* NOTE: Topics and Speakers subject to Change.

Day 1
9:00 a.m.
Keynote Address
Debbra Caw, DCAA

10:00a.m.
Federal Market Outlook and Trends Impacting Small Businesses in 2024
Kathleen Sievers, Director, Federal Information Solutions, Deltek

Current economic challenges remain top of mind for many companies, and government contractors face a complex and evolving environment. Small business competition continues to increase, AI procurement and policies continue to expand across the government, demands from compliance requirements such as supply chain and CMMC 2.0 are heightened, and GWACs and MACs continue to dominate agency spending.

Whether your company is established and approaching the small business size standards, or if you’re just getting started and learning the ropes of government contracting, understanding today’s climate and the potential impacts is critical to ensuring successful business outcomes in 2024. This session will provide you with expert insights of what to anticipate this year and will arm you with best practices to plan accordingly and position your business for the best year yet!

We’ll discuss 2024 market trends and the impacts to small and medium sized businesses, offering advice to help future-proof your company from challenging market conditions in the coming year. 

10:45 - 11:00 a.m. Break

11:00 a.m.
Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice: What Might Summon DCAA as a Small Business
Joe Bentz, Managing Director & Drew Lewis, Director, Baker Tilly and the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) Small Business Focal Point

This session will build upon this year’s Keynote address by DCAA’s Deputy Director. Our expert panel will delve into essential topics related to small and medium businesses interfacing with the DCAA, covering:

• DCAA Small Business Focal Point: Understanding the role and available resources.
• Risk Profile Considerations: Key audit requirements for growing businesses.
• Effective Interaction with DCAA: Strategies for maintaining positive relationships and experiences.
• The panel presenters will share their perspectives, offer insights on emerging issues, and provide practical solutions to empower the small and medium business community toward mission success.

The panel presenters will share their perspectives, offer insights on emerging issues, and provide practical solutions to empower the small and medium business community toward mission success.

12:00 -1:00 p.m. Lunch Break

1:00 p.m.
Accounting for Business Combinations and Tax Considerations specific to Small and Medium Government Contractors
Nick Goodman, Partner, and Dan Gillen, Partner, Baker Tilly

The accounting for business combinations can be complex, especially for growing government contractors.  During this session, Baker Tilly professionals provide clarity on these complex issues and practical guidance for handling the accounting for business combinations under ASC 805. In addition, Baker Tilly tax professionals will highlight common income tax considerations for acquisitions and a tax update on topics applicable to small and medium government contractors. 

Accounting for Business Combinations:

• Determining whether the transaction is a business combination
• Determining the purchase price
  • Non-cash consideration
  • Contingent consideration
• Initial recognition and measurement of assets acquired and liabilities assumed in a business combination
• Subsequent accounting for assets acquired and liabilities assumed in a business combination
• Private company GAAP alternatives
• Other considerations
  • Involvement of third party valuation specialists
  • Bookkeeping for a business combination transaction (e.g., considerations and best practices for recording the opening balance sheet of the acquiree, etc.)
  • Other financial reporting considerations (e.g., acquiree's financial statement cutoff for post-combination reporting, etc.
• Tax considerations for acquisitions

Tax Update for Government Contractors

• Research and Development Credits and Capitalization Update 
• Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024
• Pass-through Entity Level Tax Developments in Key States 

2:00 p.m.
CMMC is Coming! Will You Be Prepared?
Matt Gilbert, Partner, Baker Tilly 

The DoD is still pushing forward with the expectation that contractors protect the Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) shared across the Defense Industrial Base.  CMMC has had its issues in implementation but is still moving forward. With this session, we hope to make the business case for why investing in cybersecurity and CMMC can be part of a strategy for growing your business.  We will also cover the updated CMMC timeline, how to identify CUI, CMMC scope considerations, and other relevant topics to understand as you build or refine your cybersecurity plans to maximize future opportunities and comply with CMMC.

2:45 -3:00 p.m. Break

3:00 p.m.
15th Annual GovCon Clarity Report and Implications for Small Business 
Sarah Featherstone, Marketing Manager, Deltek  

The Deltek Clarity Government Contracting Industry Report is a comprehensive resource that offers first-hand insights into the most pressing challenges facing the industry today and how top-performing government contractors are managing them. 

In this session, you’ll learn about the findings from this year’s report! We’ll be discussing the biggest takeaways from the almost 650 respondents and how government contracting professionals in a variety of key functional areas—including finance, business development, contract management, and more—can learn from their peers. We’ll also unpack exclusive insights that can help small businesses respond strategically in today’s market. 

4:00 p.m.
The Regulatory Panel Update – Rules, Relevancy & Requirements
Derek Boyd, Partner, Baker Tilly, and Matthew Haws, Jenner & Block 

The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) provides contractors with significant regulatory guidance and clauses with which to comply.  As small and medium-sized businesses with limited resources, understanding and implementing these rules with continuous proposed and ongoing changes to guidance, regulations, and programs can be complicated, daunting, and risky if not identified and properly incorporated into running the business. During this session, our panel of legal and compliance experts will help decipher some of the most important issues in the FAR and discuss related regulatory updates every business should know.  

Day 2
9:00 a.m.
The M&A Process: How to Navigate a Transaction Before and After, with a focus on "What Matters"
Jason Winterburn, Partner, Baker Tilly

This session will dive into the world of mergers and acquisitions in the Government Contracting sector, highlighting the potential risks and opportunities that come with acquisitions, emphasizing the importance of validating investment theses and understanding the unique circumstances of each investment opportunity. The session will also discuss the importance of understanding key value drivers for those seeking an exit or equity infusion and the role of strategic preparation in maximizing shareholder value. The focus will be on the overall market trends, practical execution of transactions, and compliance matters crucial to due diligence and integration.

The specific topics to be covered include:

• Transaction life cycle overview
• Understanding acquisition investment and value drivers
• Key considerations for government contractors, both pre- and post-merger
• Best practices in the due diligence process
• Common pitfalls to avoid

10:00 a.m.
Working with the Defense Contract Management Agency for the First Time
DCAA (Invited) and Baker Tilly

10:45-11:00 a.m. Break

11:00 a.m.
Best Practices for Working with Large Prime Contractors
Stephen Bozarth, Experienced Manager, Baker Tilly; Mike Davis, Sr. Manager - Contracts, Lockheed Martin

This session will examine the relationship between small and mid-sized subcontractors and their larger prime counterparts. The panel will examine:

• Key Stakeholders: Who they are, what are their roles, what motivates them
• Relationship Management: How to foster healthy long-term relationships with your prime customers and common pitfalls to avoid
• Leveraging Resources: Large contractors have extensive knowledge and experience; they learn how to effectively and respectively share concerns, ask for help, and identify key stakeholders beyond the buyer who can help navigate concerns
• Attention to Details: Operate on their level by making sense of solicitation details, SOWs, contracts, and various supplemental data requests

The panel presenters have backgrounds in procurement, supply chain management, estimating, and business development. With years of experience working for large prime contractors and small—to mid-sized subcontractors, their stories and perspectives will provide insight into best practices and relationship management.