Every year, the Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA) puts on an annual conference and exhibition event. This year’s event, CFMA 2025 (May 17 – 21), was held at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center in Kissimmee, Florida, and I had the pleasure of attending the five-day conference that was jam packed with mini-conferences, general sessions, roundtable discussions, construction technology forums, exhibitions, and social events.

Today, I’m excited to share my CFMA 2025 experience, the challenges construction financial leaders are facing, and how modern technology plays a pivotal role in overcoming them all.

CMFA and CMFA 2025

CFMA is a nonprofit organization that has been serving the construction finance industry since 1981. It boasts over 11,000 members in 99 chapters throughout the U.S. and Canada, and its mission is to advance the construction ecosystem through developing members and stakeholders, building an inclusive community, innovating, strengthening CFMA, and providing education and networking opportunities.

CMFA membership consists of general members (e.g., general contractors, subcontractors, developers, construction managers, architects, engineers, principals, and material and equipment suppliers) and associate members (e.g., professionals serving the construction industry, including public accountants, sureties, bankers, insurance agents/brokers, and other service providers). Those members who attended CFMA 2025 say it was a do-not-miss event.

One member notes that CFMA’s conference “offers wonderful fellowship with friends and an awesome exhibition with vendors,” while another member says, “The conference provides excellent CPE and networking packed into a couple of days.”

During CFMA 2025, attendees enjoyed expert-led forums, networking events, and hands-on collaboration. They also had plenty of opportunities to connect with industry vendors offering sector-specific solutions and to engage in peer-to-peer conversations. A common thread throughout the event centered on shared challenges including workforce shortages, rising costs, and disconnected processes. Sustainability and intelligent building technologies were also hot topics, as firms look to reduce environmental impact while improving efficiency.

One standout session, “Tackling Construction’s Biggest Challenges with Technology & Implementation,” was led by Joel Hoffman, Acumatica’s Director of Product Management for Construction. Joel and a panel of experts examined the pressing issues facing construction firms today, from outdated systems and data blind spots to regulatory complexity and shifting workforce dynamics. The session emphasized how connected, data-driven solutions like modern ERP platforms can help firms increase visibility, improve profitability, and make faster, more proactive decisions in a rapidly evolving industry.

The most eye-opening discussions were those centered around AI and automation and how they’re transforming financial management in the construction industry. As Acumatica’s ERP Product Marketing Manager, Construction, my key takeaway from CFMA 2025 is that embracing AI and cloud-based ERP solutions is no longer optional—it’s essential.

Technology plays a crucial role in enhancing decision-making for financial leaders. AI-powered analytics, real-time data insights, and cloud-based ERP platforms, like Acumatica, are enabling firms to predict project risks, optimize resource allocation, and improve collaboration.

Modern Technology: The Key to Success

In today’s rapidly evolving construction and finance landscape, companies need end-to-end visibility, real-time financial insights, and scalable solutions to unlock new opportunities. These capabilities are possible when construction finance leaders prioritize digital transformation, and when they do, they’re able to stay competitive, improve financial oversight, and drive smarter project decisions.

With Acumatica, they have a comprehensive and industry-specific tool that can drive their transformation forward. Acumatica’s cloud-based ERP platform helps businesses break through traditional limitations, optimize project workflows, and embrace a future of boundless potential. Whether it’s integrated financial management, AI-driven forecasting, or seamless collaboration across teams, Acumatica enables firms to redefine success and discover new avenues for growth.

For businesses and professionals in the construction and finance industry, Acumatica’s Construction Edition is the complete business management solution they need. It seamlessly integrates job costing, budgeting, payroll, and reporting, ensuring financial leaders have the tools to make fast, confident decisions. Acumatica also addresses the industry’s labor, cost, and disconnected technology challenges by eliminating data silos, reducing manual entry, and improving collaboration through integrated, scalable solutions.

Real Customer Finds Real Growth with Acumatica

IOC Construction—which manages commercial construction projects from start to finish, as well as offers maintenance services to medical facilities and property management and commercial property owners—turned to Acumatica’s Advanced Construction Edition to fix what was essentially a disconnected, multi-system disaster.

According to Chief Financial Officer Joel Sisto, the IOC team was using four separate instances of QuickBooks “that didn’t talk to each other,” and they used Salesforce to bring it all together. But it wasn’t working.

Says CEO David Benning, “The complexity of our accounting setup was a black box of unknowns and bad data. We were trying to use various systems not as they were intended but in an overly complex way. We didn’t know how bad the data actually was because the data itself was entered inconsistently.”

After demoing several ERP options, including Microsoft Dynamics, Sage 300, and the latest version of Salesforce, they found Acumatica.

“It was undeniable that Acumatica was the thing that we needed because it allowed us to do intercompany transfers,” Sisto says. “It allowed us to bring CRM into the same program where the accounting and the projects rested, and it allowed us to maintain a client list all in one place that could then be utilized by all of the different modules in the system.”

Now, IOC has a single ERP platform designed for construction that unites their siloed applications. Benning says, “Acumatica has been phenomenal. We have a really strong grasp on our financial picture, our margins, conversion rates—al those metrics through Acumatica and the data is relatively easy to pull.”

He adds: “Aside from the business intelligence component, what I really like about Acumatica is the capability for automation. Through Acumatica’s business event tool, we’ve been able to automate a lot of things, including transactional emails, updating customers on a project’s status or to send notifications of certain activities internally.”

And Sisto notes that Acumatica is a platform of growth. “The ability to scale with this system is really nice. No matter what walks through the front door, we can handle it. Now we’re at the point where I could see this company growing significantly without needing to add significant investments in our digital architecture.”

Endless Possibilities with Acumatica

The CFMA 2025 theme was “Find Endless Possibilities,” which resonates deeply with Acumatica’s core values  that rest on our commitment to innovation, flexibility, and industry and customer empowerment. The possibilities are endless for construction and financial leaders who are looking to take their businesses to the next level.

To learn more, contact our experts today. They’ll be happy to answer any questions and to set up a demonstration.