Federal Contracts Training Center

Frank J. Beatty, CPA

Mr. Beatty is a Director in the Government Contractor Services practice of Navigant Consulting, Inc. (NCI), in the Vienna, Virginia office. His specialty is advising clients on matters involving government contract regulatory compliance; contract pricing; cost accounting; contractor compliance and ethics programs. Mr. Beatty has over 30 years of government contracting / audit experience gained from working in, and with, domestic and international companies in a variety of industries, including aerospace, defense, telecommunications, information technology, and healthcare.

Professional Experience
Mr. Beatty consults with U.S. Federal Government contractors on complex cost allocability and allowability matters. He assists contractors interpret the Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) and the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) cost principles, prepares CAS Board Disclosure Statements; performs internal control reviews on contractor systems; performs Truth in Negotiations Act (TINA) reviews (defective pricing) and assists contractors develop / restructure their indirect cost systems.

Mr. Beatty also consults with companies in connection with assessing the adequacy of internal processes, controls and self-governance programs. Engagements have included performing CAS and systems internal control self-assessments; evaluating the adequacy and effectiveness of compliance programs; Sarbanes-Oxley compliance reviews; assessing corporate ethics / hotline programs. Systems reviews include assessing labor charging practices; project cost accounting structures; indirect cost accounting practices; contract administration system; billing system, purchasing; and cost estimating systems.

Mr. Beatty directed the corporate compliance function in a Fortune 50 automotive / aerospace company (Chrysler Corporation) and a U.K. Financial Times 20 automotive / aerospace company (Lucas/Varity plc). He also served as the Director of Internal Audit at a Fortune 500 telecommunications provider (Contel Corporation). In these roles, he initiated audits of high-risk areas related to Government contracting and worked with both inside and outside counsel in reviews of contractual and compliance-related matters. He also served as the Chairman of the Business Ethics Committee at Chrysler Corporation.

Mr. Beatty consults with contractors and their legal counsel in matters of alleged fraud, qui tam disclosures and other misconduct matters. He assists in determining the nature and extent of the damages and provides recommendations to improve internal controls. He works with contractors who have been proposed for debarment and are working under an Administrative Agreement with U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Defense officials.

Mr. Beatty prepares contractor cost proposals, re-designs cost allocation systems, and supports government audits and negotiations. He assists large commercial companies in preparing their accounting requirements necessary to obtain, or maintain Government contracts.

Mr. Beatty served as Project Director (KPMG LLP) in the attestation audits of cost-based Managed Care Organizations for the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. He led the audit efforts of more than 100 cost reports for proper reimbursement - totaling more than $1.5 billion in reviewed expenditures. More 52,000 hours of effort provided to the client.

Mr. Beatty works with clients in the development of their annual incurred cost proposals to be submitted to the Defense Contract Audit Agency. He also conducts cost accounting standards compliance reviews and internal control assessments (self-audits) for contractors.

Mr. Beatty also provides regulatory consulting services, including proposal preparation assistance, including Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs) in their work efforts for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and related government audit matters (DCAA, HHS OIG, A-122 and A-133 efforts). He has worked with several law firms in healthcare “qui tam” related matters. Mr. Beatty works with several Native Tribal American and Native Alaskan Tribal organizations in their regulatory and government audit matters - including Hurricane Katrina / FEMA audit issues. Mr. Beatty assisted in the development of a Compliance Manual for the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Advanced Technology Program.

Mr. Beatty instructs training seminars for contractors on varied matters such as Basics of Government Contracting, Cost Accounting Standards, Federal Acquisition Regulation cost principles, labor charging and indirect cost accounting. He has authored several articles on Government contracting matters.
 

Mitchell R. Plank, CPA

Mr. Plank is an Associate Director with the Government Contractor Services practice of Navigant Consulting, Inc. (NCI), resident in the firm’s Vienna, Virginia office. Prior to joining NCI, he worked as an auditor with a major international public accounting firm as well as an internal auditor for local government. Mr. Plank’s clients have included government and commercial contractors in a wide range of industries, including information technology, shipbuilding, healthcare, professional services, and engineering

Professional Experience
Mr. Plank has experience in several fields, including government contracts, audit, and fraud investigation. In the government contracts field, he has reviewed, analyzed, and constructed multiple incurred cost and forward pricing rate proposals, consulted with clients regarding cost accounting matters, including compliance with Cost Accounting Standards and Federal Acquisition Regulation cost principles, and performed an operational assessment and redesign of a government contractor’s business service functions. He has audited financial statements, performed various operational and cost assessments, and assessed the adequacy of internal controls in accordance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. In the field of fraud investigations, Mr. Plank has assisted in performing forensic accounting investigations on matters requiring discovery of financial data.

Mr. Plank has assisted a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing firm in multiple facets of their Public Services practice. He has reviewed, revised, and created multiple incurred cost proposals and multiple forward pricing rate proposals across several segments. He has also managed multiple staff and client resources in performing the booked to billed reconciliation process for numerous cost type contracts in coordination with the incurred cost proposal. He has assisted with retroactive and prospective cost impacts. He has assisted with various DCAA compliance and audit requests. In addition, he has consulted regarding cost accounting matters, including compliance with Cost Accounting Standards and Federal Acquisition Regulation cost principles.

Mr. Plank assisted a government contractor in performing an operational assessment and redesign of their various business service functions. In this regard, he helped conduct a detailed review of contracts (government and commercial), billing, procurement, pricing, government accounting, and finance organizations and assess their performance against industry best practices. Building upon the understanding obtained in the assessment, he helped develop a transition plan addressing the gaps identified. Mr. Plank assisted in the various transition plan activities, including mapping out new business processes, updating roles and responsibilities for each functional organization, standing up a new project control organization, and supporting management in staffing the organizations appropriately.

Mr. Plank audited contract revenue and accounts receivable for a large systems integrator in connection with its quarterly and year-end financial statement preparation. He worked with key project and finance personnel to ensure adjustments were properly booked to the general ledger on an individual contract basis to accurately state revenue.

Mr. Plank has audited the financial statements of government contractors and other companies with annual revenues ranging from $10 million to $2 billion, and he has consulted on other complex financial reporting and accounting issues. He has also conducted accounting research to improve his clients’ accounting procedures and to help ensure proper compliance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).

Mr. Plank has analyzed and assessed internal controls of both public and private organizations to ensure procedures are appropriately designed, operating effectively, and in accordance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. He documented critical business processes, evaluated the related controls, indentified control deficiencies, and worked with the client to develop and implement best practice solutions.

Additionally, Mr. Plank has experience performing forensic accounting investigations on matters requiring discovery of financial data. He has performed investigations into allegations of accounting irregularities and financial statement fraud. These efforts involved reviewing complex revenue recognition calculations and assessing the realizability of certain assets. Furthermore, he has assisted clients in investigating and quantifying the impact of fraudulent financial reporting and assessing the related internal control implications as a basis for taking corrective action.

As an internal auditor, Mr. Plank reviewed various county contracts and their related operational processes, and then identified control deficiencies and lost revenue to the county during various operational audits. In addition, he performed yearly budget duties and completed various financial audits involving inventory and cash counts.