Redstone Government Consulting Blog | Asa Gilliland

At Redstone GCI we are constantly seeking new tools to make our clients (and by extension us too) lives easier when it comes to maintaining compliance and completing deliverables for government customers.  One of the most challenging areas for contractors of all shapes and sizes in the proposal management process.  The government’s increasing use of multiple award IDIQ and other task order driven contracts often necessitates the formation of contractor teams.  In these situations, not only are you worried about your prime proposal, but you’re also managing data calls to your subcontractors to create the consolidated volumes for response to the government customer.  To say managing this process can be a challenge, is an understatement.

As a follow-up to our recent blog post, My CPA Audited My Financial Statements. Does That Mean My Accounting System is Adequate?  where we covered some differences between a financial statement audit and an adequate accounting system, we received several great questions from our readers.  We thought it might be beneficial to address them via a new blog post for the benefit of all our readers.  We welcome discussion on our blogs, though we do so in private via email.  In this case, though, these questions are ones we see frequently and impact all companies doing business with the U.S. Government.

Recently, there has been much discussion around comments made by Katie Arrington, the special assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition for Cyber in the Office of the Under Secretary of Acquisition and Sustainment in DoD.  She made the following statement before a roomful of vendors at the PSC meeting in Arlington, VA.

The topic of accounting system adequacy seems to be a recurring issue for many in the government contracting community.  Earlier this month in the ongoing “process of elimination”, GAO weighed in again on what is NOT considered a determination of accounting system adequacy.  In Shivoy B-413104.36, GAO rightfully denied a protest for unequal treatment in eliminating a proposed offeror due to lack of verification of a proposed subcontractor’s accounting system as adequate.

• RFP for 8(a) On Ramp can be found here: https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=31402bd0ff9188c41e8ec213e8375fc1&tab=core&_cview=1
• RFP for Small Business Pools 1, 3 and 4 can be found here: https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&tab=core&id=9f4b11d2c577b7ae6c5fc4ceae0320de

Key Dates (Subject to Change. Always check FBO/solicitation for latest info):

It’s everyone’s least favorite time of year.  That’s right, tax season.  For those of us who no longer work in public accounting, this time of year is now a welcome reprieve; although for us, it also marks the start of incurred cost season.  If you’re not sure what an Incurred Cost Submission is or have questions about that topic, visit our website for a variety of resources.

In the last article, I talked about some of the early considerations for beginning the path toward your first government contract.  I would encourage you to take a look here before diving in on the next major question to answer when pursuing your first government contract.  That question is: 

December 3rd marked the end of our No Stomach for Cancer Fundraiser and we'd like to extend thanks to all our clients and our team here at Redstone GCI for their generous support.  You know us bean counters had to foot and double-foot the totals, but we're pleased to announce that the audited results are in and we've raised $5,392.46.

For over a decade I’ve had the opportunity to work with many contractors pursuing their first government contract.  In my role as the VP of Special Projects at Redstone GCI many companies that I routinely assist are in the process of acquiring their first contract or in the very early stages of contract performance.  While I do work with small businesses going through the process of initial contract pursuit and mature government contractors, most companies that I work with are larger commercial or international companies.  I like to think of the role that our team provides as a voice of reason providing a measured approach to compliance to ensure the costs for barriers to entry (e.g. DFARS Business Systems) into the U.S. federal market are recoverable by the company. 

A new DCMA CPSR Guidebook has been released effective May 29, 2018 and can be found here:  http://www.dcma.mil/Portals/31/Documents/CPSR/CPSR_Guidebook_052918.pdf The Redstone team will be conducting a more comprehensive review of the guidebook, but we want to share our initial thoughts with readers.