2019 Past SECAF Events
Tuesday, December 17, 2019
SECAF Holiday Party
The Tower Club, Vienna, VA 22182
6:00-8:00pm
Please join us to celebrate a wonderful season!
Tuesday, December 3, 2019
Member Forum: Cybersecuring Your Supply Chain
The Tower Club, Vienna, VA 22182
7:30-10:00am
Securing the supply chain and protecting information is critical to the continued mission of the federal government and our National Defense. New programs and standards -- like 800.171 and the anticipated Department of Defense Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) -- reinforce the government’s acknowledgement of the threat and its commitment to work with industry to ensure all information and material items are generated, stored, transported and delivered without loss of integrity or unauthorized influence. Small Businesses seeking to do business with the federal government (and other Government Contractors as partners) are now being asked to provide basic certifications and explain best practices to protect their work product and information. This session will discuss the challenges and recommendations for small businesses that wish to participate in government contract opportunities in this rapidly changing environment.
Moderator:
- Tim Brennan - CEO, SysArc
Speakers:
- Bob Metzger- Rogers Joseph O’Donnell, P.C.
- Ed Patton - Distributed Solutions Incorporated
- Glenn Hernandez - OpEdge Solutions LLC
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
Networking Reception for Government Contractor Members Only
Maggiano’s Little Italy, McLean, VA 22102
You are invited to come get to know your fellow SECAF Government Contractor members!
- What do they do?
- Might there be teaming opportunities?
- Can they help you? Can you help them?
- Enjoy the opportunity to network with your peers.
- Bring your capabilities statement.
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
CXO Forum: Growth-Focused Talent Acquisition Strategy for Small Federal Contractors, Presented by Provato
Clarity, Vienna, VA
11:30am-1:00pm
Join us for a discussion on talent acquisition including:
- Talent revenue roadmap: matching business development efforts with recruiting priorities to realize growth and ROI.
- Organizing efforts to address the who, what, when, where, how many, and how much do you pay dilemmas that make competing with and for talent challenging.
- Which resources are worth the money and investment? Technology? Resume databases? Personnel?
- How to compete for talent when you are small and possibly lacking the name recognition of the big companies.
Speakers:
- Aaron McElroy, CEO, Provato Inc
- Jeff Smith, CEO, True Upside Consulting
- Mike Bruni, Talent Acquisition Officer, Talent Acquisition Strategies LLC
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Executive Briefing: Small Business Program at NOAA
The Tower Club, Vienna, VA 22182
7:30-10:00am
The Small and Emerging Contractor Advisory Forum (SECAF) is pleased to present a breakfast program for members and the public on the Small Business Program at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The program will feature speakers from NOAA and Industry.
Moderator: Mitchell J. Ross, President, Puyenpa Services, LLC, and former Director NOAA Acquisition and Grants Office
Speakers:
- Jeffrey D. Hale, NOAA Small Business Officer
- Marcelle L. Loveday, NOAA Director, Strategic Sourcing Acquisition Division
- Wallace T. (Tom) Bucher, CEO and Founder, Integrated Systems Solutions (ISS)
Tuesday, October 8, 2019
Executive Briefing: Evolving Your Company’s View of Capture to Secure and Execute Effective Customer Meetings
The Tower Club, Vienna, VA 22182
7:30-10:00am
Join SECAF and learn the nuances of capture as a function, the capture process, activities, and best practices that are propelling companies to exponential growth; identify how to incrementally add to your capture capability to secure and execute an effective customer meeting. Don’t be reluctant to engage in the topic of capture, a successful capture strategy is key to long-term customer success.
Moderator: Mike Mullen - Partner, Deep Water Point
Speakers:
- Ronald Bouchard - Brigadier General (Retired) and Partner, Deep Water Point, LLC
- Mariela Cardona - Chief, Office of Citizenship and Applicant Information Services External Affairs Directorate, USCIS/DHS (Retired)
- Kim Hayes - Owner, The Ambit Group
- Naveen Krishnamurthy - Founder & CEO, RIVA Solutions, Inc.
Thursday, October 3, 2019
SECAF Panel at the GMU 2019 Government Contracting - Confronting the Challenges Facing Today's Government Contracting Community and the Government: What’s Next?
Washington Marriott at Metro Center, Washington, DC 20005
2:00-3:15pm
For over 65 years, beginning with the Small Business Act of 1953, the Federal government has embraced legislation and policies having the goal of aiding, counseling, assisting and protecting the interests of small business concerns. Contracting preferences have been extended to small business participants in the 8(a) Business Development program, the HUBZone program, the Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business program, and the Woman-Owned Small Business Program to diversify the industrial base, create jobs, and increase competition. The experience and expertise of the panelists afford a much-needed discussion on how the policy affects both sides of the GovCon Industry, government and business: from socio-economic policy goals, to business creation and growth, and how both government and industry can best adopt and adapt these policies for efficiency and innovation. We will talk with senior executives and officials who have lived or studied effects of small business policy on the shape of the government contracting industry.
Moderator: Sumeet Shrivastava- President and Chief Executive Officer, ARRAY and Board Member, Center for Government Contracting
Speakers:
- Craig Reed- Chief Growth Officer, Serco NA & Senior Fellow and Board Member, Center for Government Contracting
- Bed Edson- Founder and Chief Executive Officer, VariQ
- Soraya Correa- Chief Procurement Officer, Department of Homeland Security
Thursday, September 26
Webinar Presented by SECAF and Citrin Cooperman: Pitfalls and Best Practices for Government Contractors: Fundamentals of Accounting, Financial Reporting, and Tax Strategies
Expand your knowledge on:
- Important aspects of an accounting system
- Cost accounting
- Indirect rates
- Financial reporting uses
- Internal – what information is useful as an owner or C-level person to manage the company
- External - information critical to bankers and other external users
- Tax Tips From Start-Up to Exit
- Choice of Entity
- Filing Requirements
- Exit Strategies
- Stock Sale
- Asset Sale
- Stock Sales Treated as Asset Sales for Tax Purposes
Presented By: Citrin Cooperman - Sirena Johnson, Michael Cannon, Kevin Jones and Ryan Ham
Tuesday, September 10, 2019
Executive Briefing: Small Business Landscape - Trends and Opportunities in FY2020
The Tower Club, Vienna, VA 22182
7:30-10:00am
Join us as we hear from Bloomberg Government Services about the funding sources, acquisition trends, and major opportunities shaping fiscal year 2020. The presentation topics will include:
- How to operationalize budget data with agency plans to win more business
- Small business acquisition trends shaping federal spending
- The opportunities and markets to target for growth in fiscal 2020 and beyond
Who should attend? C-level executives and business development leaders will not want to miss this!
Speaker: Dan Snyder - Bloomberg Government
July 30, 2019 12:00 - 1:00pm EDT
Webinar Presented by SECAF and DHG: Understanding Government Contract Cost Accounting and Pricing
Overheads, loads, add-ons, burdens, indirect costs, allocations, wraps... What do they all mean? Successful government contractors are able to navigate the sea of indirect rate complexities while complying with regulations, maintaining cost and delivering for their customer.
- Understanding Indirect Costs
- Typical Indirect-Cost Pools
- Allocation of Indirect Costs
- Contractor Management of Indirect Costs
- Impact of Government Contracting Requirements
- Implications of Contract Type
- Cost Accounting Standards Requirements
- How the Government Monitors Indirect Costs
Speaker: Mike Mardesich, CPA, PMP - DHG, Senior Manager
Tuesday, June 11, 2019
Executive Briefing: Emerging Technologies and the Government: What’s Next?
Valo Park Mclean, VA
7:30-10:00am
Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Blockchain, Gaming… it seems like these buzzwords are everywhere and it can be difficult to cut through the noise. But what does government actually need? Join SECAF and a panel of government and small businesses leaders on June 11, as we discuss Federal priorities in emerging technology, what is next, and how small businesses can help.
Moderator: Richard Pineda - CALIBRE Systems, Inc., President &CEO
Speakers:
- Michael McFarland - Director of the Office of Acquisition Business Systems in the Office of Grants and Acquisition Policy and Accountability, Division of Acquisition in the Department of Health and Human Services
- Kevin McGuire - SysNet Technologies
- Anne Neumann - SBPO, Program Manager (SETA) at DARPA SBIR/STTR Program
Thursday, May 30, 2019
Networking Reception for Government Contractor Members Only
Cocktails with Hors D'oeuvres 5:30 - 7:30 pm
Maggiano's Little Italy, Tysons
You are invited to come get to know your fellow
SECAF Government Contractor members!
- What do they do?
- Might there be teaming opportunities?
- Can they help you? Can you help them?
- Enjoy the opportunity to network with your peers.
- Bring your capabilities statement.
Thursday, May 2, 2019
11th Annual Government Contractor Awards Gala
Hilton McLean 6:00pm
SECAF announced the winners of its 11th Annual Government Contractor Awards. More than 500 people representing government contracting firms and leading industry professionals gathered to recognize and celebrate excellence. For more than a decade, SECAF’s flagship event has honored small and emerging government contractors by recognizing the key role these firms have in creating innovation and advancement within their industry.
The Government Contractor of the Year awards recognize companies in four revenue categories (Under $7.5M, $7.5-15M, $15-27.5M, and $27.5-50M) that have shown a compelling and profound commitment to excellence in growth and financial performance. The Award of Excellence highlights an organization that represents excellence within their community, the government contracting industry, and towards employees. The Government Project of the Year is given to a company that has delivered a stellar program with significant value to the federal government. The Mentor-Protégé Program of the Year honors companies that have shown a compelling and profound commitment to excellence through its efforts as a prime contractor. The Special Recognition Award is presented to a small business that – in the judges' view – exemplifies many of the core qualities of the other SECAF awards and has a strong focus on providing class-leading services and solutions. The Government Advocate of the Year commends an organization or a person within the federal government who has provided leadership, commitment, and direction and had a profound and positive impact on the small and emerging contracting community. Finally, the SECAF Advocate of the Year is bestowed upon a member who tirelessly championed the organization’s mission.
Click here for a list of the 2019 winners!
Tuesday, April 9, 2019
Member Forum: Recruiting, Hiring, and Retaining Cleared Professionals
Valo Park McLean, VA
7:30-10:00am
Recruiting cleared talent can take time, perseverance and some creativity for small businesses today. The increasing number of positions requiring security clearances, the massive clearance processing backlog, and increased competition for the limited pool of available resources demand an organizational focus on unique programs and processes to build and sustain a talent pipeline. Join SECAF and a panel of small businesses on April 9th for an inside view on successful programs, approaches and tips to finding and retaining cleared resources.
Moderator: Devon Hewitt - Partner, Protorae Law
Speakers:
- Steve Bailey - Dark Wolf, COO
- David Reid - Axiologic Solutions LLC, Chief Strategy Officer
- Michael Waddell - INTEGRITYOne, Managing Partner/Co-Founder
Thursday, March 28, 2019
CXO Forum: Navigating Cybersecurity Compliance - How to Get Your Company DFARS / NIST 800-171 Compliant in 3 Easy Steps
Presented by: SysArc, Inc.
Maggiano's, McLean, VA
11:30am - 1:00pm
If you do business with the DoD or aspire to do business with the DoD, you should seriously consider implementing an internal cybersecurity program for your corporate network and become compliant with DFARS 252.204-7012 and the NIST 800-171 or NIST 800-53 requirements. In 2019 and beyond, this will also become a requirement for doing business with all Federal agencies and will be a significant competitive advantage for contractors who demonstrate their ability to protect Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI).
For some small contractors it appears to be a complex and costly effort to implement a strong cybersecurity program, but in reality, it is a lot easier and less costly than you may think. In this CXO Forum, we will walk you through the details of a 3-step process for complying with the NIST 800-171 (DFARS) and NIST 800-53 (FISMA) requirements and implementing the tools and processes to have a more secure environment. We will also cover the costs associated with getting and staying compliant as well as resources available to defray some of the costs of implementing a cybersecurity program in your organization.
Speakers:
- Asya Smith – COO, SysArc
- Bernhard Bock – CISO, SysArc
Wednesday, March 20, 2019
CXO Forum: Indirect Rates Discussion
Presented by: Unanet
Unanet Dulles, VA
11:30am - 1:00pm
- Managing Projects with Ever Changing Rates: Government Contractors struggle to forecast the impact costs will have when you bid a multi-year project. We will discuss how to carefully manage the ebbs and flows of the costs in the organization and stay vigilant and be ready for unexpected expenses during the execution of your project.
- What should be included in the Fringe pool? FAR 31.205-6(m) outlines what should be in a fringe pool. The question is should you have a separate fringe and overhead pool or just put fringe in overhead? In the session we will discuss the pros and cons of each methodology. What are the effects of rates on winning new business and executing projects?
- Have you selected the right General and Administrative (G&A) base for your company? You may be struggling with how to pick the right G&A base for your organization or considering making a change. The discussion will be around the finer points of Total Cost Base, Value Added Base and Single Element Base. You will learn about the components of G&A and the base, the rules and where to locate them, and the pros and cons of base selection. In addition, topics related to the FAR, CAS, and DCAA will be discussed.
- Other Topics: Other discussion topics will be Actual vs Provisional vs Target/Planning rates, calculating rates from GL budgets, and even for an organization with no cost plus work, why they should look at using indirect rates to understand profitability on T&M and FP projects.
- Rich Wilkinson - Solutions Engineering Group, Unanet
Thursday, March 14, 2019
For SECAF Gov Con Members!
CXO Forum: Managing Federal Sector Growth - Business Infrastructure and Compliance Tips
American Center Conference Center
Vienna, VA
7:30am - 9:00am
Business owners crave direction on their growth trajectory, and having the right information at the right time will help them capture growth opportunities. Building a sound business infrastructure is critical to successful and scalable growth. This is a must see presentation to prepare you for what lies ahead for businesses experiencing much sought after growth in the government contracting industry. You will obtain valuable information about right sizing your accounting system, employing risk management techniques, developing your strategy and budget, transitioning to a prime contractor, and strengthening your overall compliance.
Who Should attend? CEO, CFO, COO, Controller
Speakers:
- Brigitta Scott, CPA - Cordia Partners, Principal
- Traci Shepps, CPA - Cordia Partners, Partner
Tuesday, March 12, 2019
Executive Briefing: Doing Business with the Intelligence Community
Valo Park
7950 Jones Branch Drive
McLean, VA 22101
7:30-10:00am
The agencies which form the “intelligence community” (IC) provide fruitful contracting opportunities for small government contractors. These opportunities will only continue to grow as the intelligence community’s mission expands to deal with today’s complex security environment. However, the secretive nature of the work these agencies perform means that often there are barriers to entry which are difficult for an emerging government contractor to navigate. The panel, including representatives of intelligence agencies as well as large and small contractors that have had success contracting with the intelligence community, will provide tips and guidance to how to prepare your company to compete for and win contracts with intelligence agencies.
Moderator: Tom Stauber - Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Axiologic Solutions
Speakers:
- Michael Chavira - Managing Partner, Axiologic Solutions, SECAF Member
- Scott Jackson - Director of the Office of Small Business Programs, National Security Agency (NSA)
- Anna Kurtz - Federal Bureau of Investigation, Office of General Counsel
- Karen Mumford - Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Small Business Programs Office Director
March 6, 2019 12:00 - 1:30pm EDT
Webinar Presented by SECAF and Unanet: Recent Legislative and Regulatory Developments Affecting Small Businesses
Several legislative and regulatory developments occurred last Fall which affect all small businesses and particularly SDVOSBs and HUBZone companies. Sponsored jointly by Unanet and SECAF, the webinar will be presented by Devon Hewitt, Chair of SECAF’s Legislative and Regulatory Committee. Ms. Hewitt will summarize these developments and their impact on your business, including:
- The Small Business Runway Extension Act
- Consolidation of VA’s SDVOSB eligibility rules with SBA’s SDVOSB eligibility rules
- SBA’s proposed revamping of the HUBZone program
- Proposed Rule amending FAR provisions on Limitations on Subcontracting
Presented by SECAF and Hosted by Unanet
Devon Hewitt
Protorae Law, Partner
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Networking Reception for Government Contractor Members Only
Cocktails with Hors D'oeuvres
6:00 - 8:00 pm
Maggiano's Little Italy
You are invited to come get to know your fellow
SECAF Government Contractor members!
- What do they do?
- Might there be teaming opportunities?
- Can they help you? Can you help them?
- Enjoy the opportunity to network with your peers.
- Bring your capabilities statement.
Tuesday, February 12, 2019
Member Forum: Cybersecurity Compliance Requirements-Practical Guidance on DFARS-NIST 800-171
Valo Park McLean, VA
7:30-10:00am
Addressing cyber threats has become an enormous priority for the federal government.
- Under DFARS 252.204-7012, the cybersecurity regulations set out in NIST 800-171 became mandatory for contractors and subcontractors in the Department of Defense supply chain at the end of 2017.
- GSAR – GSA’s own cybersecurity regulations covering all government contractors - are due out in 2019.
- The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) became effective in May 2018, regulating the processing of personal information originating from the European Union.
- California even rushed through its own data protection law affecting companies that do business in California.
Join us for this informative panel to hear from one of the authors of the NIST regulations and industry colleagues who have implemented their own cybersecurity programs and required subcontractors to do the same.
Moderator: Tim Brennan - CEO and Founder, SysArc
Speakers:
- Mark Birch - President and CEO, Automation Technologies Inc. (ATI)
- Kristin Grimes - Corporate Counsel, Leidos
- Ron Ross - Fellow, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
Thursday, January 17, 2019
For SECAF Gov Con Members!
CXO Forum: Growing Your Business - Navigating Varying State Employment Laws
Presented by C2 Essentials
7:45am - 9:15am
Small contractors often grow their business by taking on contracts wherever they happen to be located. But in today’s legal landscape, setting up operations in a different state can be far more complex than finding office space and registering your business. Increasingly, states are enacting employments laws that differ from federal requirements and, more confusingly, differ from state-to-state. There are several areas where multi-state contractors routinely encounter problems, but which can be avoided through careful, early planning.
- Pre-employment Procedures: “Ban the box,” drug testing, and background check differences among the states
- Paying Your Employees: Differing state minimum wage, overtime, wage notice, and pay equity requirements
- Managing Employee Leave: Navigating the growing patchwork of state paid leave laws
- Internal Policies/Handbooks: Be mindful of differences in state and local anti-discrimination laws
Who Should Attend? CEO, CFO, COO