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Is Your Middle Market GovCon Finance Function Deal-Ready?

A free 15-minute scored assessment across the six domains that determine whether your GovCon company is positioned to grow, compete for contracts, and eventually exit at a premium multiple.

24Questions
6Domains
15 minTo complete
FreeNo email required

What the diagnostic assesses

The GovCon CFO Readiness Diagnostic scores your company's finance function across the six domains that PE buyers and strategic acquirers examine in every GovCon diligence process. That DCAA auditors examine in every pre-award survey.

  • Domain 01
    DCAA Compliance
    Timekeeping adequacy, cost principle compliance, incurred cost submissions, audit readiness
  • Domain 02
    Overhead charged to a contract Architecture
    Pool structure, allocation methodology, provisional vs. final rate management
  • Domain 03
    Contract Economics
    Contract-level P&Ls, fee discipline, pricing strategy, margin visibility
  • Domain 04
    Work sold and not yet delivered Quality
    Funded vs. unfunded backlog, recompete exposure, past performance documentation
  • Domain 05
    Finance Infrastructure
    ERP configuration, close cycle, management reporting, cash forecasting, team capacity
  • Domain 06
    Exit Readiness
    Audited financials, EBITDA bridge, virtual data room, key person dependency

How to read your score

70–100
Strong foundation. Address the gaps to optimize for the next capital event.
45–69
Meaningful gaps present.
0–44
Significant exposure. An immediate CFO engagement is recommended before any capital event.

GovCon CFO Readiness Diagnostic

24 questions · 6 domains · 15 minutes · Free

Rate your company's finance function across 24 statements on a 4-point scale. Receive an instant scored report with priority findings and a recommended action plan.

No email address required. No sales follow-up unless you choose to share results with the Averan Advisors team.

Begin Diagnostic Email Scott Engler

GovCon CFO Practice Lead

Scott Engler leads Averan Advisors's GovCon practice, 27 years of success across PE-backed and founder-owned government contracting businesses, including multiple successful exits.

scott@averanadvisors.com

Learn about GovCon CFO services

Related pages

Fractional CFO for GovCon Path-to-Sale: Fix the Gaps Interim CFO Deployment Scott Engler GovCon Insights

About the diagnostic

What does the GovCon CFO Readiness Diagnostic assess?
The diagnostic assesses your company's finance function across six domains: DCAA compliance, indirect rates architecture, contract economics, backlog quality, finance infrastructure, and exit readiness. Each domain is scored and produces a priority finding that tells you exactly what to address first to prepare for growth or a transaction.
How long does the diagnostic take?
Approximately 15 minutes. The diagnostic includes 24 questions across 6 domains, each rated on a 4-point scale from Not in Place to Fully in Place. Results are immediate.
What score should a GovCon company aim for?
A score of 70 or above across all six domains indicates a strong finance foundation. Scores between 45 and 70 indicate meaningful gaps that should be addressed before a capital event or transaction. Scores below 45 indicate significant exposure, an immediate CFO engagement is recommended before approaching any investor, buyer, or lender.
Who should take this diagnostic?
The diagnostic is designed for GovCon founders, CEOs, and CFOs at companies between $10M and $250M in revenue. It is also used by PE sponsors to assess the finance function of a new platform company post-close, and by GovCon CFOs to establish a baseline at the start of a new engagement. The diagnostic is most valuable when a company is within 18 to 36 months of a planned transaction, recapitalization, or significant growth event.

Related pages

Fractional CFO for GovCon Path-to-Sale: Fix the Gaps Interim CFO Deployment Scott Engler GovCon Insights

Questions we get asked

What does the GovCon CFO Readiness Diagnostic assess?

The GovCon CFO Readiness Diagnostic assesses your company's finance function across six domains. DCAA compliance, indirect rates architecture, contract economics, backlog quality, finance infrastructure, and exit readiness. Each domain is scored from 1 to 100 and produces a priority finding that tells you exactly what to address first.

How long does the GovCon CFO Readiness Diagnostic take?

The GovCon CFO Readiness Diagnostic takes approximately 15 minutes to complete. It includes 24 questions across 6 domains, each rated on a 4-point scale from Not in Place to Fully in Place.

What score should a GovCon company have on the CFO Readiness Diagnostic?

A score of 70 or above across all six domains indicates a strong finance foundation. Scores between 45 and 70 indicate meaningful gaps that should be addressed before a capital event or transaction. Scores below 45 indicate significant exposure, an immediate CFO engagement is recommended before approaching any investor, buyer, or lender.

What this raises, and who handles it

The handbook explains the requirement. These pages are the work behind it.

If you want this done for you

What happens next

Knowing the requirement is one thing. Having a finance function that meets it every month, through an audit and through a sale, is the work.

  1. The call, twenty minutesYou describe the business and where the numbers are letting you down. We tell you honestly whether we can help, and what we would start with. No pitch deck.
  2. We look at the fileYou give us read access to the books as they are. We come back with what is wrong, what it will take to fix, and whether the answer is bookkeeping, controller work, or something else.
  3. A written scope and a priceWhat we do each month, what you get, the date it lands, and the fee. Agreed before anything starts, and it does not move without you agreeing it.
  4. Transition, then the first closeAccess, systems, and the opening balances. The first close lands on the date in the scope, and every one after it does too.
Start with the call →How an engagement runs

Averan is not a CPA firm and does not file taxes. Your CPA keeps that, and we keep the books they file from.

Run the assessment

What the finance function is worth to a buyer, and where the value leaks. Nothing is saved unless you ask for the result in writing.

Run the assessment →