Wednesday, November 16—Afternoon Workshops (select one from W7-W11)

Learning Tracks

To help you select sessions that will be of greatest interest and value to you, the workshops are classified under one or more of the following learning tracks.

W7. Impact of New FASB Rules on Surety Credit

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) recently proposed some controversial changes that could significantly impact contractors’ financial statements, most notably how revenues are recognized and leases reported. Although the standards are still being finalized, most industry insiders expect the final rules to dramatically change the look of contractors’ financial statements and, consequently, their creditworthiness. This session will outline the key accounting changes and provide an in-depth review of how these changes will impact contractors and their surety underwriters. (B, C, L, O)

David Allison, Managing Director/Shareholder, CBIZ & Mayer Hoffman McCann P.C.
Warren E. Hennagin, Director, Glenn M. Gelman & Associates

W8. Risk Management Strategies for Partnering with Disadvantaged Entities

The federal government remains committed to the growth of small and disadvantaged business enterprises (“DBE”) through its procurement programs. DBE contractors are permitted to receive support for their work in these programs from larger, more established contractors in accordance with the Small Business Administration’s rules and regulations. The larger, more established contractors can contribute valuable experience and financial stability to the relationship. This session will provide practical information and solutions regarding how to develop, structure and manage these relationships within the SBA parameters. Using a question-and-answer format, a panel of experts from the construction, surety and legal industries will discuss the various forms of collaboration and their potential risks and challenges based on their own experiences. The panel will review recent significant changes to the SBA regulations related to DBEs and discuss recent cases showing how the SBA regulations have been applied in particular situations. (B, C, I, L)

D. Scott Gurney, Partner, Frost Brown Todd LLC
David C. Olson, Partner, Frost Brown Todd LLC
Stephen M. Rae, Chief Counsel, Liberty Mutual Surety
E. Todd Wilkowski, General Counsel, Baker Concrete Construction, Inc.

W9. Practical Strategies for Managing the Risks of Distressed Assets

Acquisition and completion of distressed real estate assets offer significant profit opportunities for investors, owners, and contractors. But the risks are many and major. This timely session will address the construction, operational, sales, and other risks presented by distressed real estate assets with a focus on residential projects, where the potential returns and risks are highest. The presenters will emphasize practical strategies, not theory. The session will identify major risk areas and provide real-world suggestions for using noninsurance and insurance techniques to manage and insure the risks. (B, C, L, O, I)

Erik Davis, President, R-T Specialty Insurance Services
Jeffrey D. Masters, Partner, Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP
Stacy W. McDaniel, President, Risk to Reward, Inc.
Elizabeth R. Michaelis, President, Quality Built, LLC

W10. Managing Merger and Acquisition Risks

For contractors who want to grow their businesses, mergers and acquisitions can provide strategic opportunities, such as expanding into new vertical markets or geographies and enhancing service offerings. However, mergers and acquisitions present risks of their own, and proper due diligence involves considering more than just the financial statements. Enterprise risk management requires looking at the expected impact of the acquisition on the company as a whole. One crucial but sometimes overlooked issue is whether the target is a cultural fit with your company objectives and values. From safety and quality issues, to ethics and integrity, the attitudes and values of the target company can determine the success or failure of the venture. This workshop will examine these and other crucial issues to consider when evaluating a potential acquisition, and then drill down into some of the specific risk management issues that should be evaluated, such as the nature and extent of completed operations exposures, integration of risk financing strategies, potential gaps in insurance coverages, and more. (B, C, I, L)

Mark Layman, Senior Vice President & CFO, Balfour Beatty Construction
Edward N. Littleton, VP-Risk Management, Balfour Beatty Construction

W11. Contractors' Emerging Professional Liability Exposures

Professional liability in the construction industry used to be the domain of licensed design professionals. No longer. With the changes in project delivery, contractors and even project owners are increasingly concerned about design errors and the accompanying costs. This session takes a high-level overview of construction professional liability exposures under emerging forms of project delivery, as well as on green construction and international construction projects. Claims trends and claims-handling strategies will also be addressed. (C, I, L)

Michael A. Davis, Director of Professional and Pollution Liability Product Management, Zurich
Suzanne H. Harness, Risk Management Consultant, ConstructionRISK, LLC

See Full Agenda