In this episode of Finance at the Jobsite, Rishi sits down with Margie Morris, CCIFP — a respected surety advisor and partner at Guignard Company — who has spent her entire career helping contractors grow safely, strategically, and sustainably.

Margie shares wisdom earned from decades in the industry — from underwriting at Travelers and Reliance, to advising contractors on bonding, financial strength, continuity planning, and major transitions like ESOPs and private equity.
If you’re a CFO, controller, estimator, project executive, or owner in construction, this conversation will shift how you think about risk, bonding capacity, and financial discipline.

• Why bonding isn’t the painful process contractors fear — and what strong surety partnerships actually look like

• The two issues keeping contractors up at night: labor and continuity

• How poor financial reporting quietly destroys bonding capacity

• Why your accounting department is not “overhead” — it’s growth infrastructure

• ESOPs vs. private equity: which transition paths work, which collapse, and why

• The #1 financial habit of contractors who grow past $50M+ successfully

• Why your WIP is your report card — and how sureties read it

• The real pitfalls of rapid growth: cash flow drag, new hires, and cultural drift

• How owners should think about winding down a company the right way

Margie also reveals the one habit CFOs can implement this month to immediately strengthen their surety profile.

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#Surety #ConstructionFinance #Bonding #ConstructionLeadership #ESOP #PrivateEquity #ConstructionGrowth
#WIPReporting #ConstructionCFO #FinanceAtTheJobsite #ConstructionRisk #ContractorSuccess #SuretyAdvisor

In this episode of Finance at the Jobsite, Rishi sits down with Mark Schwab, CEO & founder of CivilTakeoff.ai and operations leader at Elite Earthworks. Mark shares his unlikely journey from studying cinematography to becoming a construction tech founder — and why grading contractors desperately need better estimating and takeoff workflows.

Drawing from his firsthand experience in HR, payroll, dispatch, job costing, equipment reporting, and IT, Mark explains why contractors misunderstand reporting, where finance teams struggle, and why estimating is still one of the most painfully manual parts of construction.

We dive deep into:

• How writing SOPs exposed hidden workflow inefficiencies

• Why most contractors misuse reporting (and the one report that really matters)

• How equipment profitability truly drives decisions in grading

• Why accurate job costing is life-or-death for Earthwork contractors

• The AI gap in takeoff — and why CivilTakeoff.ai chose to train custom vision models

• Common misconceptions about AI in estimating

• What early users taught them about intuitive UX in construction

• The challenges of building a contractor-first software company

• Why now is the best time for construction professionals to start tech companies

Mark also opens up about the complexity of multi-step invoice approval, retention risks, and the hidden operational burdens many outsiders miss. Toward the end, he shares practical advice for construction leaders looking to build technology — even if they don’t have a coding background.

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#ConstructionTech #Estimating #Takeoff #CivilConstruction #Earthwork #ConstructionFinance #ContractorLife #AIinConstruction #FinanceAtTheJobsite #RishiSrivastava #CivilTakeoff #ConstructionInnovation

In this episode of Finance at the Jobsite, we dive deep into the human side of construction technology — why tools succeed, why they fail, and what construction finance leaders can do to make change actually work.

Our guest, Victor Sturgis of First Rule Contract Manager, brings a rare blend of tax, construction advisory, and startup experience. From leading long-term contract calculations for major GCs to transforming how teams adopt technology, Victor shares some of the most practical leadership insights in the industry.

You’ll learn:

🔹 Why “all friction is good friction” in accounting, project teams, and tech rollouts
🔹 The moment Victor realized construction needed better contract and data intelligence
🔹 Why implementations fail even when the software is solid
🔹 How CFOs and controllers can make a PACT (Performance, Alignment, Communication, Transition Support) with vendors
🔹 The importance of helping people feel seen, heard, and supported
🔹 What future-ready construction finance leadership looks like in the AI era
🔹 The #1 mistake companies make during tech adoption — and how to avoid it

This episode is a must-listen for construction CFOs, controllers, AP leaders, and anyone responsible for driving organizational change.

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#ConstructionFinance #ConstructionTech #CFO #Leadership #ChangeManagement #ContractManagement #AIinConstruction #FinanceAtTheJobsite

In this episode of Finance at the Jobsite, Rishi sits down with Dan Kraft, CPA, Tax Director at Dean Dorton and a nationally recognized expert in flow-through taxation across the construction, real-estate, and manufacturing sectors.

Dan brings a rare blend of deep tax knowledge and genuine people-first communication. Known for breaking down complex tax concepts into plain English, he supports contractors, subcontractors, and multi-entity organizations in navigating an ever-changing tax landscape.

Drawing on 20+ years in construction finance, Dan shares:

From early days working with small subcontractors to leading major construction portfolio.

Why cash flow discipline matters more than tax strategy — and how poor WIP management has sunk many companies.

How to choose between S-corps, partnerships, and C-corps based on long-term goals — not short-term tax rates.

Practical guidance on avoiding surprises and planning proactively.

Why many growing contractors outgrow their internal accounting talent — and when to upgrade infrastructure.

How foremen and PMs influence margins, leakage, and ultimately the company’s tax position.

The must-review checklist: WIP, P&L categorization, fixed assets, and upcoming cash needs.

Dan is active in the Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA) and advises leaders nationwide on tax strategy, entity structuring, and long-term planning.

Whether you’re a CFO, controller, owner, or field leader — this episode will sharpen how you think about cash flow, tax planning, and risk.

🔹 His path into construction and why he fell in love with the industry🔹 The biggest contractor tax blind spots🔹 Entity structure clarity🔹 What owners should watch in their K-1s, basis, compensation & distributions🔹 Scaling red flags🔹 Field-level decisions that impact tax🔹 What every CFO should review before year-end

In this episode of Finance at the Jobsite, Rishi Srivastava sits down with Jennifer Tindal, CFO at MSS Solutions (mechanical contractor) and longtime CFMA leader in Charlotte, to unpack what it really takes to build a best-in-class finance organization inside a complex construction business.

Jennifer shares how she “accidentally” fell into construction accounting, why she stayed, and how working across material suppliers, GCs, and subcontractors shaped the way she leads today. From job costing and WIP to AP automation and culture, this is a masterclass in finance leadership for construction.

🎧 In this conversation, we cover:

• Jennifer’s unconventional path into construction finance and why the industry hooked her

• Lessons from working on the vendor, GC, and subcontractor sides—and how that shapes her decisions as CFO

• How MSS keeps job cost, cash flow, and performance aligned across HVAC, automation, fire/security, and fabrication divisions

• The rhythms that actually work: JSR meetings, regional reviews, and cross-functional huddles between ops and accounting

• Balancing 80% project work and 20% service without creating ERP and process chaos

• Coaching teams to read WIP reports as insight, not just numbers, and how to tell a compelling story to lenders and sureties

• What she looks for in technology and AP automation tools—and why human buy-in matters more than features

• Turning accountants into business partners, not data processors: delegation, empowerment, and letting people “stub their toe”

• How CFMA peer groups sharpened her leadership, benchmarks, and technology decisions

• MSS’s roadmap for the next 12–18 months: divisional finance leaders, regional accounting talent, and a culture where team success comes first

📩 Stay in the loop:
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In this episode of Finance at the Jobsite, Rishi sits down with Shreesha Ramdas, Founder & CEO of Lumber, to break down one of the biggest challenges in construction finance today: how to unify payroll, workforce management, compliance, and job costing using purpose-built AI.

Shreesha shares his journey from building multiple SaaS companies (LeadFormix → SAP, StrikeDeck → Medallia) to entering construction—a world still dominated by spreadsheets, manual workflows, and fragmented back-office systems. What he discovered became the foundation for Lumber:
a platform that automates complex payroll, prevailing wage, certified payroll, time tracking, and compliance with high accuracy, auditability, and human-in-the-loop guardrails.

• Shreesha’s origin story and why he pivoted from customer-success SaaS to construction tech.

• Why recruiting, retaining, and supporting craft workers is THE bottleneck for contractors today.

• How AI can automate up to 95% of payroll compliance checks—and where human judgment is still essential.

• Why most construction ERPs are “systems of record,” and how Lumber acts as a system of action on top of them.

• The importance of anomaly detection, audit trails, explainability, and domain-trained LLMs.

• Real examples: how contractors caught labor leakage, misclassifications, and overtime errors using AI.

• The evolving role of the construction controller—from historical reporter to strategic risk manager.

• A realistic roadmap for CFOs who want to build a connected, real-time back office.

“We don’t sell AI—we sell predictability and auditability powered by AI.” — Shreesha Ramdas

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🔍 What We Cover in This Episode💡 Key Insight📩 Subscribe to the Newsletter

What does full-cycle accounting really look like in construction? Controller Ben Yeh shares how he cut aged receivables from $600,000 to near zero, built smarter 60-day cash flow forecasts, and turned finance and field teams into true partners.

In this conversation with Rishi Srivastava, founder of Beiing Human, Ben dives deep into:

• Building trust between finance and operations teams

• Catching margin erosion before it hits your P&L

• Communicating complex financial realities to ownership

• Lessons from ERP transitions, cash flow forecasting, and payables automation

• Why humility, curiosity, and collaboration make great controllers

If you’re a construction CFO, controller, or owner, this episode will reshape how you think about accounting — not as data entry, but as a real-world management tool.

🎙️ Finance at the Jobsite is where construction finance meets the field.
Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube — and join the newsletter for exclusive insights and upcoming episodes:
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In this episode of Finance at the Jobsite, host Rishi Srivastava sits down with Isha Juneja, co-founder and CEO of ContraVault AI, to explore her bold journey from corporate life at NatWest and Microsoft to becoming a two-time startup founder.

Isha shares how her first company, UltraPOS, was acquired by SuperTails—and what she learned about ownership, grit, and starting again. She breaks down how Contravault AI uses generative AI to uncover hidden risks in complex RFPs and tenders, transforming how companies bid and make multi-million-dollar decisions.

They also dive into:

• The spark that pushed Isha from corporate to entrepreneurship

• Lessons from building a startup with family and balancing boundaries

• How GenAI is changing procurement, construction, and risk management

• Why every AI process should still “end with a human”

• Her advice for leaders, CFOs, and women entrepreneurs taking the plunge

📈 Subscribe to Finance at the Jobsite to hear how construction leaders are connecting back-office finance with field execution — and building smarter, faster, and more profitable projects.

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In this episode of Finance at the Jobsite, host Rishi Srivastava sits down with Melissa Dick, co-founder of Atlas CFO and former mechanical contractor CFO, to explore what it really takes to build accurate financials and systems that drive confident decision-making.

Melissa shares her journey from public accounting to running a mechanical contracting business — and the unique perspective that shaped her framework for strong financial management. Together, they break down:
✅ Why many contractors focus too much on taxes instead of visibility
✅ The 4-step framework for getting from transactions to strategy
✅ How to build reliable WIP reports that actually match reality
✅ The balance between timeliness and accuracy in accounting
✅ The critical role of technology, training, and process discipline
✅ Practical advice for contractors struggling with reconciliations

If you’ve ever wondered how to connect the back office with the field — and turn your accounting into a true decision-making tool — this conversation is for you.

🎙️ Subscribe to Finance at the Jobsite for more insights from construction CFOs, controllers, and industry leaders.

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In this episode of Finance at the Jobsite, host Rishi Srivastava sits down with Shane Dick, CPA and co-founder of Atlas CFO, to unpack how contractors can turn financial data into strategic growth.

Shane shares the story behind the Atlas Growth Model — a framework that connects transactions, reconciliations, and financials to forward-looking strategy. From managing job mix and overbillings to forecasting three years ahead, Shane explains how contractors can strengthen cash flow, avoid risky jobs, and build lasting value.

💡 Topics Covered:

• Why job mix determines profitability

• The truth about cash flow myths and overbillings

• How to forecast growth and manage banking relationships

• The link between balance sheets and P&Ls

• Real-world examples of better job selection and financial visibility

🎙️ Guest: Shane Dick, CPA, Co-Founder at Atlas CFO
🎧 Host: Rishi Srivastava, CEO of Beiing Human and Host of Finance at the Jobsite

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