Our assessments and system implementations result in contractor business systems designed to align with industry-leading best practices and achieve compliance with regulatory standards. During our reviews, we identify operational risks and compliance gaps in order to develop internal controls and processes that align with an organization’s strategic objectives and regulatory requirements. We assist you throughout the system implementation process, delivering contractor-specific change management plans that include overall strategy, required investments, and step-by-step project management guides to ensure a seamless integration. Our business system reviews and implementations include:

• Accounting
• Purchasing
• Estimating
• Earned value management
• Material management
• Property management 

We collaborate with contractors to assess and develop cost accounting practices that drive competitiveness in the marketplace and maximize recoupment of costs on contracts, while being compliant. We understand that CAS is not just a regulatory requirement but can be a tool to drive strategic objectives and revenue. We help organizations navigating the often-complex questions of CAS applicability, requirements, and reporting by analyzing the contractor’s contract population and the applicable contract clauses, assessing current cost accounting practices for compliance, remediating gaps, drafting the appropriate disclosures statements, and disclosing any needed cost accounting practice changes, including required supporting cost impact analyses or general dollar magnitude proposals to the government.

Our audit team provides internal and external audit support by leveraging our government and industry experience to navigate the extensive oversight that comes with government contracting. We understand auditors’ expectations and provide effective strategies and tactics to manage audits, requests for information, negotiations, and resolution of audit findings. 

Additionally, our practice performs third-party audits and reviews for government contractors, including financial statement audits with a focus on government contract compliance, FAR indirect rates audits, and internal audit support.

Grant Thornton provides contractors with peace of mind by assessing the regulatory risk of their current contract portfolio and/or the level of scrutiny they can expect based on their government contracting goals. We develop customized roadmaps detailing contractors’ current regulatory requirements, their ability to support those requirements, and recommend investments to mitigate expected future risks. We also assist organizations on the buy and sell side of M&A transactions so companies can better understand the financial risk associated the company’s government contracts portfolio.

Grant Thornton understands a contractor’s indirect rate structure is also a reflection of their organizational structure and priorities. We tailor indirect rates to a contractor’s operating and financial objectives, their customer’s approach to buying its products/services, and the competitive landscape. This drives proposal conversion, increases market share, and maximizes cost recovery. We also continuously monitor the indirect rate structures to adjust for organizational changes, M&A transactions, evolutions in products or services, and other organizational changes in order to maintain a competitive advantage. We assist with the governmental reporting requirements, including FPRPs, PBRs, NICRAs, incurred cost proposals, and interim or final vouchers stemming from final negotiated indirect cost rates.

Grant Thornton provides strategic guidance for contractors navigating CBA requirements and Department of Labor regulations, such as the Service Contract Labor Standards, Davis-Bacon Act, and the Walsh-Healey Act. We have a deep understanding of employee wage and benefit requirements and strive to maintain employee morale and education, while minimizing the risk of regulatory non-compliances, including back payments and contract withholds. We assist contractors assessing current labor practices, contractual requirements, and current and future compensation/benefits packages. We help implement key processes and controls that properly classify employees and their prevailing wages. We also assist with the calculation of retroactive and prospective wage and benefit payouts to avoid penalties and interest.

Grant Thornton provides the expertise and techniques for developing compliant and competitive pricing for government proposals. We understand the level of cost or pricing data required to support government proposals and are seasoned in developing adequate basis of estimate narratives to generate a comprehensive and competitive pricing volume. Our team is skilled at modeling and presenting various pricing scenarios to achieve your strategic objectives. We also support commercial item acquisitions, including GSA and GWAC pricing and negotiations, labor category mapping support, and mandatory disclosure preparation. Throughout our proposal development support, we aim to create tools and resources that allow you to independently and successfully prepare future proposal responses.