GovCon Wednesdays
Estimated Read Time: 5 minutes
After reviewing your accounting system, reconciling accounts, and confirming compliance under ASC 606 and ASC 842, it’s time to close the loop by reviewing your contract status reports and submitting final data to your tax professionals and auditors.
This step connects your operational data to your financial statements, ensuring everything aligns before filings or audits begin.
Why It Matters
For government contractors, accurate contract status reporting is the bridge between accounting and project management. It shows how much revenue you’ve billed, what’s still unbilled, and what remains in backlog.
Tax professionals and auditors rely on this data to:
- Verify revenue recognition timing under ASC 606.
- Reconcile unbilled revenue and costs to the general ledger.
- Validate indirect rate applications and project allocations.
- Ensure contract balances match accounting records.
Submitting clean, organized data early helps your advisors work efficiently reducing turnaround time, questions, and audit findings.
Step 1: Review Your Contract Status Report
Start by generating your Contract Status Report (CSR) from your accounting or ERP system such as Unanet, Deltek, or QuickBooks.
Confirm that it includes:
- Total contract value (funded and unfunded amounts).
- Revenue recognized to date.
- Amounts billed and unbilled.
- Direct costs and indirect allocations.
- Remaining backlog or work in progress.
Review each project line by line. Identify any discrepancies between the CSR and your general ledger especially in revenue, billed/unbilled accounts, or indirect cost pools.
✅ Tip: Pay attention to projects where costs were incurred but not billed. Adjustments here prevent understated revenue or missed invoices.
Step 2: Verify Indirect Rate Applications
Indirect costs fringe, overhead, and G&A must be allocated consistently across contracts. Review how these rates were applied throughout the year and ensure that your final allocations match your Provisional Billing Rate (PBR) and budgeted cost structure.
If adjustments were made mid-year, document them clearly so your auditor or tax preparer understands why rates changed.
Step 3: Submit Data Packages to Your Advisors
Once your CSR and indirect rates are reviewed, compile your data submission package for your tax professional and auditor.
Include:
- Trial balance and general ledger
- Contract status report (final)
- Indirect rate calculations and cost pool summaries
- Fixed asset and depreciation schedules
- Lease schedules (ASC 842)
- Supporting documentation for unbilled revenue or deferred costs
Submitting a complete, organized data package early allows your advisors to prepare filings faster — and reduces back-and-forth requests in January and February.
Organized Data = Faster, Easier Audits
Clean, reconciled contract data is the hallmark of a professional close.
By reviewing your contract status reports and submitting data packages early, you strengthen audit readiness, improve transparency, and make life easier for everyone — from your CPA to your contracting officer.
VSINGH CPA helps GovCons organize, reconcile, and present accurate data for smooth year-end closings and DCAA-compliant audits.
👉 Check out our YouTube Shorts for quick GovCon year-end tips: https://www.youtube.com/@vsinghcpallc
Coming Up in the GovCon Year-End Closing Series
- ✅Tip #1: Know Your Accounting System & Year-End Checklist
- ✅Tip #2: Communicate Early with Tax Professionals & Auditors
- ✅Tip #3: Reconcile and Analyze Accounts
- ✅Tip #4: Validate Revenue & Lease Entries (ASC 606 & ASC 842)
- ✅Tip #5: Prepare 1099s & Charitable Contributions
- ✅Tip #6: Review Contract Status Reports & Submit Data to Tax/Audit Teams
- 7️⃣Tip #7: Final Wrap-Up — Year-End Complete, What’s Next?