2026 Government Contracting Conference

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).

Yevgeniy Sukhenko

As a Partner in the Outsourced Accounting & Advisory Services department at GRF, Yevgeniy leads strategic client engagements across the nonprofit, government contracting, and professional services sectors. His work emphasizes advisory services such as CFO-level financial planning and analysis, indirect rate development, accounting system implementations including Unanet, Concur, Ramp, and Martus, and general strategic planning. He also oversees the onboarding process for new clients and plays a key role in business development, particularly in growing the firm’s GovCon and association service lines.

In addition to client service, Yevgeniy leads the firmwide People Development Bold Step Committee — one of the firm’s strategic initiatives — focused on building clear career pathways, strengthening feedback practices, and advancing professional development across all departments. Within the OAAS department, he leads the People strategic pillar, managing recruiting, performance evaluations, and capacity planning, and actively drives tech strategy on the department’s Technology Committee.

By combining technical expertise with a people-centered leadership approach, Yevgeniy helps clients and colleagues alike navigate complexity, drive efficiency, and build for the long term.

Prior to joining GRF, Yevgeniy supervised financial statement assurance engagements for government contractors and technology companies. He also managed the corporate accounting function for a SaaS-based company and helped to prepare it for a multi-year financial statement audit and accounting systems upgrade.

Michael Bartlett

Mr. Bartlett brings over 30 years of experience in Finance, Accounting, Compliance, and Operations with significant experience in implementing and integrating business systems and strategy leading to significant increases in revenue and profitability. A strong background leading internal and external audits, internal controls, process improvement, management, and cross-collaboration are key skillsets that Mr. Bartlett leverages to assist in driving business growth and profitability. Mr. Bartlett has extensive experience in Federal contracting having been a key player in the development of the ICE model for incurred cost submissions, a key collaborator with the US Government during the Commission of Wartime Contracting resulting in numerous Federal contracting changes, and worked at a major Federal contractor that partnered with the US Government that went through extensive audits and discussions leading to changes in almost every DCAA and DCMA audit plan.

Previously he has held roles including Controller/CFO in small to middle market and large businesses including top tier Public Sector providers such as PwC Public Sector. Mr. Bartlett worked in a key Compliance role for Northrop Grumman minimizing risk for the Federal Contractor.

His education includes a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Outside of work, MR. Bartlett is involved in various organizations and activities that support local, state, and Federal law enforcement and first responders.

Paul Calabrese

Mr. Calabrese is a Principal in GRF CPAs & Advisors’ Outsourced Accounting & Advisory Services group, where he brings a successful track record of working with both government contractors and nonprofit organizations. His remarkable career includes positions with the Air Force Audit Agency, Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA), and three government contractors, in addition to 25+ years in public accounting. Mr. Calabrese’s extensive experience with the Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) and CAS disclosure statements, Federal Acquisition Regulation Cost Principals (FAR), and the Uniform Guidance for federal grants, positions him as a sought-after resource and consultant for all facets of federal government contract and grant cost accounting.

Mr. Calabrese has prepared over 40 incurred cost submissions for DOD and USAID. He has also provided indirect rate development, advance agreements, forward pricing reviews, fixed price, T&M and CPFF/CPAF/CPIF cost proposals, defective pricing, billing systems, contract close-outs, compensation, contract brief preparation, voucher reviews, provisional billing rates, SF 1408 audits and prep, and preparation and reviews of DOD business systems for Accounting, Estimating, and Contractor Purchasing System Reviews. His experience also includes interfacing with DCAA and USAID with respect to audit resolution of questioned cost and findings. Paul has worked with law firms and litigation support on contract Request for Equitable Adjustments, Termination for Convenience, and Delay Claims on the Quantum portion of the Settlement Proposal.

Eric Poppe

Eric Poppe is a Partner, Managed Services in Aprio’s Government Contracting Services Group. He is a CPA who works with companies of all sizes in a variety of industries to navigate and develop practical solutions when working with the federal government. Eric particularly enjoys working with organizations who are new to government contracting or emerging businesses. Eric is a strategic advisor that empowers his clients to use new accounting and/or reporting requirements, forecasting, internal controls, or other compliance requirements as a springboard for growth.

Eric has worked with government contractors from various industries, with a focus on professional services, manufacturing, and technology companies. Having spent his career at both Big 4 and other Top 25 firms, Eric brings an exceptional track record in helping companies develop practical solutions to drive growth when working with the government. When working with Eric, clients can expect to feel informed, guided, and supported by using thoughtful, causal, and helpful advisement techniques. His focus is on providing strategic guidance to companies in the areas of budgeting, forecasting, indirect cost rate development, and cost accounting compliance. He has deep expertise in evaluating and enhancing internal controls and business systems to meet regulatory standards, with a strong emphasis on compliance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Service Contract Act, Cost Accounting Standards (CAS), and the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS). He also supports internal audits and compliance & performance audits. Lastly, he has also advised companies during M&A integration activities to ensure alignment of practices with applicable government contracting requirements.

Eric earned a B.S. in Accounting from Virginia Tech. He is a CPA in the state of Virginia and is a member of PSC and NDIA. When he is not at work, Eric loves being outdoors with his family. Most weekends, Eric and his family enjoy their time exploring the mountains of Virginia, and love going to Shenandoah National Park or other parks. They love camping, backpacking, and hiking, and he has a goal of visiting all the National Parks.

Brian Kirk

Brian Kirk, CPA, CISA, Lead CCA is a Director in Cherry Bekaert’s Information Assurance and Cybersecurity practice with extensive experience helping government contractors navigate complex regulatory and compliance requirements. He specializes in Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC), including readiness assessments, scoping, gap analysis, and preparation for Level 2 certification. Brian has worked closely with organizations across the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) to interpret evolving DoD requirements, develop compliant environments, and successfully prepare for third-party assessments. His expertise spans CUI identification and protection, secure cloud enclave design (including Microsoft 365 environments), and aligning business operations with NIST SP 800-171 and CMMC expectations. He is a frequent speaker and advisor on CMMC and government contracting cybersecurity, known for translating complex regulatory requirements into practical, actionable guidance for executives, finance professionals, and IT teams.

Josef Malnik

Josef Malnik is the Director of Growth & Partnerships at R3, bringing over 15 years of experience in IT and business strategy. Having grown alongside the company from an early-stage startup to a $25M+ organization, he has held a range of roles spanning IT engineering, operations, and leadership, giving him a well-rounded perspective on how technology drives business success.

Josef is known for helping organizations simplify IT and adopt secure, cloud-first solutions that support scalability and resilience. He has successfully built and led high-performing client services teams, achieving a 97% client retention rate, and partners closely with leaders to align IT strategy with business goals.

He works with organizations across industries, including nonprofit and associations, government contracting, construction, finance, and healthcare, to improve IT maturity, streamline operations, and enable secure, sustainable growth.

Paula Smithers

Paula is a long-term member of the government contracting community and former CFO of Newbrook Solutions, a technology company which sold two years ago. As a CPA providing mission critical financial solutions, Paula brings deep industry expertise, along with an appreciation for the very heart of the M&A process — due diligence. At Newbrook Paula worked to grow the company over a twenty year period and during the company’s sale to Edgesource Corporation served as Acquisition Manager, consolidating deliverables, removing roadblocks, and ensuring a win-win for both sides of the deal. She partners with business owners seeking a sale or inorganic growth.

“I love the challenge of investment banking,” says Paula. “It’s one of those aspirational aspects of finance that can have a profound effect not just on company growth but on the lives of business leaders.”

“Paula is a dedicated, results-oriented, collaborative leader who thrives on streamlining operations, ensuring compliance, driving profitability, and understanding the federal customer,” says CEO Sharon Heaton.

Ms. Smithers is a Certified Public Accountant and has a BA from the Rochester Institute of Technology. She lives with her family in Northern Virginia and enjoys staying active through running and cycling.

Sirena Johnson

Sirena Johnson is a partner at Citrin Cooperman and leads its Government Contracting Industry Practice. Based in the firm’s DC offices she specializes in providing advisory and accounting services to government contractors, technology companies, and employee benefit plans. A former auditor for 24 years, Johnson has a wide lens when providing advice on finance and strategy matters. She is growth oriented and partners with clients to achieve their goals to scale, sell, and acquire other companies.

Johnson is fluent on a plethora of complex federal regulations, including Small Business Administration (SBA), 8(a), and Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) cost principles and accounting policies for federal government contractors. In addition, she provides various advisory services, including outsourced CFO and accounting services, financial planning and analysis, M&A transactions, pricing for proposals, and implementing compliant accounting systems and overhead allocation methods; prepares incurred cost submissions for the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA); and assists with DCAA accounting system reviews, interfacing with DCAA audits and many more advisory projects. She is also well versed in employee benefit plan matters and regulations.

Ilya Lipin

Ilya is a Principal in BDO’s State and Local Tax practice and serves as the SALT Leader for the Greater Washington, D.C. and Mid-Atlantic markets. He has over 20 years of experience advising clients on multistate income and sales and use taxes, tax controversy, compliance, and state tax issues arising from mergers, acquisitions, and restructuring transactions. Ilya takes a proactive, practical approach to advising clients — helping them identify and manage state and local tax risks while uncovering tax savings and refund opportunities. He works closely with businesses to assess their nexus footprint, evaluate the taxability of products and services, and implement efficient sourcing methodologies to minimize liabilities and strengthen compliance.

Ilya is an adjunct tax professor at Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law Graduate Tax Program. Ilya also regularly publishes articles in the national tax journals and has been a frequent speaker on state and local tax issues, including national seminars and webinars.