Summary
Gale Construction was growing quickly and needed accounting support. They had an outsourcing relationship in place, but leadership knew they needed to make a change. Wipfli met the company’s finance and accounting needs, providing multi-specialty support that elevated decision making and eliminated a significant talent challenge for the business.
Situation
Gale Construction engaged Wipfli for an annual review of their financial statements and a tax return.
That relationship gave President Laura Pager confidence that Wipfli was the right firm to manage their entire accounting function.
“What we saw with Wipfli was an organization that would partner with us — someone who had our best interests at heart,” Pager said. “We did not have that kind of supportive partnership with our previous provider.”
Strategy
Construction accounting requires specialized knowledge, and organizations often struggle to hire the right talent mix. A bookkeeper may not be able to fill a controller role, and CFO-level talent isn’t a good fit for daily bookkeeping tasks.
Wipfli worked with Pager to understand the organization’s needs, its reporting requirements and operational workflows. The Wipfli team developed an outsourced accounting plan that included multiple layers of support, such as bookkeeper, staff accountant, controller and CFO roles.
“Wipfli provides a complete, turnkey resource with a deep bench of talent,” said Pager. “They’re nuts to bolts. We get everything we need from payroll, to 401k, to taxes.”
Beyond accounting services, Wipfli provides proactive consulting, keeping the company current on emerging reporting issues and the shifting tax environment.
That assistance was particularly evident as COVID-19 upended the business world. Wipfli kept Gale Construction up to date on relief options and prepared PPP loan and employee retention tax credit submissions on its behalf.
“Working with Wipfli is like having a full-fledged advisory team,” said Pager. “I don’t lose any sleep wondering if there’s something we’re missing or something we don’t know. We have a team of specialists behind us, and I consult with them quite a bit.”
Benefits
The outsourcing arrangement helped Gale Construction bridge a transitional time in the company’s growth. Now, two years after engaging Wipfli’s back-office support, Gale Construction is hiring internally and taking payroll and accounts payable in house.
Wipfli will continue to provide accounting support, overseeing monthly financials, handling corporate taxes, providing audit support and managing Gale’s new 401(k) plan.
“We’ve had a relationship with Wipfli for many years now, and there’s a sense of trust and confidence there,” said Pager. “They’re going to be my long-term people.”
With a solid grounding in construction accounting, Wipfli delivered a complex finance and accounting service until Gale Construction was ready to build their own internal team. How Gale Construction benefitted from outsourced accounting services:
- Greater clarity and insight into the organization’s financial data
- Turnkey management of state and federal reporting rules
- Eliminated the burden to hire and develop a multi-function financial team
Client profile
Gale Construction Company of Illinois is a civil prime contractor delivering heavy highway and municipal projects. Service lines are complex, including shoreline stabilization, road rehabilitation, vehicular bridges and other infrastructure developments.
