GovCon : DCAA Compliant

Webcast for Government Contractors: How to Build a Successful Foundation for DCAA Compliance

czmuda — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Webcast Overview

As a government contractor, you may have heard that your organization must have an accounting system that is approved by the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) to do business with the U.S. Department of Defense. No such requirement exists. DCAA does not certify accounting systems—they accept accounting systems. Attend this webcast to learn how to build a successful foundation for DCAA accounting compliance from two industry experts, Ken Bricker and Larry Mocniak. Ken and Larry share insights and established standards for managing the labor and other direct costs associated with government contracts using the Microsoft Dynamics SL financial management solution.

When: May 12, 2009 at 2pm EST/11am PST (60 minutes)

Our Speakers:

Ken Bricker has worked in the government contracting and acquisitions arena since 1975. He has private-sector experience as the vice president of finance and chief financial officer of a government contractor, and he has government experience as a senior auditor for the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA). Ken has served as a guest instructor at the Defense Contract Audit Institute and has been a contributing writer to the Defense Contract Audit Manual (DCAM). He is a lecturer at many conferences for the Government Contracting Institute and American Graduate University, and he is an adjunct faculty member for Old Dominion University and George Washington University through ESI International.

Larry Mocniak oversees all aspects of Phoenix International's financial management, government procurement, financial reporting, and capital investment initiatives. Larry has an impressive track record of developing and implementing mission-critical financial processes and reporting systems that lead to greater profitability and operational efficiency. He has a unique blend of technological savvy and operational management rooted in real-time financial reporting. In addition to his financial management qualifications, Larry has a broad range of corporate expertise that he gained while administering government contracts for more than 20 years and while serving in senior management roles for both public and private companies for 17 years.

Webcast Opportunity: Understanding DCAA Requirements and the new PASS or FAIL AUDITS criteria – Is your organization ready?

czmuda — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 00:29:00 GMT

By far, the largest hurdle for small to mid-sized government contractors to overcome is the requirement to provide excruciating detail about the direct, indirect and overhead expenses associated with every item billed to the government in fulfillment of specific contract awards. Are you equipped to PASS DCAA AUDITS?

Join us for this one hour webcast on Thursday, May 14, 2009 at 2PM Est/11AM Pst where industry experts will share advice on compliance requirements for government contractors, including:

What’s the truth about satisfying the DCAA requirements?

Why do Government Contractors need a special accounting process?
Why do forward thinking Government Contractors seek more than just compliance?
Is it possible to have a single ERP system that serves both your commercial AND Public Sector practice?

The session will give you straight talk on requirements and solutions and will be a great opportunity to ask questions of the panelists, including President of 1105 Government Information Group, Anne Armstrong, and learn from other government contractor best practices.

To help you understand there are choices in these economic times, join us for “Understanding DCAA Requirements” sponsored by Microsoft!

REGISTER NOW! If you are booked that day, sign up anyway. We’ll send you a link to the recorded event to view at your convenience.

DCAA Compliance Requires Better Processes and Flexible Tools - 'Documentation Traceability' Can Build Confidence in Audits

czmuda — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 07:13:00 GMT

To comply with the regulations regarding proper financial management, government contractors must satisfy the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA), which is responsible for performing all audits for the DoD, and for providing accounting and financial advisory services to DoD components responsible for procurement and contract administration. DCAA also provides contract audit services for many other government agencies as well.

Government contractors have found there's no 'silver bullet' solution certified to guarantee compliance with DCAA's regulatory audits. Instead, contractors must invest in the proper processes and reporting tools to help them achieve and maintain compliance with DCAA's various financial audits. When it comes to compliance, DCAA auditors most want to see a 'traceability of documentation.

For all of these reasons, government contracting organizations are increasingly turning away from basic accounting software or services, instead seeking broader and integrated enterprise resource planning (ERP) and document management solutions, such as those offered by Microsoft. Government Contractor customers have found the Microsoft Dynamics solutions are fully FAR, CAS and DCAA compliant. Relevant experiences with DCAA are shared from both industry experts and contractors utilizing Microsoft Dynamics for financial and operations management. Available for Download - this whitepaper can be found here.

Government IT Contractor Shows Force Is With Microsoft Dynamics NAV

czmuda — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 07:19:14 GMT

REDMOND, Wash. — Nov. 4, 2008 — Microsoft Corp. today announced that Force 3 Inc., a leading IT solutions provider to the federal government and other organizations, has selected Microsoft Dynamics NAV to integrate and streamline its project accounting and financial management operations, manage its fast-growing business, and handle the stringent compliance obligations it faces as a government contractor.

Microsoft Dynamics NAV is a versatile, cost-effective and quick-to-set-up enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution that enables mid-sized companies to grow their business, fuel productivity and meet their industry-specific needs.

Crofton, Md.-based Force 3 chose Microsoft Dynamics NAV as one of the only ERP systems capable of integrating its disparate operations into a single business management solution. Force 3’s operations span product sales, such as the networking gear and other hardware it sells to customers, and services, including the value-add customization, deployment, system integration and maintenance its skilled engineers provide at client sites.

Force 3 has performed network design and installation for hundreds of U.S. government agencies and private businesses, including more than 150 U.S. military hospitals worldwide. The company ranks as one of America’s largest minority-owned small businesses that is pre-approved as a government contractor.

In its federal government business, Force 3 must furnish Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) auditors with extensive documentation and reports to meet the rigorous auditing requirements that government contractors face when servicing U.S. government agencies. Microsoft Dynamics NAV demonstrated its ability to amply meet these critical requirements of doing business with federal government clients.

Force 3 also liked the fact that Microsoft Dynamics NAV is tightly integrated with its existing Microsoft systems, including Microsoft Office. This enables Force 3 to get its employees up and running quickly with minimal training and support, and to protect and extend the company’s IT investments.

The solution, to be implemented by Microsoft Gold Certified Partner Pleasant Valley Business Solutions LLC (PVBS), replaces a myriad of incompatible systems that lacked the capabilities Force 3 needed to take its business to the next level. To read more please visit http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2008/nov08/11-04Force3PR.mspx or www.pvbs.net.

Segovia Says Microsoft Dynamics NAV from PVBS is the Right Choice to Meet Federal Contracting Requirements and to Support Tremendous Growth

czmuda — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:56:00 GMT

Pleasant Valley Business Solutions (PVBS) announced that fast-growing government contractor Segovia (Herndon, VA) has procured Microsoft Dynamics NAV for to handle its project accounting and financial management requirements. Segovia is a classic example of the type of Federal government contractor that moves to Microsoft Dynamics NAV from QuickBooks: fast growing, requires a DCAA-compliant (Defense Contract Audit Agency) solution to support its new contracts, and needs a more feature-packed and functional solution to handle its growing operational requirements. Michael Tait, Vice President of Finance at Segovia, said, “With the tremendous growth we have experienced in the past year, the time was right for Segovia to invest in a much more comprehensive financial management solution. The Dynamics NAV offering from PVBS has everything we need to fully support our government contracts and provide excellent support to our internal project management teams.”

Dynamics SL is a Great Option for Government Contractors

czmuda — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 19:18:34 GMT

I hear from many government contractors that they feel like there should be more options in the ERP marketplace for government contractors. Here's a case study which shows how Phoenix International is using Microsoft Dynamics to meet their DCAA compliance needs and make confident decisions based on accurate and accessible financial information.

Larry Mocniak, CFO selected Microsoft Dynamics® SL because of its superior ability to analyze data and flexibility to resolve problems within the existing outsourced model. “Having used Oracle at previous companies, I knew it would be cumbersome and require full-time maintenance,” explains Mocniak. “With Deltek, you can’t create customized queries because the software only enables information to be pulled in predefined formats. Plus, the cost of implementation is too high.”

There are now over 15,000 Dynamics SL customers and growing. Read the case study to understand why.

Key DCAA Reporting Requirements included in Dynamics SL

czmuda — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 04:08:00 GMT

RSM McGladrey and Unanet hosted a breakout session entitled "Project and Financial Management Solutions for Government Contractors" at the Microsoft Government Contractor Summit. This was a very popular session which drew much enthusiasm from attendees. It's hard to replicate the government contractor specific demo showcased but if you want to get a feel for what Dynamics SL looks see this Project Management and Accounting Demo. There is a full page of Short Demos if you want to explore more.

The highlight of this session were the robust reports that RSM McGladrey developed for government contractors. This report pack includes Job Summary Reports, Statement of Indirect Costs, DCAA Schedules, and Indirect Cost Analysis reporting to name a few. See Presentation for reporting samples. These are super critical to government contractors.

With approximately 15,000 customers on Dynamics SL, more and more customers are selecting Microsoft Dynamics over Deltek. It's an exciting time for choice in the marketplace. Dynamics SL is helping many government contractors meet their DCAA compliancy needs and equally importantly provides a financial management foundation that can scale to high growth. If you are interested in more information, contact Tom Burtner at RSM McGladrey at tom.burtner@rsmi.com or see the RSM McGladrey Web Site.

Professional Services Council Merges with the Contract Services Adminstration

czmuda — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 07:21:00 GMT

Stan Soloway, President of the Professional Services Council had some exciting news this week! The Professional Services Council merged with the Contract Services Adminstration and now has 320 of the largest and top growing services contractors represented. This will enable the PSC to be the SOLE association to the federal services marketplace. To Read More click here.

Additionally Stan will be speaking at the Microsoft Government Contractor Summit on Feb 8th in Reston VA. In addition to current market trends, there will be sessions on how to best achieve DCAA Compliance, Capture more Business, and automate key ERP and CRM processes. Interested government contractors executives can register here. Stan will present an overview of current market forces and trends, and explore the intersection of budget, policy, and agency mission needs. A few questions to discuss:

How will the budget strains affect federal spending?
How will current regulatory and legislative initiatives affect overall federal buying behavior?
What will this mean for the future competitiveness and structure of the federal professional and technolgy services space?

We look forward to having Stan share his deep industry knowledge and insights.

High-Growth Government Contractor Says Microsoft Dynamics NAV Solution from PVBS Helped Company Manage Growth and Optimize Contract Opportunities

czmuda — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 04:29:00 GMT

Pleasant Valley Business Solutions (PVBS) released a press release in regards to one of their customers Oberon Associates. What I find particularly notable is that Dynamics NAV supported Oberon’s growth without Oberon having to invest in more functionality. I often hear in talking to government contractors that they outgrow their Quickbooks and GCS Premier solution. This means a considerable effort in upgrading and often times the need to re—learn the system. The PVBS Dynamics NAV solution was robust enough to meet the needs of a high growth and award winning government contractor even as they experienced 135% growth over a 4 year period. This is just plain out awesome. A great solution - DCAA Compliant that is built to last.

Oberon Associates topped the 2007 Washington Technology Fast 50 list of fastest growing government contractors. The company also received recognition as the 2007 Greater Washington Government Contractor of the Year, with revenues between $25M and $75M, at the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce's Northern Virginia Government Contractors Council Greater Washington Government Contractor Awards banquet held in early October. Oberon Associates, a woman owned, service disabled veteran owned business, provides operational intelligence, engineering, and information technology services to the intelligence community and government agencies.

Veterans Jodi Johnson and David Young founded the Manassas, VA company in 2002. It has since grown to 420 employees and reported $48.4 million in revenue in FY2006, for a compound annual growth rate of more than 135 percent. Johnson was profiled in the Washington Technology Fast 50 issue in September.

Pleasant Valley Business Solutions (PVBS) released a press release in regards to one of their customers Oberon Associates. What I find particularly notable is that Dynamics NAV supported Oberon's growth without Oberon having to invest in more functionality. I often hear in talking to government contractors that they outgrow their Quickbooks and GCS Premier solution. This means a considerable effort in upgrading and often times the need to re-learn the system. The PVBS Dynamics NAV solution was robust enough to meet the needs of a high growth and award winning government contractor even as they experienced 135% growth over a 4 year period. This is just plain out awesome.

Oberon Associates topped the 2007 Washington Technology Fast 50 list of fastest growing government contractors. The company also received recognition as the 2007 Greater Washington Government Contractor of the Year, with revenues between $25M and $75M, at the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce's Northern Virginia Government Contractors Council Greater Washington Government Contractor Awards banquet held in early October. Oberon Associates, a woman owned, service disabled veteran owned business, provides operational intelligence, engineering, and information technology services to the intelligence community and government agencies.

Veterans Jodi Johnson and David Young founded the Manassas, VA company in 2002. It has since grown to 420 employees and reported $48.4 million in revenue in FY2006, for a compound annual growth rate of more than 135 percent. Johnson was profiled in the Washington Technology Fast 50 issue in September.

Oberon became a PVBS customer in 2006 when Johnson, Young and their management team realized that the company's fast growth was quickly exceeding the limited capabilities of its QuickBooks accounting application. Johnson and Young said, "Our management team liked how everything is integrated in the PVBS solution, from reporting to business analytics, which eliminated the requirement for costly and often incompatible third-party add-ons. The analytics were particularly interesting to us because it would help us understand how well we are managing our contract opportunities." To Read the full release click here.

DCAA Compliance Gets Easier with the Right Reporting Tools and Standard Reports

czmuda — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 06:38:00 GMT

In speaking with Ken Bricker, former DCAA auditor and Senior Partner at Goodman and Co. We asked Ken:

What do DCAA auditors look for in a commercially available accounting package?

Auditors want to ensure that the accounting solution generates the reports they need to adequately show contract status and compliance. The reports need to show job costing and easily compare proposed rates with actual rates. They want to review individual expenses for cost allowability. Among other things, they want to evaluate contractors' policies, processes, procedures, controls, and performance. At the end of the day, DCAA identifies and evaluates activities which either contribute to or have an impact on proposed or incurred costs of government contracts.

To assist government contractrors with DCAA Compliance, Microsoft has provided a number of reports that make the audit process straightforward and seemless. For information on Dynamics SL click here for information on Microsoft NAV for Government Contractors.

Give Your Best Customers a Megaphone - Spotlight on Mancon!

czmuda — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 07:54:00 GMT

Mancon, a High Growth Government Contractor has become a raving fan about their experience with Microsoft Dynamics NAV. It made a lot of sense to help other government contractors to become familiar with their story. Fun to google this to see all the press activity - it was picked up by over 60 news sources. We're just starting to get the word out about DCAA Compliant Solutions available by Microsoft. It's long overdue.

Microsoft Midmarket Government Contractor Summit Feb 8, 2008- Register Today!

czmuda — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 07:36:00 GMT

Join Microsoft for a day geared to helping Government contractors capture more business and manage financial growth.

Curt Kolcun, VP of Microsoft Federal Business will keynote this Midmarket Government Contractor Summit. Mr. Kolcun will provide insight to Government Contractors on trends in federal business. Breakouts will follow with industry experts and government contractor customers who will share their best practices on building businesses and leveraging Microsoft Dynamics (CRM/ERP) solutions to support that growth.