Over the last month, my family and I have been receiving invitations to both high school and collage graduations for the children of our family and friends. It is such an exciting time in life and definitely an accomplishment to be celebrated. While many see this milestone as an end to a chapter of their lives, the word commencement is defined as the act or celebration of beginning. Commencement ceremonies celebrate the beginning of a new chapter in life, not the end of the old. While we … [Read more...]
Goldleaf Surety Partners Win Excellence in Construction® Award
Goldleaf Surety is proud to announce that two of its general contractor partners have been awarded the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Excellence in Construction® (EIC) Award at the 2021 ABC Convention. These awards honored 87 construction projects from 2020 with a collective worth of nearly $2.7 billion. Our partners won the Excellence in Construction® Award in the private residential project over $5,000,000 and the commercial project over $25,000,000 categories. According to the … [Read more...]
Understanding the Underwriter – Lingering Generalities
After obtaining a basic understanding of the company’s operation and analyzing the current financial condition of the company, the underwriter will consider several questions that go more to the character or management capacity of the key personnel. For many small companies, these issues seem quite unrelated to their ability to perform a contract and are somewhat of a nuisance to address with the underwriter. However, many underwrites consider these issues important to establishing a … [Read more...]
Understanding the Surety Underwriter
When a company makes an application for bonding support, they usually do so with the idea that they operate a strong company and would represent no risk to a surety company. It can be a frustrating and maddening thing for the owner to hear that some person called an underwriter, working for some unknown surety company, in some faraway state thinks differently, and either has rejected the bond application or is requiring a lot of supplemental information to support the bond request. … [Read more...]
Meet Goldleaf Surety’s Newest Team Member
Goldleaf Surety would like to welcome the newest member to our team, Cal Anderson. Cal grew up in Montevideo and worked at Goldleaf during the summer throughout high school and college. He attended North Dakota State University in Fargo, ND, majoring in finance. Once he graduated, he moved to the twin cities for a few years to expand his knowledge of the insurance industry. He has now returned to work at Goldleaf full-time as an Account Specialist. He enjoys spending time at the lake … [Read more...]
Goldleaf Surety – A Partner for Successful Contractors
Construction is a cyclic industry and, to survive, company leadership needs to be prepared to manage their company through those ups and downs. One way to be prepared is to have a strong relationship with your surety provider. According to Ed Titus, SVP, Surety for Philadelphia Insurance, “A company may be doing everything right, but getting connected to the right surety carrier really depends on having an experienced surety agent who understands what carriers are looking for and understands … [Read more...]
Reliable, Responsive, Tenacious and Knowledgeable
I am not a native Minnesotan. However, I did spend two weeks each summer of my childhood enjoying this state's amazing lakes as my dad was an avid fisherman. For this reason, Minnesota always held a special place in my heart. However, even with these good memories, more than twenty years ago when my husband and I decided to move our two small children away from family to the state of Minnesota, we were both somewhat nervous about whether or not it was a good decision for our family. I can … [Read more...]
Surety Programs and Financial Statements – Part 2
In the previous blog post, we discussed one area in which accrual basis financial statements are different than a tax basis statement. If your accountant is providing you with only an income tax basis financial statement for your bond applications, that income tax basis statement almost always understates your company’s financial strength and performance. The treatment of tax depreciation schedules is another area that illustrates how these two different types of financial statements can … [Read more...]
Surety Programs and Financial Statements
As 2018 has drawn to a close, many contractors are working on their year-end financials. Your company may want to consider having your accountant prepare an accrual basis financial statement in addition to the standard income tax basis financial statement. This accrual basis financial statement can then be used with your bond application. If your accountant is providing you with only an income tax basis financial statement for your bond application remember this, income tax basis financial … [Read more...]
Goldleaf Surety Services Celebrating 20 Years
On April 1, 1998, Goldleaf Financial, Ltd. began operations in Montevideo, Minnesota. And while the company has undergone many changes throughout the past 20 years, one thing has remained consistent - our reputation as the most comprehensive surety services company in the US. When other surety bond specialists or companies are restricted by size, specialty divisions, or other constraints that limit the entire bonding process, Goldleaf has continually brought it all together under one roof. … [Read more...]