The NASBP magazine, Surety Bond Quarterly (SBQ), the voice of the surety industry, is celebrating its 10th anniversary with an issue that you don’t want to miss! This anniversary celebration issue will be released in summer 2024, featuring special content on how the surety and construction industries have changed in the last 10 years through the perspectives of NASBP members and industry stakeholders and consultants. Below are authors of several who will be featured in the special 10th-Anniversary issue.
Make Note to Read the Articles by these Authors in the 2024 Summer Issue of SBQ
Duty to Proceed Poses Increased Risks for Contractors and Sureties With The Rise of Mega-Projects by Scott Walters, Brian Wood, and Sarah Carpenter of Smith Currie
Walters, Wood, and Carpenter will identify and discuss various risks to both sureties and contractors on large, complex projects. They will also look as several examples of recent cases illustrating these risks.
G. Scott Walters is an attorney who works in both the firm’s Atlanta and Metro Washington, DC offices of Smith Currie. Walters represents construction industry clients in federal government construction contracting issues, claims and disputes, regulatory compliance, litigation and alternative dispute resolution, contract drafting and negotiations, and general business and corporate matters. He litigates and advises in construction disputes in state and federal courts, at boards of contract appeals, and in private arbitration. The knowledge he gained from his construction industry and engineering background helps Walters in drafting complex construction documents for heavy industrial, general commercial construction, and environmental remediation projects throughout the country. Walters serves on the NASBP Attorney Advisory Council. He can be reached at gswalters@smithcurrie.com or 404.582.8062.
Brian S. Wood is a Partner in the DC Metro Area office of Smith Currie. Wood is highly experienced in matters involving both public (federal, state, and municipal) and private construction representing owners (public and private), contractors, design-builders, subcontractors, engineers, and sureties. Wood handles a broad spectrum of construction matters. He holds a degree in civil engineering and has worked as an engineer, construction manager, estimator, inspector, and scheduling and claims consultant on transportation, flood control, environmental restoration, and vertical construction projects. He can be reached at bswood@smithcurrie.com or at 703.506.1990.
Sarah Carpenter is a Partner in the Charlotte office of Smith Currie. Carpenter represents her clients from the ground up–from contract drafting and negotiation to issues of complex litigation. Sarah is experienced with all project delivery models, including public-private partnerships (P3) and design-build, and represents contractors in matters involving changes, schedule delays and acceleration, defects, differing site conditions, payment disputes, and contract suspensions and terminations. She can be reached at skcarpenter@smithcurrie.com or 704.334.3459.
Liquidated Damages and Performance Bonds by Greg Veal of Bovis Kyle
Greg Veal will describe liquidated damages and the performance bond surety. He will contrast some of the current developments with where we were a decade ago.
Greg Veal is the Managing Partner of Bovis, Kyle, Burch & Medlin, LLC, with offices in Georgia and the Carolinas. For over 40 years, he has assisted sureties in resolving bond claims and recovering losses. His Juris Doctor degree is from the University of Georgia School of Law, where he was an editor of the law review. He is a board member of the Surety Claims Institute and the Southern Surety & Fidelity Claims Association, treasurer of the Atlanta Surety Claims Association, a member of the ABA TIPS FSLC, and serves on the NASBP Attorney Advisory Council. He can be reached at grv@boviskyle.com or 678.338.3907.
Blessing or Curse: A Deep Dive Into Today’s New Construction Accounting Standards by Todd Feuerman, CPA, of Ellin & Tucker
As we reflect on the last decade of accounting, it’s important to revisit when accounting standards were established and companies used the old Financial Accounting Standard 13 (FAS 13). Generally, this allowed companies that are based on lease contractual provisions to record a lease as either an operating lease (off-balance sheet lease) or a capital lease (on-balance sheet lease).
Today, companies must use the new Accounting Standards Codification 842 (ASC 842). Regardless of actual lease contractual provisions, all 2022 leases must be recorded on the company’s balance sheet.
This change in accounting treatment has dramatically changed the look and feel of a construction company’s financial statement and how their financial partners (i.e., banks and surety firms) analyze a company’s financial health.
In this article, Ellin & Tucker construction expert Todd Feuerman will share his insights into the change in reporting and discuss what it really means to the industry. And perhaps most importantly, he will discuss whether the new standard is good or bad for the construction sector as a whole.
Todd Feuerman, CPA, CCA, MBA, is director in the audit and accounting practice of Ellin & Tucker and chair of the firm’s construction services group. He serves on the NASBP Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Advisory Council. He may be reached at tfeuerman@ellinandtucker.com.
What Contractors Should Know About Partnering with a Private Equity Firm by David Jean, CPA of Albin Randall & Bennett
In the past, private equity firms tended to avoid investments in the construction industry, likely due to construction’s reputation as a seasonal, market-specific enterprise with little cash flow and large amounts of debt. But within the last few years, you may have noticed an upturn in private equity in construction companies.
Private equity is catching on to the increased demand for construction projects and taking note of how technological advancements in construction (such as building information modeling and robotics) present an opportunity for improvements in operational efficiency.
David Jean, CPA, CCIFP, CExP, is the Director of Altus Exit Strategies and a Principal at Albin, Randall & Bennett, where he is also the Practice Leader of the Succession Planning, Business Advisory, and Construction & Real Estate Services Teams. Jean works with business owners who want to improve their business’s value before they sell through the Seven-Step Exit Planning Preparation™ process. He has worked with companies from $5 million to $50 million in revenue across a range of industries. He serves on the NASBP CPA Advisory Council. He can be reached at djean@arbcpa.com or 207.772.1981.
Construction Contract Revenue Recognition–An Industry Effort Rewarded (ASC 606) by Jason Myers, CPA, Daniel Gaston, CPA, and Mike Trammell, CPA of FORVIS
In the last decade, revenue recognition in the construction accounting and financial reporting world garnered significant attention. Whispers of sweeping industry changes threatened the status quo of construction finance and accounting as we knew it. Luckily, the current state of revenue recognition and how we go about business has remained consistent. As we look to the next ten years, we reflect on what could have been and applaud the impact of our advocacy efforts and ongoing industry collaboration.
Jason A. Myers, CPA, is National Industry Leader for Construction & Real Estate Practice at FORVIS. He has extensive experience providing assurance, accounting, and consulting services to both public and private companies. He was named the 2016 Emerging Growth Leader of the construction and real estate group and serves on the NASBP CPA Advisory Council. He can be reached at jason.myers@forvis.com or 317.383.4129.
Dan Gaston, CPA, CCIFP, is in the Kansas City office and is the Construction Leader of FORVIS’ Construction & Real Estate Practice. Gaston provides audit, accounting, and financial consulting services to commercial businesses with an emphasis on the construction and real estate industries. He assists clients with business and strategic planning, succession planning, operational and control reviews, consolidations, business process improvement, and audit issues. He can be reached at daniel.gaston@forvis.com or 816.221.6300.
Mike Trammell, CPA, of FORVIS serves as a regional industry leader of the Construction & Real Estate practice. Trammell has more than 35 years of experience working as a trusted advisor to contractors of all types and sizes. He also served as controller and CFO of a general contractor and holds a South Carolina General Contractor’s License. He provides advisory, assurance, and tax strategy services to contractors across the firm. He can be reached at mike.trammell@forvis.com or 864.342.8525.
Be sure to read the March?April 2024 issue of Pipeline, which will describe even more articles and fun elements you can look forward to reading in the special 10th Anniversary issue of SBQ.
Remember, the special anniversary issue of NASBP Surety Bond Quarterly will be mailed to NASBP members and stakeholders by the end of June 2024 and will also be available at https://www.suretybondquarterly.org/. Check out the magazine’s site for more details, the latest stories, and how to subscribe. Follow @nasbp on social media.
Reserve Your Ad Space Now in the 10th Anniversary Issue!
Be part of the historic 10th-Anniversary issue of Surety Bond Quarterly. Advertisers are encouraged to reserve ad space now in the highly anticipated 2024 summer edition. Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to be part of NASBP’s 10th-Anniversary celebration, align your brand with NASBP, and connect with a highly engaged audience of surety industry professionals. Contact Naylor Solutions today to reserve your ad space! Direct questions to Doug Smith at
Dougsmith@naylor.com or 352.333.6015.