2023 Government Contracting Conference

Peter Ragone II

Pete Ragone is a Director in SC&H’s Audit and Tax Services practice. With more than 30 years of audit and accounting experience leading attestation engagements for public and privately-held domestic and international companies, Pete serves as the partner in charge of the SC&H audit practice in Tysons Corner serving the Greater Washington DC area. He works closely with client owners and management to discuss attestation engagement results and provide detailed insight on technical accounting and government contracting issues. Pete also is well versed in mergers and acquisitions, including overseeing due diligence engagements on behalf of buyers of government contractors.

Prior to joining SC&H, Pete served in an audit management role for a “Big 4” firm and most recently for a large national accounting firm. His experience includes supervising and training audit staff, coordinating preparation of tax returns, and assisting clients in accounting software selection and implementation best practices. In addition, he maintains expertise in cost accounting, DCAA audit compliance, incurred costs submissions, Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and DFARs, Cost Accounting Standards (CAS), as well as foreign currency translation accounting, fair value accounting, complex revenue recognition issues, accounting for income tax provisions, accounting for share-based compensation and accounting for business combinations.

Pete’s clients have included government contractors ranging from publicly traded companies to SBA small business and 8a certified government contractors, as well as clients from various industries including; manufacturing, distribution, construction, technology, property management, and energy. Pete has also authored position papers on accounting issues and developed and delivered training sessions on topics such as audit methodology, financial reporting, effective communication, and the impact of new accounting standards.

Pete is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in the Commonwealth of Virginia and Maryland, and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants (VSCPA), and the Greater Washington Society of Certified Public Accountants (GWSPCA). Pete earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from James Madison University (JMU) in Accounting and Finance, with a minor in Economics.

Sarah Tucker

Sarah Tucker is a senior audit manager in the Washington, D.C. practice of Cherry Bekaert. She provides accounting and assurance services to government contractors, technology companies, and not-for-profit organizations. As a member of the Firm’s Government Contractor Services Group, she works with clients to ensure appropriate contract revenue recognition policies, indirect rate reporting and general adherence to the Federal Acquisition Regulations. As an audit manager, Sarah performs planning procedures to obtain an in-depth understanding of her client’s situation, including the internal control environment. In this role, Sarah works extensively with the partner to develop an overall risk assessment and the respective audit procedures. In addition, Sarah oversees all work performed by the audit staff. She plays a significant role in drafting the audit deliverables, including the financial statements and required audit communication. In addition to supervising the audit process, Sarah has extensive knowledge of cost allowability and performing indirect rate audits. She has an in-depth understanding of the Uniform Grant Guidance, as several of her clients receive federal funding.

Todd Overman

Ranked by Chambers, the IFLR1000 and The Legal 500 for his government contracts experience, Todd Overman has established himself as a leading government contracts practitioner. Todd is Managing Partner of Bass, Berry & Sims’s Washington, D.C. office and chair of the Government Contracts Practice Group, and has nearly two decades of experience advising companies in meeting the demanding and ever-changing regulatory environment of contracting with the federal government. Over the last decade, he has advised on more than 50 transactions involving the purchase or sale of a government contractor. Todd has particular experience in structuring transactions and corporate reorganizations to ensure compliance with the Anti-Assignment Act, as well as navigating the rules impacting the acquisition of small businesses. He also has significant experience in advising on issues that may arise during the sale of government contractors to foreign-owned businesses, including national security reviews under Exon-Florio by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and foreign ownership, control or influence (FOCI) mitigation by the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA).

Richard Arnholt

Richard Arnholt advises companies, large and small, on the complex rules and regulations applicable to grants and contracts from federal and state governmental entities. In an era of increased budgetary pressures for contractors, Richard focuses his practice on providing practical business and legal guidance to help clients efficiently navigate the minefield of government procurement and grant regulations.

Over the past two decades Richard has represented government contract clients in a wide range of issues. In particular, he has extensive experience counseling clients on the complex ethics and compliance obligations required of government contractors and grant recipients; assisting companies and individuals faced with suspension or debarment by a number of government agencies; filing and defending against bid protests at the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Court of Federal Claims, and the Federal Circuit; and government contracts-related litigation such as prime/sub disputes and defending against False Claims Act (FCA) allegations.

Peter Ragone II

Pete Ragone is a Director in SC&H’s Audit and Tax Services practice. With more than 30 years of audit and accounting experience leading attestation engagements for public and privately-held domestic and international companies, Pete serves as the partner in charge of the SC&H audit practice in Tysons Corner serving the Greater Washington DC area. He works closely with client owners and management to discuss attestation engagement results and provide detailed insight on technical accounting and government contracting issues. Pete also is well versed in mergers and acquisitions, including overseeing due diligence engagements on behalf of buyers of government contractors.

Prior to joining SC&H, Pete served in an audit management role for a “Big 4” firm and most recently for a large national accounting firm. His experience includes supervising and training audit staff, coordinating preparation of tax returns, and assisting clients in accounting software selection and implementation best practices. In addition, he maintains expertise in cost accounting, DCAA audit compliance, incurred costs submissions, Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and DFARs, Cost Accounting Standards (CAS), as well as foreign currency translation accounting, fair value accounting, complex revenue recognition issues, accounting for income tax provisions, accounting for share-based compensation and accounting for business combinations.

Pete’s clients have included government contractors ranging from publicly traded companies to SBA small business and 8a certified government contractors, as well as clients from various industries including; manufacturing, distribution, construction, technology, property management, and energy. Pete has also authored position papers on accounting issues and developed and delivered training sessions on topics such as audit methodology, financial reporting, effective communication, and the impact of new accounting standards.

Pete is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in the Commonwealth of Virginia and Maryland, and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants (VSCPA), and the Greater Washington Society of Certified Public Accountants (GWSPCA). Pete earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from James Madison University (JMU) in Accounting and Finance, with a minor in Economics.

Brian Bender

Brian Bender serves as a Director in Aprio’s Consulting Services Group. Brian has 20+ years of government contract consulting and industry experience. His consulting projects related to DCAA, FAR, litigation support, Incurred Cost Submission, accounting system reviews, etc. In industry he was a Controller and Director of Finance working on day-to-day tasks and CFO-level strategic topics. Brian is responsible for integrating new clients to outsourcing as well as providing system optimization, consulting services, and CFO-level advisory services. He understands client needs, currently and prospectively, provides expertise in many areas critical to small, growing, and established businesses. Brian has high expertise in Unanet, but is software agnostic in his consulting.

He has been a guest speaker on various financial and government contracting topics for such organizations as the Northern Chapter VSCPA, the GWSCPA, VIP, and the Unanet Conference (topics have included Incurred Cost Submissions, Budgeting and Project Plans, and CAS Disclosure Statements). Brian received a Bachelor of Science with Honors in Accounting from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a Certificate in Procurement from the University of Virginia.

Jeff Kramer

Jeff Kramer leads Digital Advisory Services at Aprio, LLP, delivering developed and scaled IT solutions and cybersecurity programs for businesses at every stage of maturity, from startups to Fortune 500 companies. With industry experience spanning retail, manufacturing, utilities, finance, healthcare, telecom and SaaS, Jeff has over 35 years of experience leveraging technology and automation to help clients enable business models; deliver new products and services; control cost; increase revenue; and advance information risk management to achieve a competitive advantage.

In his role at Aprio, Jeff engages and unites leaders across enterprises to create digital strategies that support business objectives and transform operations. His specialty is helping clients extract greater value from the data they collect. Working closely with internal teams, Jeff helps organizations advance data management practices, build program awareness and drive adoption. He also leverages his extensive data security and compliance experience to provide managed solutions that simplify data security and compliance with industry, vendor management and global regulatory requirements.

Jeff’s expertise includes business leadership, enterprise information technology, strategic planning, project management, process improvement, global information security and privacy, cloud computing, automation, analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence. He is a skilled leader, mentor and coach who helps clients overcome transformation challenges through team training and governance development.

Eric Poppe

As a Managing Director with Cherry Bekaert’s Government Contractor Industry practice, Eric helps clients of varying size and complexity navigate the business and compliance requirements that come with working alongside the Federal Government. Eric assists clients with addressing the complexities that come with federal contracting by providing a “realworld” approach to accounting, cost accounting and pricing, system processes and contract management services.

He has helped clients with a range of solutions from helping to prepare Forward Pricing Rate Proposals (FPRP), Incurred Cost Submissions, providing support regarding the Cost Accounting Standards (CAS), internal audits, contract management and guidance related to Small Business regulations. Additionally, Eric has guided clients to properly implement business system requirements, navigate government audits and provide proposal pricing support.

Eric began his career as an intern at Cherry Bekaert. Prior to rejoining Cherry Bekaert in 2015, Eric worked at a Big Four firm’s advisory practice for four years. There, he primarily focused on providing accounting and contracting support to companies in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) and Cost Accounting Standards.

Kevin Swatt

Kevin Swatt is a Principal in CLA’s private industry assurance practice. For over 18 years, Kevin has acted as a trusted advisor to emerging and mid-sized companies, particularly within the government contracting and technology sectors. His primary focus is providing audit, review and compilation services to his clients, managing a diverse set of teams to ensure compliance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and with applicable reporting deadlines.

His consulting expertise includes work with government contractors on tools integral to their success, including DCAA pre-award accounting system audits, indirect rate structures in accordance with the FAR, and accounting system design.

He also works with his clients in providing audits of employee benefits plans under requirements set forth by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Department of Labor (DOL), and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), including both full scope and limited scope audits of defined contribution, defined benefit, and employee stock ownership plans with assets ranging from $1 million to $900 million.

George Stone

George Stone holds the Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor designation. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley Wealth Management in June of 2022, he spent 26 years with asset management firms serving as a portfolio trader & a lead market maker at the Pacific Stock Exchange. He has been a featured speaker on CNBC & Bloomberg networks & chaired committees for the exchange. George is a graduate of the University of Iowa, with a B.A. in Portuguese & a certificate in International Business. In his spare time, George enjoys playing chess, wherein he is an International Master in Correspondence Chess.

George Stone is also a Senior Executive Advisory Committee Board member on Northern Virginia Technology Council.

Diego Velez

Diego Velez is an Investment Manager at Truist Wealth. He works with individuals and families in the Washington D.C. area to develop asset allocation strategies to meet their long-term investment goals while managing multiple facets of risk. He has spent 15 years in the field of asset management, including: portfolio management, equity research, and investment performance analysis. Prior to joining Truist Wealth, Mr. Velez worked as an Investment Strategist at Wells Fargo Private Bank in Washington, DC for 8 years and as an Investment Analyst at Cambridge Associates, LLC in Arlington, VA for 4 years. Mr. Velez is a CFA® charterholder and a member of the CFA Society – Washington DC. Education: Master of Business Administration (M.B.A) - University of Maryland, Smith School of Business - College Park, Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.) - James Madison University.

Brynn McNeil

An Assurance Partner in Cherry Bekaert’s Washington, D.C. practice, Brynn provides audit and attest services to government contractors, architecture and engineering firms, Not-For-Profit organizations and employee benefit plans. As a member of the Firm’s Government Contractor Services Group, she works with clients to ensure appropriate indirect rate reporting and general adherence to the Federal Acquisition Regulations. Brynn has acquired significant experience in the key intricacies of working with government contractors and helping clients work through complex business transactions.

She has as an in-depth understanding of the Uniform Grant Guidance, as several of her nonprofit organizations receive federal funding. Clients depend on Brynn to provide relevant advice, consultation regarding industry best practices and to work closely with them to ensure that their financial statements meet all applicable industry requirements.

Beyond performing financial statement and compliance audits for her clients, Brynn served as a Firmwide trainer and led specialized training for not-for-profit, government contracting and employee benefit plans.

Joshua Montgomery

Josh Montgomery, Chief Financial Officer at MAXISIQ (Formerly IOMAXIS), brings to this position a background of almost 20 years of FP&A, corporate finance, mergers and acquisition, and operations experience in the defense and government services industry.

Most recently, Josh served as a Senior Director of FP&A for Peraton, a Veritas Capital backed $7B national security and IT integrator. While there, Josh participated in both the carve-out acquisition of Northrop Grumman’s IT and Mission Systems business along with Perspecta and the related integration.

Prior to Peraton, Josh served as the Vice President of Finance for Altamira, a private equity backed data analytics and engineering provider to the national security community. Josh was responsible for providing corporate-wide financial leadership along with treasury management. He also assisted with the company’s strategy, corporate development, and corporate governance. Josh was instrumental in helping the new private equity owners with their new platform investment. Prior to Altamira, Josh served as the Vice President of Finance and Treasurer of Oceus Networks, a private equity backed spinoff of a public company that specializes in mission critical communications. While at Oceus Networks, Josh assisted with the divesture and spinoff from Ericsson and helped manage the post M&A integration into a stand-alone entity. Prior to these roles, Josh held senior finance positions at ACS (now Xerox) and Harris IT Services.

Throughout his almost 20 year career in Finance, Josh has established a reputation for his involvement in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate strategy and for aligning operating and financial metrics to support business strategy and high-growth. He has led and managed multiple debt financings along with a number of mergers and acquisitions. Josh holds bachelor’s degrees in Finance and Accounting from George Mason University and an MBA with a concentration in finance from Marymount University. Josh is very active in multiple finance and government contracting industry groups, including Northern Virginia Technology Council and Association for Corporate Growth. Josh lives in Loudoun County with his wife and two young children.

Sarah Tucker

Sarah Tucker is a senior audit manager in the Washington, D.C. practice of Cherry Bekaert. She provides accounting and assurance services to government contractors, technology companies, and not-for-profit organizations. As a member of the Firm’s Government Contractor Services Group, she works with clients to ensure appropriate contract revenue recognition policies, indirect rate reporting and general adherence to the Federal Acquisition Regulations. As an audit manager, Sarah performs planning procedures to obtain an in-depth understanding of her client’s situation, including the internal control environment. In this role, Sarah works extensively with the partner to develop an overall risk assessment and the respective audit procedures. In addition, Sarah oversees all work performed by the audit staff. She plays a significant role in drafting the audit deliverables, including the financial statements and required audit communication. In addition to supervising the audit process, Sarah has extensive knowledge of cost allowability and performing indirect rate audits. She has an in-depth understanding of the Uniform Grant Guidance, as several of her clients receive federal funding.

Janice Lambert

Accomplished CFO with 20 years of experience optimizing and transforming financial operations for mid to large, complex, and diverse organizations in the non-profit, government, and private sectors. Excellent communicator effective at advising executive boards and senior leaders on strategic, mission-critical, financial, and operational matters, to include enterprise risks, contract negotiation and optimization, and process and ERP modernization. Proven track record in driving strategic initiatives and improving the profitability, efficiency, and effectiveness of financial program and systems operations. Proficient in creating and implementing financial and administrative systems, policies, and procedures to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and best practices.

Extensive expert experience in:

• Budget Execution and Cashflow Optimization
• Financial Analysis, Forecasting, and Reporting
• Managerial Finance and Accounting
• Strategic Planning and Performance Management
• Policy Formulation and Analysis
• Risk Management and Internal Controls
• Contract Negotiation and Management
• Sponsored Projects / Grant Management and Reporting
• Process Improvement
• Leadership and Mentorship

Jamie Kerner

Jamie Kerner is the Chief Financial Officer with The Building People, Jamie’s background includes over 20years of financial and accounting leadership supporting Government contractors. Jamie is a results-oriented executive, who thrives on supporting growth, leveraging technology, human capital and her extensive background with compliance and audit. Strategic partner to the CEO and leadership team, Jamie provides the financial and leadership acumen to support the continued growth at The Building People.

Prior to The Building People, Jamie was the CFO for a Government Contractor providing IT services and software development capabilities to the Federal Government. In this role, Jamie led the Finance, Accounting, Pricing, Security and Human Resources teams. The company sold in 2021 where Jamie helped spearhead the successful close of the transaction. Prior, Jamie spent 16years working for a mid- sized Government contractor serving as their Assistant Controller. In this role Jamie led the Billing, Payables, Revenue and Projects teams and served as the cross functional liaison with Contracts, Procurement and Human Resources.

Pamela Little

Pamela Little is an accomplished senior executive with over 35 years of experience with companies ranging from privately held start-up technology firms to large international professional services and government contracting firms serving in positions to include chief executive officer, chief operating officer, and chief financial officer. She is highly recognized in the industry for her success in turnaround environments and building and growing businesses as well as her expertise in mergers and acquisitions from managing the process to integration. She has significant board experience of both public and private firms to include the chairmanship of the audit committee and compensation committee of a publicly traded company.

She currently provides consulting services to companies in the government contracting industry and serves as a board member of Excella, a management and technology consulting firm in Northern Virginia, and a board member of Modern Technology Solutions Inc., (MTSI) an engineering services and technology solutions government contractor, as well as a board member of Sandy Spring Bancorp, a publicly traded company. She also serves as a Trustee of Norwich University.

Most recently from 2018 to 2023, she served as Chief Financial Officer of Nathan Associates, Inc., a private international economic and analytics consulting firm that works with government and commercial clients around the globe. She led the financial restructuring of Nathan and successful merger transaction in February 2023. Prior to Nathan from 2014 to 2018, she was the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of MTSI where she secured $60M in debt financing to buy out shareholders and transition to a 100% ESOP company.

Prior to MTSI, she served as chief financial officer of several government contracting firms including ATS Corporation, a publicly traded company providing technical services to public and private sectors, where she became Co-CEO and managed the sale of the company. She also served as chief financial officer of MICROS Systems Inc., a publicly traded company, where she negotiated the sale to Westinghouse Electric Corporation. She served in several executive roles with IDEAS, Inc. including president and CEO, where she was responsible for a turnaround. Little has consulted and served on the board of directors of numerous private companies over her career.

Little also served on the board of directors of the Professional Services Council, Maryland Technology Council and as Chairman of the advisory board of Montgomery College Macklin Business Institute. She was a part time faculty for the business school at Montgomery College. Little received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland and her master’s degree from Loyola College.

Peter Ragone II

Pete Ragone is a Director in SC&H’s Audit and Tax Services practice. With more than 30 years of audit and accounting experience leading attestation engagements for public and privately-held domestic and international companies, Pete serves as the partner in charge of the SC&H audit practice in Tysons Corner serving the Greater Washington DC area. He works closely with client owners and management to discuss attestation engagement results and provide detailed insight on technical accounting and government contracting issues. Pete also is well versed in mergers and acquisitions, including overseeing due diligence engagements on behalf of buyers of government contractors.

Prior to joining SC&H, Pete served in an audit management role for a “Big 4” firm and most recently for a large national accounting firm. His experience includes supervising and training audit staff, coordinating preparation of tax returns, and assisting clients in accounting software selection and implementation best practices. In addition, he maintains expertise in cost accounting, DCAA audit compliance, incurred costs submissions, Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and DFARs, Cost Accounting Standards (CAS), as well as foreign currency translation accounting, fair value accounting, complex revenue recognition issues, accounting for income tax provisions, accounting for share-based compensation and accounting for business combinations.

Pete’s clients have included government contractors ranging from publicly traded companies to SBA small business and 8a certified government contractors, as well as clients from various industries including; manufacturing, distribution, construction, technology, property management, and energy. Pete has also authored position papers on accounting issues and developed and delivered training sessions on topics such as audit methodology, financial reporting, effective communication, and the impact of new accounting standards.

Pete is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in the Commonwealth of Virginia and Maryland, and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants (VSCPA), and the Greater Washington Society of Certified Public Accountants (GWSPCA). Pete earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from James Madison University (JMU) in Accounting and Finance, with a minor in Economics.

Sarah Tucker

Sarah Tucker is a senior audit manager in the Washington, D.C. practice of Cherry Bekaert. She provides accounting and assurance services to government contractors, technology companies, and not-for-profit organizations. As a member of the Firm’s Government Contractor Services Group, she works with clients to ensure appropriate contract revenue recognition policies, indirect rate reporting and general adherence to the Federal Acquisition Regulations. As an audit manager, Sarah performs planning procedures to obtain an in-depth understanding of her client’s situation, including the internal control environment. In this role, Sarah works extensively with the partner to develop an overall risk assessment and the respective audit procedures. In addition, Sarah oversees all work performed by the audit staff. She plays a significant role in drafting the audit deliverables, including the financial statements and required audit communication. In addition to supervising the audit process, Sarah has extensive knowledge of cost allowability and performing indirect rate audits. She has an in-depth understanding of the Uniform Grant Guidance, as several of her clients receive federal funding.