UPDATED: A Contractor’s Guide to Surviving the Government Shutdown
Government Shutdown Seems Inevitable
The latest budget negotiations between the House, the Senate and the White House ended without a deal being reached. As a result even previously optimistic souls are now predicting the shutdown will happen. The current continuing resolution expires today (Friday, April 8th). Please see this breaking news story from the Washington Post for a detailed description of the stalled negotiations. Continue reading »
Congress Extends Continuing Resolution for Two Weeks
T
he Government shutdown was averted, at least temporarily, as Congress passed a bill extending the continuing resolution for two weeks and President Obama signed the measure this afternoon. Despite the compromise that resulted in this extension, Democrat and Republican opinions are still as far apart as ever on federal spending and most pundits think there is little chance a permanent budget can be passed in the next two weeks. Many analysts believe that a shutdown is still likely.
The good news is Continue reading »
Aronson Consultant Discusses Government Shutdown’s Impact on Contractors with WUSA9 TV
Aronson Principal Consultant Tom Marcinko, a featured panelist at the Greater Washington Board of Trade Preparing for a Potential Government Shutdown event March 1st, 2011, provided expert commentary regarding how contractors should prepare for a potential government shutdown that was featured by Channel 9 WUSA news, see 45 seconds into the video. For more detailed guidance on contractor strategies to survive a government shutdown, Continue reading »
Updated: Surviving GSA Contract Cancellations
Update: Miss the event? Don’t worry, you can download the slides or listen to a replay of the presentation online.
GSA is facing shrinkage of their contracting workforce which, in return, is creating an increase in contracting officer workloads. An easy way for GSA to resolve this problem is to cancel contracts that are not in compliance.
Case-in-point: During the government fiscal year 2010 there were approximately 20,000 active GSA schedule contracts. Of those, 9,014 did not attain the minimum contract sales requirement of $25,000 and 6,825 had no sales at all!
Join Aronson on February 24thfor a free webinar Continue reading »
Survival Tactic #10 Create the Strategic Plan to Survive, Thrive and Be Successful as our Industry Faces Unprecedented Challenges
The growing federal deficit will create a unique dynamic that companies doing business with the Federal Government have never had to face before. Do you have the strategic plan to survive, thrive and be successful on the back end? Our industry is facing unprecedented challenges today. Not only is there an administration that has a clear mission of transparency and oversight but we also are facing the following:
- A shift in over 50% of the congressional make up over the past 4 years with new heads of committees in all likelihood questioning how every dollar will be spent and has been spent by creating additional committees and investigative panels.
- A continuing resolution (CR) that could take us to March which is half of the fiscal year.
- A burgeoning deficit .
Survival Tactic #9 Know What’s Hot in the M&A Market
2011 Government Services M&A Outlook
The government services sector is set to face prolonged challenges in 2011 driven by federal budgetary pressures and increased competition. Procurements will be delayed, awards will be protested, and the contradicting commentary regarding insourcing and federal pay freezes will persist. However, many of these factors that will confront the government services industry as a whole will likely fuel M&A activity. Strategic buyers, faced with lower organic growth rates, continue to analyze their portfolios and acquire firms that fill capability gaps and position them in the areas of federal spending priority to create additional financial growth in profitable areas. Therefore, we expect 2011 government services deal volumes to be consistent with 2010. Below is a list of areas that will see the lion’s share of M&A activity in 2011:
Survival Tactic #8 Strategic Teaming
First, the bad news about FY 2011: There will be fewer government contracts.
Now, the good news: Spending probably won’t go down. Sure, in the long run, it’s on the decline. The deficit will force some belt-tightening. But experts tell us that it’s even possible the contracting industry could see modest growth next year.
But how will that math work? More dollars in fewer contracts? Simple – the analysts we talk to all expect the government to concentrate more funding into large Multiple Award Task Order Contract (MATOC) vehicles. Continue reading »
Survival Tactic #7 Avoid Trouble with Tax Authorities
The type of tax planning that saves cash is great, but sometimes the best tax planning a company can do is to stay out of trouble with the taxing authorities. Here are a few pitfalls government contractors should be keen to avoid:
State and Local Tax
It’s been a busy year, the books are closed and the numbers look good. During the year, you had employees, independent contractors, property, etc., in several states. Do you know which state and local jurisdictions, i.e., states, counties, cities, towns, etc., will require you to file a tax return for 2010? Once you have established the states in which you are required to file a return, you must determine how much of your income is reportable to which state or local government. Continue reading »
Survival Tactic #6 We will not let our GSA Contract modifications get stranded with our Contracting Officer
During 2010, the requirement to use eMod for the submission of GSA contract modifications became mandatory for most contract holders. If you haven’t submitted a modification during the past year, your in for a surprise!
eMod is an internet based application that requires GSA contract holders to upload/process/approve their contract modification online versus paper submission. The application greatly improves the tracking and processing of modifications since everything is done electronically.
To avoid having your modification stranded, you should:
Survival Tactic #5 Financial Compliance
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- A Marriage of Inconvenience: GSA Schedule Contracts & The Contractor Code of Business Ethics & Conduct Clause
- Emerging Small Businesses: To Grow Your Business, You Must Plan For Growth
- Government Contracting: Look Before You Leap!
- GSA Schedules – Strategies for Success
- New Employee vs. Independent Contractor Considerations
- Pay on Display – Understanding the Executive Compensation and Subcontractor Data Reporting Requirements & Ramifications
- The GSA Schedule: Your Ticket to the Federal Market (May 2010)
- The New FAR Codes of Conduct and Compliance Program Provisions
- The Seven Deadly Sins (of contract compliance)