Dynamics NAV Supports Recovery Act Reporting Requirements

 

On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed Public Law 111-5, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (”Recovery Act”, “Stimulus Act”), which included a number of provisions to be implemented in Federal Government contracts.

 

Effective March 31, 2009, interim Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.204-11 went into effect that implements this mandated clause.  This requires the prime contractor and their first tier subcontractors to provide quarterly reports documenting their use of stimulus funds.   If you win contracts that use Recovery Act funds, you are subject to these reporting requirements.

 

Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman PC give a good overview in their Federal Construction Contracting Blog about the Reporting Requirements associated with the Recovery Act. The FederalRecovery.Gov website is being developed to “serve as the gateway for recipients to meet the reporting requirements” of the Act.

 

Dynamics NAV for Government Contractors will have the capabilities you need to report on your Recovery Act contracts.  Click here for information on the wide range of reporting capabilities found in Dynamics NAV.

Three Things to Do to Prepare for EVM

 

Rob Hirschmann, Corporate Vice President with Projility, a Vienna, Virginia based 8(a) government consulting firm focused on implementing effective project portfolio management and earned value management solutions, is a good friend of PVBS.  Projility’s ‘Easy EVM’ suite is based upon a complete Microsoft solution platform. Here’s an interesting article he submitted to us concerning EVM preparation for government contractors.

Over the past twelve months, we’ve seen requirements for ANSI-compliant Earned Value Management (EVM) systems in almost every new procurement coming from the Federal government, small and large.  The message is becoming clear: contractors who cannot come to the table with a solid approach, qualified staff, documented processes and integrated technology solutions (defined together as a system) will not be awarded new work.  This is becoming the status quo across all areas of government – going beyond EVM’s roots in the Department of Defense, now mandatory across Civilian and Homeland Security procurements regardless of contract type.

So what can contractors do to proactively address these requirements? There are three key steps every organization can take NOW:

1. Identify a ‘top 10’ list of procurements you are most likely to bid and compete on.
2. Extract from information services such as Input what similar requirements for EVM have been placed on contractors winning similar awards in the same agency (by size and type of project)
3. Work to understand your organization’s current-state against these requirements, and build a roadmap that provides an integrated approach to EVM to include:
   1. Development of EVM-specific Proposal content
   2. A PM/EVM technical solution to be Piloted on current initiatives with similar requirements, so you are ready to roll into new awards (do it now, don’t wait)
   3. Identify who within the organization will own this capability – and make it part of their job starting immediately
   4. Implement an effective training program for your project managers – it will be their responsibility to own EVM on contracts, teach it as part of your core PM curriculum now (or, if you don’t have a program, it’s a great time to develop one)

The government is looking at EVM as a management tool to objectively determine the cost, schedule and technical status, key risks, and (most importantly) finish line (or lack thereof) for a given project. No matter what the contract type, be prepared with an EVM solution that integrates with your project management methodology and tools, and can incorporate financials from the project quickly and easily.  Be prepared, EVM is good management practice.

 

June Webcast and Lunch Seminar for Government Contractors

 

Microsoft and PVBS are offering two opportunities in June to learn more about how Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 for Government Contractors will help your company better optimize its government contracts. One event will be an online webcast; the other will be a lunch seminar at the Microsoft Technology Innovation Center in Reston.

Momentum Webcast: Why Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 Is an Ideal Choice for Government Contractors.

Discover how Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 from PVBS can help your company pass the new Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) audits criteria. This webcast is intended specifically for companies that provide services or sell products to the U.S. government. We discuss what you need to know about the new DCAA audit requirements, why government contractors need more than just DCAA compliance, and how a single enterprise resource planning (ERP) and financial management solution can serve both your commercial and public sector practices. Click here to register. (June 10, 2009, 12noon EST/9am PST).

Lunch Seminar in Reston: Everything You Need to Know about Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009

PVBS to Speak on DCAA Compliance at June 10 SECAF Event

 

PVBS Vice President Paul Skurpski will be a keynote speaker at the June SECAF meeting at the Tower Club in Tyson’s Corner. Along with Goodman & Company senior partner Ken Bricker, Skurpski will discuss what you need to know about the new DCAA Audit Requirements and the role of DCAA in your relationship with the Federal Government.

In addition, we will discuss why forward thinking government contractors are implementing compliant solutions and documenting processes before they win contracts that require a DCAA audit. The last element of the training will cover how to best prepare for your first audit based on the guidelines specified on DCAA Standard Form 1408.  The DCAA’s Form 1408 delineates the attributes of an adequate accounting system to include the need for accurate timekeeping, general ledger, labor distribution and project-based accounting components, among other elements.  Click here for more information.

The Next Big ERP Innovator: Microsoft

Good article in today’s CIO magazine talking about how some of the industry analysts were continuing to place Microsoft ERP solutions (Dynamics product line) ahead of Oracle and SAP.

“…Warren Wilson, a research director at Ovum, noted that…Microsoft was “committing more and more resources to its Dynamics solutions, and its ability to integrate Dynamics with its ubiquitous Windows applications—especially Office—makes Microsoft a threat that neither SAP nor Oracle can afford to take lightly.”

Now Microsoft has found another analyst “believer” in Albert Pang, IDC’s director of enterprise applications research. In a recent report on Microsoft’s Convergence conference (subscription required), Pang writes that Microsoft revealed many new products, including several still in prototype stage, that will be instrumental in restoring growth to the enterprise applications market. Pang gushed even more:

“It was hard not to marvel at the vision outlined by Microsoft executives, who were showing off next-generation touch-screen computing technologies at the main event and how average users ranging from order clerks to warehouse workers would be able to use the so-called Microsoft Surface device to access reams of inventory data by simply manipulating images on a screen, for example to rearrange popular inventory to areas within reach to improve the pick-and-pack process.”

NAV 2009 Launch Attracts Top Government Contractors to Reston

The Dynamics NAV 2009 for Government Contractors and Product Resellers Launch Event attracted over 100 business owners and  finance executives to the Reston Technology Center on March 19.  Here are some photos from the event.

GovCon Exec Panel Discussion

PVBS CEO Bernard Mustafa Kicks Off Event

Bernard Mustafa Welcomes Nearly a Hundred GovCon Execs to the Event

PVBS Covered by Tech Bisnow

Our friends over at Tech Bisnow snapped a shot of Paul Skurpski, VP of Sales, and Mark Lahart, Senior Account Sales Rep outside of the Grant & Thornton government contractor breakfast, where we were a top sponsor.

Recent Gartner Note on VAR Challenges and How Dynamics NAV Helps

Gartner released a note at the end of 2008 discussing the treacherous future that faces many companies that sell tech products. PVBS has helped many companies that sell products to the Federal Government such as Force3 and Four Points Technology. The Dynamics NAV solution for government contractors and resellers from PVBS is ideal for companies that provide services AND sell products to the government.

The Gartner report is titled: 122908-predicts-2009-vars-face-difficult-future and can be requested by clicking here.

NAV 2009 Launch Videos

Although the big launch of Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 for government contractors will be on March 19 at the Microsoft Technology Innovation Center in Reston, Microsoft launched Dynamics NAV 2009 in North America on February 5 in New York City. Below are three keynote presentations that we found interesting at the launch. The NAV 2009 overview from NAV GM Dan Brown was particularly interesting and should shed some additional light on the inherent power in the new version of NAV. Enjoy.

 

Welcome and Keynote: David Willis, Vice President Microsoft Dynamics US: Learn about the priorities of business today, as the economic climate continues to change

 

NAV 2009 Overview – An Innovative, Integrated Solution: Dan Brown, General Manager R&D Microsoft Dynamics NAV: Learn how Microsoft Dynamics NAV offers an integrated business management solution and is designed for growing companies that want the freedom to focus on their business

 

Analyst Keynote: Supporting Profitable and Agile Growth with ERP: Simon Jacobson, Senior Research Analyst – AMR Research, Inc.: Hear analyst insights on how to support profitable, agile growth with investments in ERP today

Good Questions for Fast Growing GovCons to Ask

We saw this on the DeAnder Associates web site. Good questions for fast growing government contractors to be asking.

DCAA is actively auditing vendors on the NAVSEA Seaport IDIQ contract to ensure their accounting systems are compliant and can handle CPFF jobs. ARE YOU READY?  CONSIDER THESE QUESTIONS:

1. Does your accounting system properly segregate direct (project/job specific) costs from indirect costs?
2. Can your accounting system separately track costs by job or contract?
3. Are you sure that your accounting system can provide reconciliation between the job cost ledger and the general ledger?
4. Through your accounting system timecard or timesheet processing, are your employees able to track time spent on each work activity can time be charged to the appropriate direct and indirect labor accounts?
5. Can your accounting system produce reports that show the results of charges to contracts on at least a monthly basis?
6. Does your accounting system identify and segregate costs deemed unallowable per FAR Part 31?
7. Can your accounting system identify and track costs by contract line item and units if required by the contract?

If you answered “no” to any of these questions, you are not ready. Time is running out. If you have not heard from DCAA you will.