General Information
CFMA and Industry Insights are pleased to present the Executive Summary from CFMA’s 2021 Construction Financial Benchmarker Online Questionnaire. The survey results fuel the industry’s only Financial Benchmarker tool (www.financialbenchmarker.com), whereby construction companies can compare their financial performance to others in the industry.
The 2021 Benchmarker Questionnaire was distributed to approximately 9,000 potential respondents including both CFMA members and non-members as well as Construction Industry CPAs/Consultants Association (CICPAC) member firms that represent both member and non-member construction companies (most of which are based in or have significant employment in the U.S. and Canada).1
A total of 1,284 companies submitted data by July 2021. Of those respondents, 1,207 provided detailed and valid financial statements as well as other required information and thus were included in the financial portion of the results.
CFMA’s Benchmarker Questionnaire is confidential and unique to the industry. All results, accessible through the Benchmarker tool, are presented in composite form and segmented by type of construction work performed, region, revenues, and financial performance.
Overall Results
Company Profile
Of those that provided NAICS information, 45% of respondents were Specialty Trade, 29% were Industrial & Nonresidential, and 22% were Heavy/Highway. This distribution of respondents by type was largely consistent with previous studies.
The Midwest and Southwest regions were the most widely represented that provided regional information (24% and 23%, respectively). The remaining companies were relatively equally distributed among the other U.S. regions. Canadian and foreign companies accounted for less than 1% of the sample.
Nearly 43% of companies primarily acted in a subcontractor role during 2020. A general/prime contractor, or a contractor that self-performs more than 20% of construction work, is the primary role associated with 41% of total respondents. Companies that self-perform less than 20% of construction work accounted for 15% of the sample.
While most companies did not qualify to bid public projects under a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) category, the Small Business Enterprise was most commonly cited (11%) by those that qualified. Close to 6% of companies qualified to bid under the Woman-Owned Business Enterprise category and 5% qualified as a Minority Business Enterprise.
Of all responding companies, 71% indicated they operate as an S corporation.