skilled labor shortage
• How to mitigate risk through bonding and insurance
• Insight into the finance and accounting world through accounting terms
• How project post-mortems enhance future projects

*New fall 2024 additions*

• Delve into cost savings and productivity increases
• Explore 8 technological advances and why investment would be beneficial 
• Briefly review over 20 new production and cost-savings innovations
• Review 3 critical financial statements imperative to measuring progress
• Establish 8 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to determine successes and difficulties 

IMPORTANT NOTE: 

This course is a spin-off of the Finance and Accounting for Non-Financial Managers and was requested by a large general contractor to include issues directly applicable to Project Managers. As such, there are some duplications of content and thus attendance at both this course and the Finance and Accounting course is not recommended. 

There are no prerequistes to this course.

Attendance is encouraged for those wishing to learn the fundamentals of finance and accounting, interpret and react to financial signals, review, calculate, and discuss financial performance, and gain a new sense of confidence when participating with financial professionals. 

• Project managers, Project coordinators, Estimators
• HR Staff, Warehouse Managers, Department Heads
• Gold Seal Candidates, Senior Managers, Owners
• Controllers, Accountants, Administrators
• All individuals who can drive project and company profitability

1. Computer or laptop

• • This course will involve on-screen interaction with your instructor and classmates, reading/viewing on-screen content (slides or videos), and interacting via typing with questions or responses. For this reason, cellphones may not be adequate. 

  • Windows 10 or Mac iOS. 

2. Webcam (Mandatory)– in order to engage and collaborate, participants will be expected to have their webcams on for the duration of the class

3. Microphone (Mandatory)

4. Internet connection- For best results, you will want to ensure you have an internet connection with an upload/download speed of 3-5 Mbps. You can test your internet speed here. The minimum recommended speed is 1.5 Mbps, but anything below 3 Mbps may result in loss of quality or buffering. Ideally hardwired connection versus wireless for stability - connect your computer directly to your router using an ethernet cable, rather than using your home wi-fi.

5. A quiet space with minimal distractions –The microphone will be engaged for interactive sessions. Please plan to be fully engaged in the class and clear your work schedule just as you would for the in-class program.

6. Comfortable chair

The course is eligible for 4 CCA Gold Seal education credits and 12 BC Housing CPD credits upon completion. 

Registrants seeking BC Housing CPD credits for this course must complete all course components before a certificate showing BC Housing CPD credits earned will be issued. 

Registrants seeking gold seal credits for this course will be required to complete an assessment during the course to qualify to have the gold seal credit endorsement appear on their certificate of completion.