construction financial management association chicago chapter

Generating Profit from the Accounting Department

2026 Mini Conference Breakout Session II
9:20 - 10:35 am
1.5 CPE

Session Overview

This session delivers actionable, highly feasible strategies to optimize cash management, capture corporate spend incentives, and deploy early payment programs that turn everyday financial operations into profit engines.

Traditionally viewed purely as a cost center, a modern construction accounting department holds untapped potential to help drive profitability. Regardless of company size or technological maturity, teams can leverage strategic financial design and spend instruments to generate real revenue through processes like treasury, corporate credit card rebate and trade agreements with partners.

Key Takeaways

• Shift from Cost Center to Profit Center: Discover how to re-engineer standard back-office operations—regardless of your department's size—into an active revenue generator that delivers direct bottom-line results.
  
  
• Maximize yield via Modern Treasury & Spend Tech: Learn actionable strategies to capture percentage yields on idle cash and convert routine accounts payable volume into massive, predictable monthly cash-back rebates using next-gen spend platforms like Ramp and Brex.
  
  
• Win-Win Liquidity with Dynamic Discounting: Master the mechanics of early payment programs like Earlytrade to unlock immediate profitability for your company while strengthening your supply chain by giving subcontractors fast, reliable access to working capital.

Presenter: Ben Turner, Earlytrade, Enterprise Sales Director

Ben Turner is Enterprise Sales Director at Earlytrade, where he leads efforts to help general contractors generate margin through structured early payment programs. Based in Denver, Ben brings over two decades of financial services and business development experience, including senior roles at J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley, and holds a CIMA certification from IMCA. Before joining Earlytrade, he founded OzBridge Group, a business development firm serving U.S. and European companies expanding into the Australian market. Ben is a recognized voice in construction fintech and an active advocate for improving cash flow across the construction supply chain.