PVBS Sponsors SECAF Event on the ARRA

PVBS is excited to sponsor the December SECAF Educational Program: “What Growing Government Contractors Need to Know about the ARRA:  A Critical Update. This will be a members-only program. Cost is $35. The event will be at the Tower Club. Program is on December 1 at 745am. Contact SECAF to register.

Here’s the event description:

The $787 billion gorilla, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), has come out of the corner!  The Administration is finding out that it is easier to say “stimulus,” than it is to actually spend the money.  There are many things growing government contractors need to be aware of concerning rules and reporting requirements. These rules support the Administration’s desire to have greater “oversight and accountability” along with more “transparency.”  As a result, there are many potential complications for Federal contractors. At this education event, Rich Marksberry, an expert on the ARRA, will discuss what government contractors need to know to ensure success.

Richard Marksberry, Principal, ROM and Associates, will be the keynote speaker. 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. He is an expert on government contractor financial management topics.

Finance VP Presents Why Growing Contractor Powertek Chose Dynamics NAV

Steve Miller, Powertek Corporation Vice President of Finance, presented why his firm chose Microsoft Dynamics NAV for Government Contractors at the Microsoft Third Annual Government Contractor Summit.  Download a copy of the presentation here. PowerTek Case Study for Microsoft GovCon Summit, 111709

Powertek’s rapid and sustainable growth over the past three years has contributed to its becoming recognized as a leading provider of information technology and business management solutions. Since its incorporation in 2001, Powertek continues to earn the trust and loyalty of its customers by demonstrating an in-depth understanding of their dynamic business and technical environments and providing holistic and innovative solutions to their unique needs. The firm’s continued success and repeat business validate the confidence its customers have in its capabilities.

Steve Miller, Powertek Vice President of Finance

The Shape of the Recovery

Stephen Fuller, PhD, the Dwight Schar Faculty Chair and University Professor; and Director, Center for Regional Analysis, School of Public Policy, George Mason University, gave a fabulous lunch time keynote, “The Shape of the Economic Recovery,” at the 3rd annual Microsoft Government Contractor Summit on November 17. Click The Shape of the Recovery, Stephen Fuller for a pdf of his presentation.

Expert Panel Closes MSFT Annual GovCon Summit

PVBS was pleased to sponsor the “Government Contractor Expert Panel” that closed the 3rd annual Microsoft Government Contractor Summit on November 17 at the Marriott Fairview Park. The moderator was Tom Temin of Federal News Radio 1500AM.

Panel members were:

• Kwesi Rogers President, Federal National Payables, Inc.
• Ken Bricker, Managing Partner, Goodman and Company
• Tony Bui, President, EMW

Questions posed by Tom included:

1. Discuss recent OMB guidance urging more use of fixed-price, competitive contracts instead of no-bid, or cost-plus or time-and-materials contracts. Is it actually happening at the agency task order or contract level? How should companies prepare for it? How might it effect small contractors when they are subs to larger primes? How does this affect a small firm’s ability to fund their operations?
2. Small Business Administration is proposing new rules. For instance, Hawaiian native corporations can also get unlimited sized sole contracts, not just Alaska Native. All must now perform 40% of the work, and not just sub it all out to large companies, under the proposed rules. Are SBA and other federal mandates for use of various classes of businesses striking the right balance of fairness, competition and best value for the government?
3. Discuss technology changes you see in the government–are they real and what effect will they have on small or highly specialized contractors. Examples are cloud or hosted software services; data analysis and machine readable streams; mobility devices; collaborative tools.
4. What does the acquisition workforce really look like from the standpoint of contractors? Discuss in light of the new OMB direction to increase acquisition ranks by 5% over the next five years. Have you noticed or been affected by a trend of government hiring from the private sector?
5. Discuss how you’ve used Microsoft Dynamics technology to assist in meeting the above challenges and the role business applications will help growing government contractors meet the above challenges.

Great MSFT Site for Federal Business

Microsoft has launched a very cool site called the Public Sector Idea Bank that demonstrates many of the solutions it offers Federal Government customers. Check it out.

Microsoft CRM Idea Bank