2025 Construction Financial Management Conference

As of June 20th, 2025 | Check back soon for more updates, agenda subject to change.

All times listed are Pacific Standard Time.

Wednesday, November 5, 2025

Registration open from 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM

1:00 PM –
1:15 PM

Opening Remarks

1:15 PM –
2:30 PM

CFO Roundtable

Opening General Session

1.5 CPE Credits

Join us for an enlightening and interactive panel discussion on the dynamic landscape of construction financial management. Our esteemed panel of experts brings together a diverse range of perspectives, insights, and strategies to address the evolving challenges and opportunities in the construction industry.

Learning objectives:

  • Describe the greatest risks and challenges that construction companies face, as seen through the lens of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
  • Identify the strategies used by leading construction organizations and their CFOs to manage financial and business risks and opportunities in the current economic environment.
  • Explain how the evolving responsibilities and expectations of the CFO role have influenced the career paths and experiences that prepare individuals for this position.

Speakers:

Bill Ball
CFO
Blum Construction

Jyll Waters
CFO
VanCon

2:30 PM –
3:00 PM

Networking Break

Grab a quick coffee in between sessions and be sure to visit our sponsors.

Sponsored by:

3:00 PM –
4:15 PM

Concurrent Sessions

1.5 CPE Credits

Session description coming soon.

Learning objectives coming soon.

Speakers:

Mike Bond
Chief Underwriting Officer – National Accounts
Markel Surety

Scott Rooney
Manager, Surety
MarshMMA

1.5 CPE Credits

Not for women only! All are welcome to join this conversation with a dynamic panel of female leaders who will share their unique strategies for navigating the industry’s challenges and opportunities. Whether you’re a woman seeking career insights, or an ally who wants to support and understand female leadership, this session will provide valuable and timely perspectives. Women occupy less than 13% of the overall construction workforce (with less than 3% in the field) – are there ways to effectively close the labor gap by making construction a more welcoming, safe, and appealing career choice? How can men be effective allies for the females in their companies? Bring your questions and ideas – let’s talk about it!

Learning objectives:

  • Identify the factors that make construction a challenging work environment for females and discuss strategies for overcoming those challenges.
  • Discuss practical strategies for overcoming “imposter syndrome”, setting boundaries, and becoming a confident leader.
  • Understand practical steps that men can take to support and champion women in construction leadership roles.

Speakers:

Pam Hummel
Business Development Executive
Baker Tilly US

Sarah Rowe
CFO
Gray Construction

Jennifer Murphy
CFO
Pleune Service Company

Kari Juvera
CEO
Enterprise Builders
Chair, CCIFP Certification Board of Trustees

Katie Burton
CFO
Lydig Construction

1.5 CPE Credits

This session will cover the essentials of the construction business for project leaders and non-financial managers to enable them to track and interpret financials throughout a construction project’s life cycle. The content covers detailed elements for financial tracking, monitoring, communicating, and adjusting as the construction project evolves while also balancing budget and forecasting financials. Attendees will be provided with a solid understanding of the essential financial aspects of managing any project to ensure its successful conclusion.

Learning objectives:

  • Understand key financial concepts
  • Interpret financial statements
  • Communicate financial information

Speakers:

Caryl Coronis
CFO
NAPCO Precast

Joe LaPolla
CFO
Driver Pipeline

4:15 PM –
4:40 PM

Networking Break

Grab a quick coffee in between sessions and be sure to visit our sponsors.

Sponsored by:

4:40 PM –
5:55 PM

Concurrent Sessions

1.5 CPE Credits

Find out more about the overall state of the economy, financial markets, and how best to structure your investment strategy. Topics for discussion will include the stock market, interest rates, individual stocks, and selected investment ideas for the balance of 2025 and into 2026.

Learning objectives:

  • Candid, up-to-the-minute conversations about the state of the economy and the outlook for financial markets.
  • Learn to contain risk in investment portfolios whether they be in individual IRAs, 401k plans, or company plans with fiduciary responsibilities.
  • How to avoid typical money-losing behaviors.

Speaker:

Colby Feane
Vice President, Financial Advisor & Portfolio Manager
Wealth Enhancement

1.5 CPE Credits

Session will be an interactive review and discussion of construction contractor’s Federal and State income tax questions and concerns for 2025 (and beyond!)

Learning objectives:

  • Participants will be updated on Income tax law changes for 2025 and how they impact the construction industry.
  • Recent Tax Rulings and Regulations related to construction contractors will be discussed.
  • Attendees will review income tax planning opportunities, tricks and traps for contractors for 2025 (and what we might see in our crystal ball!)

Speakers:

Jim Lundy
Managing Director
CBIZ

Kelli Franco
Retired Tax Partner
Baker Tilly

1.5 CPE Credits

Don’t miss this lively and interactive session that joins four of the top construction CPAs in the country as they field your questions about, well, anything! Have you been wondering about new tax provisions? Ask them! Thinking about if there’s a way to make your audit process more efficient? Just ask? Unsure about how recent tax legislation will affect your company? You’ve got the mic. Curious about who will win the Super Bowl? They might not have the right answer, but you’ll probably get a prediction or two.

Bring your own questions, spin the wheel of questions, or listen in on what others want to know. Whichever you choose, you’ll leave this session with the answers you need.

Learning objectives:

  • Understand the implications of recent tax legislation and provisions
  • Recognize best practices for preparing for your FYE audit
  • Identify what’s useful in supplemental schedules – and what’s just overkill

Speakers:

Chris Gewain
Principal
Baker Tilly US

Alan Villanueva
Principal
Baker Tilly US

Heather Alley
Partner
Forvis Mazars

Jason Myers
Partner
Forvis Mazars

6:00 PM –
6:45 PM

Welcome Reception

Open to all attendees

Sponsored by:

Thursday, November 6, 2025

Registration open from 7:00 AM – 5:00 PM

7:30 AM –
8:15 AM

Continental Breakfast

Open to all attendees

Sponsored by:

8:15 AM –
8:25 AM

Opening Remarks

8:25 AM –
9:40 AM

Las Vegas Athletics Baseball Stadium Project

Thursday General Session

1.5 CPE Credits

Session description coming soon.

Learning objectives coming soon.

Speaker to be annouced.

9:40 AM –
10:00 AM

Networking Break

Grab a quick coffee in between sessions and be sure to visit our sponsors.

Sponsored by:

10:00 AM –
11:15 AM

Concurrent Sessions

 

1.5 CPE Credits

Find out more about the overall state of the economy, financial markets, and how best to structure your investment strategy. Topics for discussion will include the stock market, interest rates, individual stocks, and selected investment ideas for the balance of 2025 and into 2026.

Learning objectives:

  • Candid, up-to-the-minute conversations about the state of the economy and the outlook for financial markets.
  • Learn to contain risk in investment portfolios whether they be in individual IRAs, 401k plans, or company plans with fiduciary responsibilities.
  • How to avoid typical money-losing behaviors.

Speaker:

Colby Feane
Vice President, Financial Advisor & Portfolio Manager
Wealth Enhancement

1.5 CPE Credits

The WIP meeting is a unique opportunity for finance and operations teams to collaborate, resulting in better oversight that can improve project outcomes. Taking a collaborative approach to project reviews builds alignment and promotes the sharing of information between two key groups within a construction organization.

This session is designed to review the essential skills, strategies and techniques to conduct efficient WIP meetings that foster clear communication, accountability, and tracking; utilize data to analyze and validate cost to complete estimates.

Learning objectives:

  • Cultivate a trusting and communicative environment between finance and operations.
  • Leverage the WIP meeting to gain comfort over the cost to complete and address sensitive topics such as profit fade and aggressive estimates.
  • Integrate processes for change order follow up and accountability into WIP meetings.

Speaker:

Richard King
CFO
Schlouch Incorporated

1.5 CPE Credits

Session description coming soon.

Learning objectives coming soon.

Speaker:

Chamberlain Kirk
EVP
HUB Insurance National Construction Practice

11:15 AM –
11:35 AM

Networking Break and Lunch Pickup

Grab your lunch in between sessions and be sure to visit our sponsors.

Sponsored by:

11:35 AM –
12:50 PM

The Secret Science & Critical Art of Negotiation

Lunch General Session

1.5 CPE Credits

Life, and certainly the life of a contractor, is a series of negotiations. Whether you’re securing a project, negotiating with an employee, or sizing up a potential spouse, the question is not whether you negotiate — it’s whether you negotiate well. In this session, attendees will learn the simple skills and critical mind-shift that creates extraordinary agreements. Updated from a critically acclaimed breakout session presented at CFMA National 2023, this session ensures that what is learned today can be of immediate (and profitable) use tomorrow.

Learning objectives:

  • The one indispensable rule to ensuring that the other side will accept your position or offer.
  • How to limit risk on mission-critical (and often one-sided) terms.
  • How to revise contracts to lower risk and avoid conflict.
  • How to streamline any negotiation.

Speaker:

Eliot Wagonheim
Founder / Co-CEO
First Rule Contract Manager

12:50 PM –
1:10 PM

Networking Break

Grab a quick coffee in between sessions and be sure to visit our sponsors.

Sponsored by:

1:10 PM –
2:00 PM

Concurrent Sessions

1.5 CPE Credits

Do you want to be trusted and add value to your career? Now is a great time to earn your Certified Construction Industry Financial Professional (CCIFP) designation to position yourself for new career opportunities, higher earning potential, and greater credibility. What are the benefits of certification? Do you meet the eligibility requirements? What is the best way to prepare? What is required to maintain my certification? The answers to these questions and more will be answered during this session. Learn firsthand from your peers about the certification process and how achieving the industry’s only accredited certification for construction financial professionals enhances your career. Having a CCIFP designation ensures that your firm has someone who understands the nuances and complexity of construction finance and can communicate confidently with everyone involved in the project. 1.5 CPE credits in the field of Specialized Knowledge

Learning objectives:

  • Discover exam eligibility requirements, the application process, and certification maintenance.
  • Review the revised topic areas that are now included on the exam.

Speakers:

Joel Dziedzic
Partner
Forvis Mazars

Brian Summers
Vice President, Knowledge and Practice
CFMA

1.0 CPE Credit

Session description coming soon.

Learning objectives coming soon.

Speaker:

Ian Wyatt
Director, Economics and Commercial Market Strategist
Commerce Bank

1.0 CPE Credit

Session information coming soon.

2:00 PM –
2:20 PM

Networking Break

Grab a quick coffee in between sessions and be sure to visit our sponsors.

Sponsored by:

2:20 PM –
3:10 PM

What Now? The Ever Changing Economic Landscape

Afternoon General Session

1.0 CPE Credit

It has not exactly been a predictable year as far as the economic trends have been concerned. What can we expect as far as inflation, recession threats, tariffs and trade wars? What can we count on and what will be a mystery for the remainder of the year?

Learning objectives:

  • Understand implications of tariff policy
  • Understand inflation threats
  • Understand recession risk

Speaker:

Chris Kuehl
Managing Director
Armada-intel

3:10 PM –
3:30 PM

Happy Hour

Grab a beverage and network before the roundtable breakout sessions begin.

Sponsored by:

3:30 PM –
4:45 PM

Roundtable Breakouts

1.5 CPE Credits

Moderator:

Kelli Franco
Retired Tax Partner
Baker Tilly

1.5 CPE Credits

Moderators:

Aprille Franco
Partner
Forvis Mazars

Dan Gaston
Partner
Forvis Mazars

1.5 CPE Credits

In this hands-on, interactive session, participants will roll up their sleeves and dive into two powerful tabletop exercises designed to bring clarity and strategy to their contracting business operations. First, you’ll map out your current technology stack to uncover redundancies, gaps, and opportunities for integration. Then, you’ll take a deep dive into one of your core business processes—like invoicing, time tracking, or change orders—and reimagine it with automation in mind. Whether you’re a tech-savvy contractor or just starting to modernize your operations, this session will help you visualize your systems, streamline your workflows, and walk away with actionable ideas to improve efficiency and profitability.

Learning objectives:

  • Visualize and Evaluate Your Technology Stack: Participants will identify all the tools and software currently used in their business, categorize them by function, and assess their effectiveness, integration, and overlap.
  • Map and Analyze a Core Business Process: Participants will break down a real-world workflow step-by-step, identify inefficiencies or bottlenecks, and explore how automation can reduce manual effort and improve accuracy.
  • Design an Optimized, Tech-Enabled Workflow: Using insights from the exercises, participants will redesign a business process using automation tools and integrations, and articulate the potential ROI and operational benefits.

Moderators:

Brendan King
Regional Director
Suffolk Construction

Kathryn Schneider
Director, Consulting
Forvis Mazars

1.5 CPE Credits

Richard Forrestel, Jr. and Joseph Suk will lead a conversation about succession planning and execution in the construction industry.

Learning objectives:

  • Review the elements and objectives of transition.
  • Identify the pitfalls and concerns, both organizationally and individually, observed thus far in our transition.
  • Defining a successful transition while accepting the reality that we are from dramatically different generations.

Moderators:

Richard Forrestal
Treasurer & Secretary
Cold Spring Construction Co.

Joseph Suk
Controller
Cold Spring Construction Co.

Sponsored by:

4:45 PM –
5:30 PM

Networking Reception

Open to all attendees

Sponsored by:

Friday, November 7, 2025

Registration open from 7:00 AM – 12:00 PM

7:30 AM –
8:00 AM

Continental Breakfast

Open to all attendees

Sponsored by:

8:00 AM –
9:15 AM

Inside the Political Circus: AGC Political Update

Morning General Session

1.5 CPE Credits

Our panelists from AGC of America will be providing an update regarding the current political and economic landscape surrounding the construction industry.

Learning objectives:

  • Understand political trends driving decision making in Washington, D.C. and the country in general.
  • Identify policy priorities of the Trump administration and Congress.
  • Understand the impact of fiscal and regulatory policies on construction employers.

Speakers:

Alex Etchen
VP, Government Relations
AGC of America

Deniz Mustafa
Senior Director, Infrastructure Finance
AGC of America

9:15 AM –
9:40 AM

Networking Break

Grab a quick coffee in between sessions and be sure to visit our sponsors.

Sponsored by:

9:40 AM –
10:55 AM

Concurrent Sessions

1.5 CPE Credits

In this session, get a review of the CFMA’s 2025 Financial Benchmarker results. This inside look will highlight the industry’s key financial ratios as well as other information, including Best in Class, backlog, and some information related to the new lease accounting methods (ASC Topic 842).

Learning objectives:

  • Demonstrate the vital importance of benchmarking.
  • Identify the key ratios of financial performance.
  • Preview the 2025 Financial Benchmarker results, which includes information on lease accounting (ASC Topic 842).

Speakers:

Rhett Ennis
Managing Director
CBIZ

Samantha Spalding Davis
Director, FP&A
Rose Paving LLC

1.5 CPE Credits

Session will be an interactive review and discussion of construction contractor’s Federal and State income tax questions and concerns for 2025 (and beyond!)

Learning objectives:

  • Participants will be updated on Income tax law changes for 2025 and how they impact the construction industry.
  • Recent Tax Rulings and Regulations related to construction contractors will be discussed.
  • Attendees will review income tax planning opportunities, tricks and traps for contractors for 2025 (and what we might see in our crystal ball!)

Speakers:

Jim Lundy
Managing Director
CBIZ

Kelli Franco
Retired Tax Partner
Baker Tilly

1.5 CPE Credits

This session explores AI’s transformative potential in construction for senior leaders, including CFOs. Discover how AI enhances efficiency, mitigates risk, and supports strategic decision-making. We will delve into key applications such as predictive analytics, intelligent automation, and AI-powered optimization, while also addressing AI readiness within an organization. Attendees will gain insights into the latest advanced models like Google Gemini, OpenAI’s GPT-5, and more, and see their practical applications to streamline operations.

Learning objectives:

  • Understand how AI-powered predictive analytics can enhance project planning, proactive risk mitigation, and strategic decision-making.
  • Learn how AI-driven automation streamlines operations, boosting efficiency and minimizing human error in key tasks.
  • Discover how AI enables optimized resource allocation, supporting informed investment decisions and overall enterprise stability.

Speaker:

Bruce Rasa
Principal
Knowledge Systems LLC

10:55 AM –
11:00 AM

Transition Break

11:00 AM –
12:15 PM

2025 Engineering & Construction M&A Update

Closing General Session

1.5 CPE Credits

Macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty, increased interest E&C sectors, and pent-up demand for exits from private equity – this presentation will explore the latest trends in M&A activity in the E&C sector. How has surging demand for electricity and power changed the landscape? How are key themes like aging infrastructure, digitalization, urbanization, etc. impacting M&A activity? What is the current international interest in the U.S. from an M&A perspective? Join Alex Miller and Ryan Foley, senior investment bankers with FMI Capital, as they discuss the latest trends in E&C M&A and what that means for owners, CFOs, and their advisors

Learning objectives:

  • Understand current trends in today’s construction M&A environment.
  • Identify how valuation is changing in today’s market.
  • Understand the unique challenges and opportunities faced by owners of E&C firms trying to exit their businesses.

Speakers:

Alex Miller
Managing Director
FMI Capital Advisors

Ryan Foley
Managing Director
FMI Capital Advisors

* Select sessions marked with an asterisk will be offered through webinars to conference attendees for free following the conference.

The Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA) is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State Boards of Accountancy have the final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be addressed to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors, 150 Fourth Avenue North, Suite 700, Nashville, TN, 37219-2417. Website: www.nasba.org.

The Certified Construction Industry Financial Professional (CCIFP) designation is the only standard to recognize financial professionals who truly know the business of construction. Credits earned at this conference are eligible toward CCIFP recertification requirements.