.jpg)
This is a 1.5 Day In-Person-Only Conference
August 11 2026 8:00am - 5:00pm
August 12, 2026 8:00am - Noon
Location: The Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City , UT
If you are involved in auditing or managing construction contract activity this will be an excellent opportunity to hear about best practices that have been successfully implemented by a variety of experienced professionals from several different organizations.
This 12-hour interactive Best Practices Symposium is for experienced Owner construction audit professionals and/or construction management professionals looking to gain additional insight into the latest best practice trends related to the management and/or audit of construction contract activity.
In this conference, we will be exploring the latest examples of best practice construction contracting, construction auditing methodologies, the effective use of AI (when it can help and what to be careful of ). We will also be exploring the pros and cons of different construction contract language concepts, procurement approaches, project cost controls, and construction audit techniques.
For more information on the history of the Construction Audit and Cost Control Institute, click here.
Symposium Presentations from the following Subject Matter Experts:
Bob Hardy, CCA - Armanino
With expertise in construction management and corporate construction projects, Bob helps clients with construction audits. He performs onsite assessments and assurance reviews regarding physical construction, compliance with organizational policies and procedures and the effectiveness of controls. By conducting root cause analysis, Bob develops proactive recommendations for clients. Prior to joining Armanino, Bob was a member of Brown Smith Wallace’s Advisory practice. He previously serves as the senior director of construction at Centene. Over the course of his career, Bob successfully managed more than 70 capital projects, overseeing delivery methods, contracts, developer agreement negotiations, change order due-diligence, lease language oversight, labor rate reviews and equipment pricing. Bob earned his B.S. in construction management with a minor in business administration from Bradley University.
Jeff Ebert, J.D., CFE - Auditec Solutions
Jeffrey Ebert is Vice President of Operations, Construction Audit and Legal Counsel at Auditec Solutions, where he provides executive leadership across contract compliance, construction auditing, and legal advisory services.
Jeff earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Kentucky College of Law in 2014 and began his career practicing transactional law, focusing on business organization, asset protection, and estate planning. In 2016, he transitioned into the recovery audit and compliance profession, applying his legal background to contract interpretation, financial recovery, and governance risk management.
Since joining Auditec Solutions in 2019, Jeff has played a key role in expanding the firm’s construction audit and contract compliance capabilities. In his dual role as VP of Operations and Legal Counsel, he leads multidisciplinary construction audit teams while advising on audit rights, contract enforcement, dispute support, and executive level risk strategy for complex capital programs.
Stephen Bacchetti, CPA, CIA, CCA - Baker Tilly
Stephen has more than 15 years of experience in construction advisory services and leads the firm’s construction advisory services team. He performs specialized review and advisory services for construction projects and capital improvement programs, including risk assessments, internal controls, process management and control services, project leadership, and documentation reviews, construction contract audits; and construction bond performance audits.
Tony Ollmann, CPA, CCA - Baker Tilly
Tony is the principal in charge of Baker Tilly’s construction audit practice and has over 25 years of construction industry experience in the construction industry providing risk management, project controls and operations consulting services to owners, operators and contractors. His project experience spans from large complex construction audits to single thread financial controls and process improvement consulting. Additionally, Tony provides litigation support services to owners and contractors. He is a regular contributor to Construction Accounting and Taxation, as well as a requested speaker to numerous construction, trade, audit and industry associations
Marvin Johnson, CCA - Construction Management Partners
Marvin L. Johnson, CCA, CCP, is the Sr. Member and Executive in Charge for CMP. Marvin brings 39 years of demonstrated experience in the delivery of large complex projects, evaluating and utilizing various delivery models and modified AIA contract types along with implementing strong financial controls around the certification of construction cost. Marvin has US market responsibility for providing and supporting clients with construction risk assessments, pre-GMP contract reviews, cost analysis, process mapping, project closeout, implementation of strategies for cost avoidance/recovery, audits, schedule delay analysis and full project controls and advisory services for achieving successful project outcomes.
Marvin holds several industry professional cost control designations including Certified Construction Auditor (CCA) and Construction Controls Professional (CCP). Marvin’s experience includes construction project management including local, regional, and national design and construction markets. His management expertise has contributed to the delivery of over $10 billion of construction nationally.
Doug Plyer, Principal - Fort Hill Associates, LLC
Founding Partner of Fort Hill Associates and leader at LogiX with 20+ years of construction audit experience. A Certified Construction Auditor (CCA), Doug has managed projects at some of the nation’s largest healthcare and higher education institutions, serving as Engagement Manager for Texas A&M University, Oregon State University, Clemson University, the University of Arkansas, BayCare Health System, Duke University Health System, and Hospital Corporation of America (HCA).
Doug has worked for owners through institution’s internal audit groups and facilities departments, as well as in conjunction with third-party Owner's Representatives and Construction Attorneys. Prior to Fort Hill, he held Asset Management roles at Insignia Financial Group and The Milestone Group, participating in the management and acquisition of multi-family portfolios. Doug spearheads the firm’s involvement with the Association of Healthcare Internal Auditors (AHIA).
Ruhtab Sahota, CCA, PMP, LEED Green Associate - Fort Hill Associates, LLC
Ruhtab is the driving force behind Fort Hill LogiX, with 18+ years of experience in construction audit, capital project controls, and compliance. A Certified Construction Auditor, he previously served as Principal Architect at Microsoft, where he built global audit intelligence frameworks using OCR, NLP, and machine vision to automate payment validation.
At Protiviti, he led digital transformation for capital programs, introducing smart contracts, RPA reconciliation, and integrated audit systems. Having overseen $38B+ in projects across education, infrastructure, energy, and industrial sectors, Ruhtab combines deep domain expertise with a vision to modernize construction oversight through AI-driven compliance and operational transparency.
Jake Ortego, PE, CCE, CCA - HPM, LLC
Jake Ortego is a principal in HPM’s audit and contract services division, focused on enhancing the firm’s offerings for clients within the service line. He is a licensed mechanical engineer with over 28 years of experience in all phases of the design-construction process and extensive involvement in the project controls, project management and engineering management of industrial and commercial projects.
Prior to joining HPM, he was one of the founders and a primary partner at JACEA. He also led construction advisory services at Commercial Cost Control, Inc. and Deloitte’s Construction Advisory Group as well as spending more than seven years in consulting engineering with Eichleay Engineers and SNC-Lavalin in Pittsburgh, PA. Mr. Ortego also has significant experience in project controls, including schedule management, cost engineering, progress audits and bid evaluations. He has prepared and published numerous white papers and presentations on construction auditing and controlling construction costs.
Mr. Ortego has conducted management and financial controls assessments of significant capital projects with a goal of improving performance and mitigating strategic and operational risks. Additionally, he has developed and implemented financial and project controls, as well as policies and procedures for the design-procurement-construction process.
Vince began his career in the construction and real estate industry in 1981. From 1981 to 1987 Vince was Treasurer and Controller of one of Dallas’ largest electrical contractors.
Beginning in 1988, Vince was hired as Director of Construction Services for the Trammell Crow Co. At Crow, Vince was responsible for managing the construction audits of the $ 1 billion per year TCC managed construction projects. These projects included both Trammell Crow development as well as many third party contracts.
Vinson jointly formed CCM Consulting Group in 1992 with the sole purpose to provide construction audits to Owners and Developers. From 1992 till 2015 CCM has grew to provide 100 construction audits a year for such industry leaders as Google, FedEx, Hewlett-Packard, Exxon, Caesars Entertainment, Tenet Healthcare, Southwest Airlines, and American Airlines to name just a few. Vince joined HPM, LLC in 2015 as its VP and Managing Principal of Audit and Contract Services. Vince has personally managed construction audits from Canada to Mexico, the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, and in virtually every major city in the continental USA.
Vince has an MBA from SMU, a BBA in accounting from the University of Texas, was a founding member of the North Texas chapter of the Construction Financial Management Association, a Certified Construction Auditor and a member of the National Association of Construction Auditors.
Vince Chapman, CCA - HPM, LLC
John Sier, Principal - Kitch Attorneys & Counselors
John leads the Commercial and Construction Practice Group at the Kitch firm headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, where he has been practicing for forty years. In addition to serving as counsel to Construction Owners Association of America, John is on the American Arbitration Association panel of neutrals and serves as a mediator in construction and commercial matters in various industries, including defense, health care and higher education. He is the editor of the State-by-State Guide to Architect, Engineer, and Contractor Licensing, published by Wolters Kluwer. He is also active with several construction-related organizations in addition to National Association of Construction Auditors including the Construction Specifications Institute, Building Owners and Managers Association, as well as the Steering Committee for the Construction Law Section of the Defense Research Institute. John serves as the chair of the Pro Bono/Access to Justice Committee of the Detroit Bar Association; he is President of the board of the Wayne County Dispute Resolution Center and is active on several other industry and nonprofit boards.
He emphasizes dispute avoidance and resolution applying various techniques and strategies to limit or avoid unnecessary costs incurred in litigation.
Patrick Reiser - Reiser Cost Consultants
Patrick Reiser is an experienced cost consulting professional with more than fifteen years of experience working in the construction industry. Utilizing services such as change order review, contract audits, payment application review, labor rate validation, and contract consulting, Patrick provides fair and reasonable solutions to clients that deliver tangible value in the form of avoided costs. Having spent time on both the contractor and developer sides, he understands the priorities of each and can communicate equitable solutions that satisfy the needs of all project stakeholders.
Patrick Reiser is the owner of his own firm (Reiser Cost Consultants, LLC) where he focuses his efforts on providing owners with independent financial due diligence on their projects.
Patrick is accredited by the National Association of Construction Auditors as a Construction Control Professional and has presented on best practices at the Construction Audit and Cost Control Institute annual workshops. He is a graduate of James Madison University and resides in Alexandria, Virginia.
Chris Wolbrink - SiteTraxx, LLC
Chris has over 20 years in construction, construction financial control advisory, auditing, and claims management. In 2015, Chris embarked on a new venture to develop SiteTraxx, and bring a new solution to the construction industry to help provide valuable data collection in one platform to stakeholders of all levels on construction projects.
John Wisz - WiszCo, LLC
John L. Wisz is the founder and principal of WiszCo, LLC., a firm that specializes in providing financial consulting services to the construction industry. Since 1986, Mr. Wisz has managed, directed and performed a wide variety of contract compliance audits relating to design and construction contracts. Such projects have encompassed virtually all types of commercial construction including high rise office buildings, interior renovations, corporate headquarter buildings, university buildings, hospitals, office complexes, hotels, convention centers, manufacturing facilities, airport facilities and land development projects. This includes audits of contractors, construction managers, consultants, architects and engineers.
When registering, you can pay by credit card and/or PayPal, or you will have the option to choose a "manual" option to receive an invoice and pay later by check or credit card.
Program fee includes instruction, electronic program materials, first evening reception, breakfast, lunch, and refreshment breaks.
Tuesday, August 11, 2026: All Day Meeting - 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Buffet Breakfast will be provided Tuesday morning starting at 7:00 a.m. and lunch will be provided at noon on Tuesday.
Tuesday, August 11, 2026: Post-Meeting Networking Reception:
Monday following the Conference from approx 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm (Hosted bar with appetizers provided).
Wednesday, August 12, 2026: One-Half Day Meeting - 8:00 am – 12:00 pm
Buffet Breakfast will be provided Wednesday morning starting at 7:00 a.m.
Cancellation Policy
If you register and pay for one of our seminar or conference events and are unable to attend, please notify us by email or phone and we will apply your credit toward any future training or issue a refund. If you need to cancel please contact either of the following:
Ashley Humphries (214) 551-4942 ashley.humphries@rltownsend.com
Rich Townsend (972) 679-6762 rltownsend@rltownsend.com
Best Practices Symposium Venue
The Grand America Hotel
Salt Lake City, Utah
Address:
The Grand America Hotel
555 South Main Street
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Reservation Link for Discounted Group Rate:
-
The hotel is a short Uber Ride from the Salt Lake City Airport.
Registration Fee:
Register by 05/31/2026 for a $200 early registration discount = $1,095.
Register during June 2026 for a $100 early registration discount = $1,195.
Registrations received after June 30, 2026 will be the non-discounted registration fee of $1,295.
In this conference, along with our featured guest presenters, we will be exploring the pros and cons of different construction contract language concepts, procurement approaches, project cost controls, and construction audit techniques. Learning points will be provided with examples.
Attendees will have the opportunity to interact with our featured guest presenters, our conference facilitators, and other participants on a wide variety of construction cost control and audit best practices such as the ones listed below.
Our featured guest presenters will be discussing their greatest challenges and their best practice solutions for managing and auditing CMAR and/or Design-Build construction contracts. Some topics to be covered include:
-
How Owners, Contractors, and Construction Auditors “partner” to achieve common goals for project success.
-
How to adequately address potential “hidden fees” when requesting proposals and/or negotiating contract terms.
-
How to work with your contractors so that both parties are treated fairly during contract negotiations.
-
How to develop fair and balanced contracting practices to help get the best value for amounts spent on construction.
-
How to audit contractor records to prevent, detect and/or resolve potential overcharges on labor, materials, equipment, insurance, and subcontracts
-
How to effectively deal with the impact of possible material cost escalation and de-escalation resulting from any new tariffs being added and/or subsequently lifted on imported materials.
Learning objectives include Best Practices for Managing and Auditing related to the following common contracting challenges:
(a) conventional insurance.
(b) self-insurance.
(c) captive insurance.
(d) contractor-controlled insurance (CCIP).
(e) subcontractor default insurance (SDI).
(f) contractor self-performed work.
(g) contractor costs of pension plans.
(h) costs of employee stock pension/bonus plans.
(i) costs of conventional health insurance.
(j) costs of high-deductible insurance policies.
(k) contractor owned equipment charges.
(l) trade subcontracts and trade subcontract change orders.
(m) contractor and subcontractor charges from affiliated companies.
(n) contractor and subcontractor labor charges.
(o) trade contractor shop fabrication and shop overhead charges.
(p) contractor and subcontractor charges for IT hardware and software.
(q) pros and cons of converting cost-plus fee with GMP contracts to Lump Sum.
Our Featured Guest Presenters will be making short presentations followed by time for interactive Q&A.
In addition, our conference hosts and facilitators will facilitate roundtable open discussions on other questions and topics of interest to the attendees.
Who Will Benefit From This Program:
-
Owner Construction Audit Consultants and Internal Auditors
-
Owner Architect team members
-
Owner Inside Counsel and Outside Counsel
-
Owner CFO’s and Controllers
-
Owner Directors of Facilities
-
Construction and Engineering Department Representatives
-
Owner Construction Contract Administrators
-
Owner Cost Engineers
-
Owner Facilities Management Department Representatives
-
Owner Procurement Department Representatives
-
Owner Program Managers
-
Owner Inspectors
Participants Will:
-
Learn the latest best practices for managing and auditing construction activity
-
Obtain an update on the trends in tools and techniques used for construction cost control and audit
-
Explore specific case example results to illustrate major learning points
-
Get your questions answered during Q&A sessions at the conclusion of each presentation
All participants are eligible to receive up to 12 Continuing Education Credits (CPE’s) to fulfill professional accreditation requirements. Participants will receive 1 CPE credit for every 50 minutes in attendance. Field of Study: Finance-Technical. Course Level: Basic. Group-Live, lecture-style seminar; no prerequisites or advanced preparation required. For information regarding CPE, complaint, or program cancellation, please contact: Ashley Humphries (214-551-4942) ashley.humphries@rltownsend.com or Rich Townsend (972-679-6762) rltownsend@rltownsend.com.
Learning Objectives
Earn up to 12 CPE Credits
Course Level - All levels welcome
Construction Audit & Cost Control Institute (CAACCI) is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA), as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website: www.nasbaregistry.org