April 20th

Being audited by the DCAA is a necessary outcome of doing business with the government. Tune into this week’s Gov Con Straight Talk with Microsoft to learn what to expect during a DCAA system audit and what government contactors can do today to help ensure they successfully pass when faced with an audit. The panel will also address how CFOs of government contractors can set their organizations up for success by building a financial management foundation with growth options in out years.

Guests:

Christine Zmuda– Government Contractor Engagement Manager, Microsoft
Ken Bricker– Senior Parnter, Government Contracting Services Group
Bernard Mustafa– CEO, Pleasant Valley Business Solutions (PVBS)

About the Guests:

Christine Zmuda
Government Contractor Engagement Manager
Microsoft

In her 14 year tenure, Christine Zmuda has held several leadership and individual contributor positions at Microsoft. A pioneer at heart, much of her focus has been in early phase businesses at Microsoft. In the late nineties, Ms. Zmuda was part of a small team that brought Microsoft’s first software as a service offering to market effectively growing that business to $75M in three years. Ms. Zmuda went on to lead the Midatlantic Platform business which was a $220M business with the focus of growing the midmarket infrastructure and applications installed base. In her current role, Ms. Zmuda leads the Microsoft Dynamics Strategy for financial management and contract management for government contractors. In this capacity, Ms. Zmuda works with the Microsoft product teams and extended partner solution provider teams to ensure Microsoft Dynamics meets the unique requirements of government cost accounting. Ms. Zmuda also leads much of the government community based efforts to include executive events as well as a blog for Government Contractors.

Prior to Microsoft, Ms. Zmuda was employed by Mobil Oil prior to the Exxon acquisition. At Mobil Oil, MS. Zmuda worked on one of the first EDI projects which automated inventory payments for US based company owned service stations. Her last position at Mobil involved working on several technology programs oriented at improving the customer experience like the Mobil Speed Pass, which remains a differentiator for Mobil Oil today.

Ms. Zmuda is a graduate of Michigan State University (B.A. degree) and American University (M.B.A.) Ms. Zmuda is a member of Secaf.org, Women in Technology, and the Professional Services Council. Ms. Zmuda also holds a board position on the Technology Council of Maryland.

Ken Bricker
Senior Parnter
Government Contracting Services Group

Ken has worked in the government-contracting and acquisitions arena since 1975. He has private sector experience as a Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer of a government contractor, as well as government experience as a Senior Auditor for the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA).

Ken has served as a guest instructor at the Defense Contract Audit Institute and has been a contributing writer to the Defense Contract Audit Manual (DCAM). He is a lecturer on many conferences for the Government Contracting Institute and American Graduate University and is adjunct faculty for Old Dominion University and George Washington University through ESI International.

He has extensive knowledge of the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and the Cost Accounting Standards (CAS). Ken frequently assists clients (Regular Corporations, S-Corps, Partnerships, Limited Liability Corporations, Joint Ventures) with regulatory issues such as systems reviews (accounting, estimating, purchasing, billing), bids and proposals, rate structure development, forward pricing, wage determinations, claims (equitable adjustment, delay, termination), defective pricing, and incurred cost submissions.

Bernard Mustafa
CEO
Pleasant Valley Business Solutions (PVBS)

Bernard Mustafa is the Chief Executive Officer of Pleasant Valley Business Solutions (PVBS). He is responsible for company operations, policy, customer programs and corporate strategy. Prior to joining PVBS, Bernard was President of Copia Enterprises which provided financial and technology consulting services to federal government agencies and commercial clients. Prior to Copia, he was the Chief Operating Officer at Standard Technology Inc., a government contractor with 200 employees in 16 states and was a director at the American Express Tax & Business Service, leading the Rockville office of American Express’s accounting and consulting division. Bernard also was the director of the Chemistry Division and Finance and Administration for Corning Hazleton. Bernard holds a BS in Accounting from the University of Baltimore, an MBA in Finance from the Morgan State University, has served in the United States Army, and is a certified public accountant.

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