Construction finance experts must constantly overcome unexpected challenges due to the abnormal complexity of the clients and markets that they provide services to. At any given time, a job site could be suspended, or short-term setbacks could create labor shortages and unrealistic schedules. Through it all, accounting experts are frantically working to monitor the cash that is constantly moving in and out of the business. When a construction accounting expert can accurately forecast cash flow and support the financial visions of a business, that is when the magic starts to happen.
Executing a financial strategy will require visibility into the business and requires a fundamental understanding of the current financial situation the construction company is in. The only way to ensure that decisions are being made based on factual evidence is to utilize hard financial and operating data to answer tough questions. By working with a knowledgeable and experienced construction accounting professional that understands data analytics, obtaining the information that encourages maximum profitability with each project bid becomes much easier and new levels of financial security can be established and maintained well into the future.
Finding all of the data needed to make important decisions can seem intimidating for construction businesses – even impossible. Data should be gathered from any sources that the business actively uses from SharePoint files to historical data that was collected from legacy systems. To make matters worse, this needs to be done efficiently without incurring exorbitant costs or potentially causing setbacks. This is why investing in a dedicated data analytics platform is crucial for construction businesses of all sizes. This allows a construction company to rely on data science to answer any questions that they may have about their current standing, opportunities for growth, or ability to answer hard questions as they arise.
Times of struggle are always the best period to reevaluate and not let dramatic changes go to waste. Although construction was deemed essential under COVID-19 guidelines, the global pandemic still affected job sites and available projects. During this period, the businesses that understood their financial situations immediately because they actively invest in data analytics were able to still maintain payrolls and accurately bid on newly available projects. Without these analytics in place, a construction company would be left to make important decisions with little data to rely on, potentially creating a poor financial decision.
Through a data analytics platform, construction businesses can automate data reporting, manipulate data to meet their needs, or gain intelligent insight into where the company is headed. The better an executive knows about their construction company at precise levels, the greater the ability to achieve long-term financial success and anticipate potential industry changes or project changes that could occur in the future. Simply put, accurate forecasting with data analytics is essential within the ever-changing construction environment. Data analytics not only improves financial management but also helps position construction companies for sudden economic changes while still maintaining the talent and competitiveness required to expand in the coming years.