Summer 2009

3M Assessment: Measure, Manage & Monitor Your Business
Are you struggling to survive this economic downturn? Somerset’s Construction and A/E Team
can help. Our skilled experts can guide you through a 3M Assessment to measure, manage and monitor your company's financial health. By working with Somerset, you will receive a clear understanding of your company’s current financial position, a four-year trending and observation report, a strategic plan of action and implementation process and much more. Read more...

National Economic Outlook: Does Good News/Bad News Mean A Construction Recession Bottom Is In Sight?
Getting a handle on how the national economy is going to effect construction and real estate for the remainder of 2009 has become less difficult since the second quarter played out. That doesn’t mean that forecasts (this one included) still won’t miss the mark, but the course of the macro economy finally seems to have some definition, which means the course of the construction market will be more predictable hereafter. Read more...

What's In The Stimulus Plan For Contractors?
Congress and the administration have put into place a comprehensive economic stimulus plan in an attempt to revitalize the economy. Several spending provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the Act) will have a direct impact on many sectors of the construction industry. The Act also contains a number of tax-related provisions that may be of benefit to contractors. Here’s an overview of some of the new law’s major provisions. Read more...

Your Retirement Plan: What To Do Next?
If you provide a 401(k) or other defined contribution retirement plan for your employees, you are probably now dealing with a variety of unanticipated issues as a result of the downturn in the economy. Can you, for example, still afford to match some or all of your employees' plan contributions? Does offering a benefit like a retirement plan still make sense?  Read more...

You've Been Selected For That Public-Sector Contract
...now you need to consider overhead rate too! Somerset can help your firm maximize its overhead rate. We know what’s allowable and how to properly document and record expenses--including your firm’s compensation costs, rental costs, etc. The new overhead rate audit guide requires architectural and engineering consultants to have a written compensation plan in place to support the allowability of compensation costs. You certainly don’t want unexpected overhead audit adjustments to eliminate planned profits on your public-sector contract. Somerset can help minimize these surprises and take the confusion out of the overhead rate. Please contact Chris Mayfield with any questions.

Tapping Into Green Construction
A growing number of private and corporate clients are insisting that contractors construct their buildings using a combination of recycled and environmentally-friendly new materials.
Savvy professionals need to find ways to incorporate sustainable building practices and products into their business models. A good first step is to understand how and why certain materials and products are certified "green." Read more...

Tighter Standards On Storm-Water Runoff Proposed
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed tighter controls on storm-water discharges on construction sites. If adopted, these proposed standards may end up costing the construction industry in excess of $2 billion annually to monitor and chemically treat and filter storm-water runoff from construction sites, according to an industry group. Read more...

Developments In Tax And Business
More IRS Audits - A recent report from the Government Accountability Office reveals that for its 2008 fiscal year, the IRS increased its audits of high-income taxpayers by close to 16%. Audits of small businesses increased by 3%. Read more...

Somerset Construction & A/E Team News

Somerset CPAs is a founding member-firm of the BDO Seidman Alliance Construction Industry Group. The group recently became the Construction Accounting Network (CAN) and launched a web site--www.constructionaccountingnetwork.com. Ken Hedlund and Jay Feller are members of the CAN Executive Committee.

On Friday, July 31, Ken Hedlund will be presenting "Surviving the Industry Downturn" and "Key Performance Indicators," and Howard Cox will be presenting "Human Resource Deadly Sins" at Rep 2010, a seminar for manufacturer’s reps sponsored by the Indiana Chapter of MANA. Download registration form here.

Indiana Construction Industry Financial Performance and Salary & Benefits Survey
Participation in our 2009 survey has recently come to a close, and we are currently compiling results for what we anticipate to be our most meaningful survey yet. This year, participation was up by 39% from the previous year, with all 64 participants acknowledging that the current industry downturn is forcing companies to take a deeper look into understanding their financial situations and investigating right sizing through cost-cutting, performance improvement and other solutions to survive the current economic recession. Participants will receive the results by the end of August. If you have any questions about the survey, please contact us.

Somerset Practical MBA Program--Attend in Person or Via Webinar. Our popular MBA program is scheduled through 2010. The next session is tomorrow, July 29, 2009; Howard Cox will present "Leadership." Pat Early will present "Investment Fundamentals" on August 26, 2009. Larry Dykes will be presenting the MBA session on September 30, 2009, on the topic of "Customer Lifetime Value and Testimonials and Referrals." Click the image to the left see the full schedule and details. Please join us in person or via webinar.

On September 10, Ken Hedlund will be a panelist at the Association of Leaders in Equipment Distribution (AED) Executive Forum in Chicago. The panel's topic of discussion will be "The Lending Landscape: Credit Answers for You & Your Customers." For information on the conference, visit AED's web site.

Somerset will be exhibiting at the Axium User Conference in Portland from October 22 to 24. Ken Hedlund, Chris Mayfield and Jason Leveson will be presenting sessions at the conference, including "Financial Power Tools to Survive the Downturn," "Overhead and FAR Rules" and "Calculating and Understanding Financial Ratios." For more information and registration, visit Axium's web site.

Work-In-Process is provided by Somerset CPAs for our clients and other interested persons upon request. For additional information on the issues discussed, please contact Ken Hedlund, Jay Feller, Steve George, Chris Mayfield or Rebecca Ogle of our Construction & A/E Team. Learn more about our Construction & A/E Team by clicking the photo to the left to watch our video. Since technical information is presented in generalized fashion, no final conclusion on these topics should be made without further review. This document is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of avoiding tax penalties that may be imposed on the taxpayer.