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From the Desk of Bernard Mustafa
Microsoft Confirms Huge Investment in Dynamics at Partner Conference
I just returned from Microsoft's worldwide partner conference in New Orleans. I was excited to see that in spite of the down economy, Microsoft is continuing to invest a significant of amount R&D in its Dynamics financial management software product lines.
Did you know that Microsoft has the largest R&D budget in the world (over $9 Billion)? The investment they're making in other Microsoft technologies such as reporting services, analytics, SharePoint, and Office 2010 is staggering. This is great news for our customers that have built their infrastructure around Microsoft technology. We continue to integrate these technologies with our financial management solution and continue to invest in our own R&D to ensure that our government contractor customers continue to get high return on their investments.
We were also gratified to win a number of awards at the conference including recognition as one of Microsoft's top three Dynamics NAV solutions providers in the world and Microsoft's Dynamics Partner of the Year for the Mid-Atlantic region. We take this recognition as an opportunity to continue investing in our offering to help our clients make insightful decisions and better manage their business.
Much more was announced at the conference that I'd like to share with you. Call me at 703.391.0977 to discuss.
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| CFO Perspective: How to Best Work with the DCAA in the Obama Administration |
Richard Marksberry is a Partner in the MidAtlantic practice of Tatum, LLC. During the last four years Mr. Marksberry has, as the CFO, led the selection and implementation of accounting systems for three federal contractors each with sales over $100 million annually. He was recognized as one of the "Top 10 CFO's in Government Contracting" by ExecutiveBiz in 2008.
Every government contractor will encounter DCAA during their contract tenure. Exactly how well that experience turns out will depend on two things: (1) how well prepared the contractor is for their audit, and (2) what contract type they are operating under.
There has been a great deal of discussion lately about what changes have been taking place at DCAA over the last year or so. Most, but not all, are perceived to be not in the contractor's favor, including:
- Pass/Fail audit results (no degrees of weakness or inadequacy in part reports)
- Discontinuance of small contract closeout simplification rules
- Directive for not indicating suggestions for improvement to the contractor
- Stricter rules regarding requests for information, where upon non-timely compliance results in a reported weakness by default
- Finally, while findings may be discussed as part of the audit exit interview the contractor may not be allowed to see the auditors report prior to filing with the contracting officer. (a distinct break from past practice)
Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? Yes! Most of the above issues are primarily directed at the cost plus and little less directly at the time and material contract types. Click here for the rest of the article. |
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| Holland & Knight LEGAL TIPS: Impact of Set-Aside Contracts on Valuation |
William J. Mutryn, a partner in Holland & Knight's Northern Virginia office, and co-Leader of the firm's national Corporate and M&A Practice Group frequently answers legal questions concerning mergers and acquisitions for our newsletter. He practices principally in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, commercial transactions, corporate governance and finance. Over the last few years, he has served as lead counsel in over 50 M&A transactions and is the President of ACG's National Capital Chapter. For previous Q&A, please click here.
 QUESTION: What impact do small business or set aside contracts have on the ability to complete a sale transaction and the valuation that a firm may realize? What M&A structures have been used with respect to set aside contracts?
ANSWER: Small business and set-aside contracts held by a company, ever since the SBA recertification rule in 2007, have a direct effect on the valuation and often the ability of a company to effectuate an exit strategy. The SBA Rule requires a recertification within a certain number of days following a merger or sale. Such recertification in and of itself does not trigger a termination of the set-aside contract. However, the agency can no longer take small business or set-aside credit for such contract and there is an increased likelihood that if there are future option years, such options will not be exercised and instead the customer will re-bid the contract on a small business or set-aside basis. This provides the buyer with a lower assurance regarding the sustainability of a company's business and may result in the buyer paying a lower purchase price....Click here for the rest of the article.
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| What Government Contractors Need to Know about Microsoft and Gov 2.0 |
Microsoft is the leader in bringing government agencies Web 2.0 solutions that help respond to the call for increased levels of accountability, participation, and collaboration. You know your clients are under pressure particularly from both the top down and the bottom up to become more efficient, transparent, and open. Government leaders recognize how new applications of technology-and Web 2.0 in particular-can help bring about the desired changes, collectively referred to as Gov 2.0.
Microsoft has a web site that describes the tools it offers government agencies to help them optimize these new technologies. |
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| Cleared Employees in High Demand Although Salary Increases Decline |
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This article was submitted by Warren Corbett, Business Research Services Inc. (Bethesda, MD), publishers of Set-Aside Alert. Subscription information can be found at www.setasidealert.com.
Demand for employees with security clearances remains strong, but their salaries are barely increasing and signing bonuses have all but disappeared, according to ClearanceJobs.com, a job-matching website. A ClearanceJobs.com survey found that average salaries for cleared employees have grown by less than 2% in the past 18 months to $73,961. "In previous years we had seen as much as 7%" salary growth, the company's director, Evan Lesser, said.
The average salary for contractor employees with clearances, $83,212, was roughly $20,000 more than that of federal employees with comparable clearances. The averages include all types of cleared jobs. For executive positions, the average salary was $130,293; for management level, $101,720; and for entry-level jobs, $45,811.
Lesser reported "very strong" growth in demand for cleared workers, both in postings on the website and in the number of recruiting and staffing companies moving into the field. He said the recession is drawing new companies into the federal market. While salaries and job opportunities are highest in the Washington, DC, area, "there is no bad place in the country for security-clearance jobs," he said.
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Sincerely,
Bernard
Pleasant Valley Business Solutions
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PVBS and Tatum Help Product Resellers Grow Service Lines |
PVBS and Tatum announced a partnership to help companies that sell products to the government build their services business lines. Tatum is the nation's largest executive services firm focused solely on the needs of the Office of the CFO. Government contractors who will benefit from this relationship include those who are transforming from a product sales business model and now offer a mix of professional services as well. Read the release here. |
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| About Microsoft Dynamics NAV for Government Contractors |
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Microsoft Dynamics NAV for Government Contractors from PVBS is an ERP solution that has been designed specifically for companies that provide services and/or sell products to the Federal Government. It features:
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Warehouse Management
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Human Resources
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Analytics
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CRM
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