Over the course of 2015, one of our accounting services consultants, Katie Donnell, made four week long trips to Unanet Headquarters in Dulles, VA for training classes to implement and operate Unanet software.
Each of the week-long training courses focused on a functional area within Unanet: Project Tracking (basic time and expense entry), Billing, Portfolio (advanced project planning), and Financials. The certification process did not end there. After each of the training weeks at Unanet Headquarters, Katie was required to replicate a business scenario within Unanet to put her training to practice. After each completed scenario, there was an exam and interview process to finalize the certification. (Pictured on the right: Katie Donnell, consultant, and Asa Gilliland, VP of Special Projects at Redstone GCI, attending Unanet implementation class in Dulles, VA.)
Now that Katie has passed all of the implementation certification courses, she is eligible to assist our clients throughout the lifecycle of their software implementation. Katie works closely with the Unanet team to ensure that the software implementation is a success. Having Katie as part of the implementation team enables our clients to have oversight to government contract compliance throughout the lifecycle of the implementation, and access to a broader network of support as needed from the rest of our consulting team at Redstone GCI. (Pictured on the right: Katie with Unanet Chair & CEO, Fran Craig, as well as Executive Vice President of Customer & Partner Success, Donna Kilbourn.)
In addition to having Katie as a certified implementation specialist, Redstone GCI was awarded a Partner of the Year award at Unanet’s annual Champions Conference in May 2015. (Pictured on the right: Asa Gilliland pictured with Donna Kilbourn at the annual Unanet Champions Conference.)
"Unanet is proud to have a diverse and robust partner ecosystem and is excited to announce SSi Consulting, Strategic Consulting Solutions, and Redstone GCI as our 2016 Partners of the Year! We are extremely pleased with the growth and strength of the Unanet Partner Program over the last year. Our Partners of the Year exemplify this program superbly. SSi Consulting and Strategic Consulting Solutions, Certified Solutions Partners of the Year, have shown significant dedication by supporting and promoting Unanet as a premier alternative for project-based organizations through referrals, continued training, and successful implementations. Redstone GCI, Unanet’s Referral Partner of the Year, has continued to drive their customers and prospects towards the Unanet solution and has committed to expanding their knowledge and partnership moving forward," commented Fran Craig, CEO, Unanet.
To learn more, view Unanet’s press release.
Katie is the Unanet Practice Lead at Redstone Government Consulting, Inc. based in our Huntsville, Alabama office. Her areas of expertise include supporting government contract businesses with a special focus in DCAA-compliant Unanet Time and Expense Tracking, Project Portfolio and Financials. QuickBooks, and Deltek GCS. Katie is a QuickBooks ProAdvisor, Certified Unanet Systems Implementer and has completed the Unanet Advanced Project Management training. Katie was one of the first Unanet Certified Implementers and was part of the initial pilot offering to non-Unanet consultants. As part of her certification process, Katie invested over 300-hours of instruction, out of class database development time and testing to obtain her certification. Since certification, Katie has assisted numerous Redstone GCI clients with implementation and post-implementation support services. Katie is frequently called upon by Unanet to join their implementation teams as an external resource and is considered a subject matter expert in the implementation of all Unanet software offerings. In her role with Redstone Government Consulting, Inc., Katie not only provides software systems expertise, but also frequently assists clients with preparation and support of DCAA audit activities including SF1408 pre-award accounting system audits, provisional billing rate submission, development of forward pricing rates for proposals, incurred cost submission preparation and development and design of policies and procedures necessary to support an adequate (DCAA-approved) accounting system. Katie serves as the primary point of contact for many small business clients in government cost accounting/compliance and assists monthly with the close of those contractor’s accounting systems and reporting to program management and executives. Her industry experience, software systems expertise and compliance knowledge provides a rare combination of knowledge to clients looking for a consultant to become an integral part of their team. Professional Experience Prior to joining Redstone Government Consulting, Inc., Katie worked in public accounting as well as small to mid-sized government contractors. She has prior operational experience with the many types of software such as Unanet, Deltek GCS, QuickBooks, SpringAhead, Deltek T&E, ADP, Paychex, and QB Payroll. Education Katie earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from The University of Alabama in Huntsville in 2010, where she was President of Beta Alpha Psi (an honor organization for finance and accounting students and professionals). She received her Master of Business Administration (MBA) from The University of North Alabama in 2014, graduating Cum Laude. Decades of Consulting, Training and Helping Government Contractors Succeed Redstone GCI offers a variety of services for large and small government contractors including evaluation, education and training, monitoring and DCAA audit preparation. Through our consulting and training programs, government contractors develop and learn to maintain compliance processes that help them succeed by mitigating risk and maximizing profitability. Our consulting team is comprised of senior leaders from government agencies and industry executives creating balance and an informed approach to our client services. Our services span the entire government contract lifecycle from proposal assistance, accounting, audit readiness, purchasing, project controls, contract administration, system implementation through to contract closeout. We specialize in preparing contractors for growth through our deep knowledge of common pitfalls companies face as they progress from small business in CAS, DFARS Business Systems and other common gates to contractor growth. In addition to almost 30 full-time consultants we also maintain a trusted network of independent contractors and other service providers who work with our team on specialized areas like ITAR, facility security, EVMS and other areas.