Steve Lords Appointed to PCFRC

CFMA is pleased to announce that Steve Lords, CFO of Martin Harris in Las Vegas, NV and past national CFMA Chairman, has been appointed to a 1-year term with the Private Company Financial Reporting Committee (PCFRC). This committee is part of a broad initiative by the FASB and AICPA to improve their current standard-setting process to better meet the financial reporting needs of private companies and users of their financial statements.

The PCFRC is empowered to make formal recommendations to FASB about existing and prospective GAAP pronouncements. The PCFRC committee is made up of four users of private company financial statements, four preparers, and four CPA practitioners. The committee specifically sought a construction industry financial professional from among CFMA’s members. The PCFRC will stay abreast of current IASB/FASB deliberations and will make recommendations on issues that impact private companies.

Steve is very excited about his appointment and is committed to bringing the concerns and perspectives of CFMA members “to the table” during the committee’s deliberations. Peter Schwartz, CFMA President & CEO commented, “I can’t think of a better choice for this committee than Steve Lords. Steve’s reputation and knowledge of the profession and industry will serve the committee well, and represents a big step forward for CFMA in assisting with setting those accounting standards the industry lives by. I commend him and wish him well!” Recommendations of the committee can be found at www.pcfr.org. For more information, contact Peter Schwartz.

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CFMA CERTIFIED CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY FINANCIAL PROFESSIONAL (CCIFP) CREDENTIAL

Become certified!!  You may have heard of CFMA’s CCIFP Certification Program.  The CFMA Las Vegas Chapter now has 8 people who have been certified, and perhaps a ninth on the way!  The Certified Construction Industry Financial Professional Exam is a one-day exam over fundamental aspects/body of knowledge that a construction financial professional should know.  You may be knowledgeable/competent in these areas but how do you prove this to your peers and higher-level managers/executives?  The way to prove this is to become certified.  The job field is becoming increasingly competitive.  Certification helps you to differentiate yourself from the crowd.  The Las Vegas CFMA Chapter for the past three years has conducted a CCIFP review course.  The same review course is planned for this 2010.  The Exam is offered around the country and in Las Vegas as well.

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WHAT YOU MISSED AT THE JUNE CFMA MEETING

The June CFMA Meeting Speakers in a panel discussion format were Thomas Schoeman, President and CEO, of JMA Architecture Studios and Ethan Nelson, President, of Steelman Partners.  They discussed the current state of the design/construction industry in Southern Nevada and nationally as well as how their respective firms are dealing with the economic downturn.  Southern Nevada continues to be much slower than other areas of the country in new design activity.  There is some pulse in the healthcare market and the public sector but commercial activity is still very slow.  In Southern Nevada, an estimated 65% of architecture staffs on average from all firms have been laid off in the past few years.  Design firms are somewhat like “the canary in the coal mine” as they see the early on the presence or absence of design projects by owners that forecast the future presence of construction projects.  As such design firms in Southern Nevada started seeing a slowdown in 2006.  Thus far, activity is still slow and signs are that the commercial market will continue to stay slow.  There is the acquisition of land but no buying of existing commercial projects.  While some have forecast that there will be rebranding of distressed commercial properties this is still not taking place.  There is a change in how clients are wanting services to be delivered such as through design-build methods where the design and construction services come through the same entity.  Green architecture or sustainable architecture is becoming increasingly important to clients.  These green architecture concepts can yield owners a 50% savings in energy use over conventional building techniques.  In addition, the further implementation of renewable energy can yield another 20% savings as facilities generate their own power such as through solar installations.
Both JMA Architecture Studios and Steelman Partners have diversified outside of the Nevada market to other areas.  JMA, as an example, is doing projects as far away as Texas and Oklahoma.  Steelman is doing projects in Asia and Europe.  Steelman is involved in the design of theme parks in Asia as an example where these lesser-developed countries are seeing rising incomes.  People have increased incomes to spend on leisure activities such as theme parks.  Ethan Nelson noted that he had lived in New York City and Washington, D.C. but found that Las Vegas was the most culturally diverse city in the world.  Las Vegas has been a key attractor of entertainment design talent.  As such Las Vegas firms have the ability to tap into a pool of experienced experts in these areas.  This is akin to Silicon Valley where the substantial concentration of computer firms has made the SF Bay Area a world leader in everything having to do with computers.  They also noted that construction activities in themselves  are inherently land-based whereas design and CM services can be offered all over the world.  As an example, numerous firms with roots in Las Vegas are working in such far-flung locales as Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

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JUNE 2010 CFMA PUTT-A-THON AT ANGEL PARK A BIG SUCCESS!!

The Las Vegas CFMA Chapter Putt-A-Thon held June 10th, 2010 at Angel Park Golf Course was a big success once again!!.  Finally, thanks very much to all the very generous sponsors and to the hard-working Putt-A-Thon Committee. 
As covered before, the net proceeds of this CFMA Putt-A-Thon go to advancing construction education through the Southern Nevada Construction Careers Alliance (SNCCA).  This year due to the efforts of sponsors and participants and despite tough economic conditions in the industry we raised over $18,000!!  If you haven’t been a player in the Putt-A-Thon, then be sure to play next year!!  The course is all putting.  It is challenging but fun.

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UNLV CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM SAVED!!

Thanks to the strong efforts of the CFMA Las Vegas Chapter Members along with other construction associations, the UNLV Construction Management Program has been retained.  Due to the sharp fall-off in state revenue, higher education budgets have been cut significantly.  In the past 2 years, the UNLV budget has been cut 31% as the State Legislature has sought to balance the state budget.  This UNLV 31% budget cut is the most severe cut for any higher education institution in the United States.  As an example, the average same-sized institution as UNLV has 12% of its costs in the administration area.  UNLV is currently at 5% and is headed to 4%.  UNLV’s budget is approximately 82% in wage/salary costs so in the face of the heavy state budget cuts, numerous positions have been left unfilled.  As such numerous class sections have been cancelled resulting in extended graduation times for students.  Finally the UNLV Administration decided to cut programs with smaller than average enrollments.  Degree programs in construction, education, landscape architecture, therapy, lab sciences, and other areas were targeted for potential elimination.  CFMA and others in the construction industry pointed out the strong need for a construction management degree program at UNLV.  The substantial outpouring of support has meant the current retention of the CM Program.  In a recent meeting with the UNLV Construction Management Advisory Board, the UNLV President, Neal Smatresk, sought construction industry funding for partial support of the UNLV CM Program for the next two years.  This two-year period is until Nevada digs itself out of its budgetary troubles.  This UNLV-requested financial support, of course, right now, is problematic as most construction firms are in a cash crunch from slow/no payments on current work and a survival mode while they keep their heads above water.

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