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Financial Risk Assessment

Know where
you stand.

An in-depth review of your books and contracts for commercial specialty subcontractors. See where risk sits, what needs attention and what to do next.

Book the call See what each area reviews
  • Free
  • Required before either side commits
  • Yours to keep either way
Financial Risk AssessmentSample excerpt
Today CFOSeptember 2026Fictional business · Worked example

Six focus areas · Findings before scope

Executive summary

Cash collection and unapproved work need attention first. The monthly close has a sound supporting record.

Tax Optimization5/10Needs Attention
Cash Flow Health3/10High Risk
Growth Readiness5/10Needs Attention
Financial Accuracy8/10Healthy
Operational Efficiency4/10Needs Attention
Risk & Compliance4/10Needs Attention
01

First priority: $62,000 in older invoices

Expected collection dates are missing from the cash plan. Confirm timing before making new cash commitments.

First 30 days · Owner and accounting team

Scores and findings are fictional examples, not benchmarks or a diagnosis of your business. Actual ratings follow the evidence in your records.

Fictional figures and findings. Not a client result.01 / Sample

Get the construction sample scorecard ↗

The six Focus Areas

Six areas. A clear view of your business.

Each area is scored independently on a 1–10 scale and rated Healthy, Needs Attention, or High Risk.

Focus Area 01

Tax Optimization

Are your contracts being reported under the right method, and is the structure around them working?

What we review
  • Which accounting method your contracts are reported under, and whether it still fits
  • Uniform capitalization treatment on materials and overhead
  • Entity structure against how the business actually operates today
  • Equipment purchase and depreciation timing against your contract pipeline
Focus area scorecardSample excerpt
Today CFOSeptember 2026Fictional business · Worked example

Financial Risk Assessment · Sample finding

Tax Optimization

Owner purchase budget; current tax projection

Tax Optimization5/10Needs Attention
01

Purchase plans are missing from the forecast

The owner has budgeted $48,000 for a vehicle. The purchase date and financing terms have not been shared with the tax preparer.

Before committing: compare purchase timing with the full-year tax projection.

Fictional score and finding used to demonstrate the report format. Your assessment is based on your records and applicable requirements.

Fictional figures and findings. Not a client result.01 / Sample

Focus Area 02

Cash Flow Health

Do you know what's out, who's holding it, and when it lands?

What we review
  • Retainage receivable, aged by contract rather than lumped into AR
  • Over and under billings by job
  • Days from pay application submitted to cash received
  • Line of credit draw against work actually in progress
Focus area scorecardSample excerpt
Today CFOSeptember 2026Fictional business · Worked example

Financial Risk Assessment · Sample finding

Cash Flow Health

Receivables aging; bank balances; weekly cash plan

Cash Flow Health3/10High Risk
01

Collections are not tied to the cash forecast

The receivables review shows $62,000 more than 60 days old. Expected receipt dates are missing from the weekly cash plan.

First 30 days: confirm payment dates and update the weekly cash forecast.

Fictional score and finding used to demonstrate the report format. Your assessment is based on your records and applicable requirements.

Fictional figures and findings. Not a client result.01 / Sample

Focus Area 03

Growth Readiness

Would a surety underwriter write you more capacity on what your reporting says today?

What we review
  • Contract margin against the original estimate, and where it fades
  • Backlog and gross profit still to earn
  • Working capital the way an underwriter would read it
  • Bid hit rate and what gets lost, and to whom
Focus area scorecardSample excerpt
Today CFOSeptember 2026Fictional business · Worked example

Financial Risk Assessment · Sample finding

Growth Readiness

Recent estimates; payroll and labor burden worksheet

Growth Readiness5/10Needs Attention
01

New bids use an outdated labor allowance

Two recent estimates use last year’s labor cost. Payroll records show the current loaded hourly cost has changed.

Days 31–60: refresh the estimating inputs before reviewing the next bid.

Fictional score and finding used to demonstrate the report format. Your assessment is based on your records and applicable requirements.

Fictional figures and findings. Not a client result.01 / Sample

Focus Area 04

Financial Accuracy

Do the books actually support a job-level number, or only a tax return?

What we review
  • Chart of accounts structured for job reporting, not just a filing
  • Retainage posted to its own account rather than buried in AR
  • Labor, material, equipment and burden coded to the job
  • WIP roll-forward and whether it ties to the P&L
Focus area scorecardSample excerpt
Today CFOSeptember 2026Fictional business · Worked example

Financial Risk Assessment · Sample finding

Financial Accuracy

September reconciliation; general ledger; open-job schedules

Financial Accuracy8/10Healthy
01

The close has supporting records

Bank balances reconcile through September. The three open-job schedules tie to the general ledger without an unexplained difference.

Maintain: retain the reconciliation and job-cost review with each monthly close.

Fictional score and finding used to demonstrate the report format. Your assessment is based on your records and applicable requirements.

Fictional figures and findings. Not a client result.01 / Sample

Focus Area 05

Operational Efficiency

How much of the month goes into producing paperwork somebody else set the format for?

What we review
  • Time to produce a pay application from the schedule of values
  • Change order log, performed work against what was approved
  • How late timecards reach job cost
  • Hours spent rebuilding reports each month that could be produced once
Focus area scorecardSample excerpt
Today CFOSeptember 2026Fictional business · Worked example

Financial Risk Assessment · Sample finding

Operational Efficiency

Change order log; field tickets; current pay application

Operational Efficiency4/10Needs Attention
01

Extra work is waiting on written approval

CO-018 records $18,500 of field work. It is still pending approval and has not been included in the current pay application.

First 30 days: assign an owner to follow up on the written approval.

Fictional score and finding used to demonstrate the report format. Your assessment is based on your records and applicable requirements.

Fictional figures and findings. Not a client result.01 / Sample

Focus Area 06

Risk & Compliance

What's sitting there waiting for an auditor, a GC, or a missed deadline to find it?

What we review
  • Certified payroll and prevailing wage documentation, where it applies
  • Subcontractor W-9, insurance certificate and license status on file
  • Lien rights and notice deadlines against your contract dates
  • Loan and bond covenant tracking
Focus area scorecardSample excerpt
Today CFOSeptember 2026Fictional business · Worked example

Financial Risk Assessment · Sample finding

Risk & Compliance

Active subcontractor list; certificate register

Risk & Compliance4/10Needs Attention
01

The subcontractor file has a gap

One active subcontractor’s insurance certificate on file has expired. Current coverage has not yet been documented.

This week: request the current certificate and record the follow-up date.

Fictional score and finding used to demonstrate the report format. Your assessment is based on your records and applicable requirements.

Fictional figures and findings. Not a client result.01 / Sample

These sample scores and findings are fictional. What applies to your business, and what each item scores, comes from your own books and contracts.

What you receive

A six-part report. Yours whether or not we ever work together.

  1. 01

    Executive Summary

    One page. The findings that matter most, in plain language, before the detail behind them.

  2. 02

    Six Focus Area Scorecards

    Each area rated Healthy, Needs Attention or High Risk, with the specific item that produced the rating.

  3. 03

    WIP & Retainage Position

    Percent complete, over and under billings by job, and retainage aged by contract, together on one page.

  4. 04

    Construction Tax Position

    The accounting method your contracts are reported under, and whether it is the one you should be on.

  5. 05

    90-Day Priority Roadmap

    What scored low, sorted into 30, 60 and 90 days. Yours to run with or without us.

  6. 06

    Risk Register

    What scored lowest, logged with severity: the items that would cost the most left alone.

Before we start

What we need from you

You add us from your side, under Manage Users and Accountants. QuickBooks Online does not allow us to send the invitation, which is the step that most often stalls a start.

  • Read-only access to QuickBooks Online or Xero
  • Your prior year tax returns

Want the full walkthrough?

Where the assessment sits in the five stages, from the first call to monthly reporting and quarterly reviews.

See how it works

Want the full catalog?

Every service, grouped by why you would carry it.

See how pricing works

Before you book

A few practical questions.

Is the Financial Risk Assessment really free?

Free. No charge. Required before we take you on, and before you take us on. You keep the findings and the plan whether or not you go further.

What if I do not have a WIP schedule?

That's common, and it becomes a finding rather than a disqualifier. If there is no work-in-progress schedule, we build the first one from your contracts, your costs to date and your billings. If there is one and it was rebuilt in a spreadsheet for a bond renewal, we check whether it still ties to the books.

Is every contractor reviewed on the same things?

No, and that's deliberate. What gets reviewed is gated on what you actually do. No public work means no review of certified payroll. Never carried retainage means no review of retainage administration. An item that doesn't apply is recorded as a finding, not counted against you, because it tells us not to scope that work and tells you not to pay for it.

How is it scored?

Every applicable item is scored on a 1 to 10 scale. Those roll up into six Focus Area scores, each rated Healthy, Needs Attention or High Risk, and then into one overall score. Low scores become roadmap items, not just a color on a page.

What if I already have a bookkeeper and a CPA?

You can keep working with your existing team. The assessment gives you a construction-focused review of your books and contracts, and a report you can use with your bookkeeper or CPA. It does not commit you to an ongoing engagement with us.

What access do you need?

We ask for read-only access to QuickBooks Online or Xero and your prior year tax returns. We walk through the access and documents needed after the initial call.

What happens after the findings call?

The report and the roadmap are yours regardless. If it makes sense to keep going, the next step is a written scope, agreed before any ongoing work begins. If it does not, you still keep what we found.