Accounts Receivable

12 Months Ended

Jan. 31, 2014

Receivables [Abstract]

Accounts Receivable

NOTE 6 – ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE

Amounts retained by project owners under construction contracts and included in accounts receivable at January 31, 2014 and 2013 were approximately $22.7 million and $20.2 million, respectively. Such retainage amounts represent funds withheld by construction project owners until a defined phase of a contract or project has been completed and accepted by the project owner. The lengths of retention periods may vary, but for material amounts outstanding as of January 31, 2014, the remaining periods range between ten (10) and twenty-nine (29) months.

The Company conducts business and may extend credit to customers based on an evaluation of the customers’ financial condition, generally without requiring collateral. Exposure to losses on accounts receivable is expected to differ by customer due to the varying financial condition of each customer. The Company monitors its exposure to credit losses and maintains allowances for anticipated losses considered necessary under the circumstances based on historical experience with uncollected accounts and a review of its currently outstanding accounts receivable.

The amount of the allowance for doubtful accounts at January 31, 2014 and 2013 was approximately $5.5 million. In fiscal year 2010, the balance of the accounts receivable from the owner of a partially completed construction project was written down to $5.5 million, the amount of the net proceeds remaining from a public auction of the facility. As the amount that the Company may ultimately receive in a distribution of the auction proceeds, if any, is not known at this time, this remaining accounts receivable amount was fully reserved. The amounts of the provision for accounts receivable losses for the years ended January 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012 were not material.