Government Contractors
Financial control for organizations serving government.
As contracts become more complex, it becomes harder to see whether labor, billing, indirect costs, cash and project results are telling the same story. R² brings that financial picture together so leadership can understand how the work is performing and what the next award will require.
When the work grows faster than the financial picture behind it.
The signs usually appear before anyone names the problem. A larger award, a new contract type or a system that no longer fits can each leave leadership looking at numbers it cannot fully explain.
- The award is growing faster than the accounting structure.
- Project results do not reconcile easily to the general ledger.
- Labor and indirect costs are difficult to explain.
- Billing and collections do not provide a complete cash picture.
- The organization is preparing for a larger award, financing event or system change.
- Leadership cannot see contract economics until after the consequence has occurred.
These are financial-control problems as much as accounting problems. The structure has to follow how the contracts actually operate.
What government-facing finance has to keep connected.
Government contractor financial control connects contract terms, project structure, labor, indirect costs, billing, cash and reporting so leadership can understand both contract performance and the financial obligations surrounding it.
Contracts and billing
- Fixed-price, time-and-materials and cost-reimbursement work
- Task orders and milestone billing
- Contract-specific billing requirements
- Subcontractors
Labor and cost
- Timekeeping requirements
- Direct and indirect labor
- Indirect-cost structures
- Project and contract profitability
Cash and reporting
- Unbilled receivables
- Cash-conversion timing
- Reporting requirements
- Documentation that must withstand review
Entities, systems and tax
- Multiple legal entities
- Commercial and government customers
- Systems integration
- Tax and entity coordination
Built to grow with the work.
R² began working with one government contractor before it held subcontracts. As the organization grew, we helped build the indirect-rate structure, accounting environment, project setup, billing and review practices supporting the work.
- SF 1408
- Accounting-system evaluation supported
- SBA 8(a)
- Application and compliance financial support
- More than $10 million
- Direct prime awards later secured by the client
The organization changed. The financial environment was built to change with it.
Establish control. Maintain it. Extend it when the stakes rise.
Establish Control
Build the structure the contracts require.
- Accounting-system assessment
- Contract and project structure
- Timekeeping and labor mapping
- Indirect-cost architecture
- Billing and receivable workflow
- Financial-system implementation
- Diagnostic and stabilization work
Maintain Control
Keep the record reliable, period after period.
- Reliable close and reporting
- Contract and project economics
- Cash, billing and unbilled visibility
- Labor and shared-cost review
- Financial-control governance
- Recurring management review
- Managed Financial Control
Extend Control
Defined strategic work, separately scoped when a decision requires it.
- Bid and proposal pricing
- Labor mix and burn-rate modeling
- Indirect-rate and fee scenarios
- New-award cash and capacity planning
- Tax matters
- Strategic CFO Advisory
- Risk and governance
- Tax Strategy & Compliance Entity, tax and filing matters connected to the contract work.
- Strategic CFO Advisory Bid pricing, burn rates, labor mix, financing and new-award decisions.
- Risk & Governance Controls, responsibility and oversight.
Organizations enter where their condition requires. Not every organization needs every item, and each extension is separately justified, scoped, priced and authorized.
Questions government contractors ask us.
Can R² help us prepare for an accounting-system review?
Yes. Where an award or contract type makes accounting-system adequacy relevant, R² can assess the system design against the applicable criteria, help organize supporting records and identify gaps in project structure, labor, indirect costs, billing and controls. DCAA audits are requested by a federal entity, not by the contractor, and the responsible government official determines acceptability. R² does not represent that a firm, software product or accounting system is “DCAA approved,” and does not promise an audit or award outcome.
View the DCAA Preaward Accounting System Adequacy Checklist (opens in a new tab)
Where does an engagement usually begin?
Usually with Establish Control: an assessment of the accounting system, the contract and project structure, and the gaps leadership is already feeling. What follows depends on what that work finds.
Do you only work with government contractors?
No. Government contractors are one specialized environment within the organizations R² serves whose financial responsibilities are shaped by contracts, grants and external accountability.
Tell us what has become harder to see across the contracts.
A new award, a system that no longer fits, or numbers leadership cannot yet explain. Start with what changed, and we will talk through where the work should begin.
Based in McLean, Virginia, R² works with government contractors across the United States.