diff --git a/buildman/jobutil/buildreporter.py b/buildman/jobutil/buildreporter.py
index 08e16576b..09a74a565 100644
--- a/buildman/jobutil/buildreporter.py
+++ b/buildman/jobutil/buildreporter.py
@@ -57,7 +57,9 @@ class BuildMetrics(object):
   """
   def __init__(self, app=None):
     self._app = app
-    if app is not None:
+    if app is None:
+      self._reporter = None
+    else:
       reporter_type = app.config.get('BUILD_METRICS_TYPE', 'Null')
       if reporter_type == 'CloudWatch':
         namespace = app.config.get('BUILD_METRICS_NAMESPACE')