For government contractors, the high cost of unknowns shows up in the gaps: a timekeeping issue that surfaces mid-audit, an indirect rate that quietly erodes your margin, a month-end close so slow the numbers are stale before you can act on them.

Aprio's Brian Bender, Partner, and Abdul Raoof, Director, bring GovCon compliance and outsourced accounting together into a single end-to-end playbook: how to stand up an accounting operation that holds up under audit, and how to close your books faster and cleaner every month.

Built for founders, controllers, and finance leaders at start-up, small, and mid-size contractors, this session leaves you with a clear, prioritized set of actions you can put to work in the next 30 days.

Learning objectives:

• Recognize the timekeeping and unallowable-cost pitfalls that draw the most scrutiny in an audit

• Design a repeatable month-end close that reconciles labor, accounts payable, and project reporting on a predictable timeline

• Turn close data into real-time decisions on burn rate, hiring, and project profitability

• Identify the SF 1408 criteria that determine whether your accounting system is considered adequate — and where smaller contractors most often fall short

• Build an indirect rate strategy that helps you win work, not just satisfy FAR Part 31 and DCAA requirements  

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