Monday, September 15, 2008

The ups and downs in the federal contracting world often depend on what's going on in the government, a fact of life that companies regularly acknowledge in their annual reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This year, in addition to their standard warnings, some companies are flagging for investors the possible consequences of changes in the White House or Congress.

Footnoted.org, a blog that focuses on details found in SEC filings, pointed to what CACI International of Arlington said in its annual report, filed Aug. 27:

"With presidential and Congressional elections being held later this calendar year, it is likely that there will be political appointees, as well as others closely aligned to the current administration, who will be leaving government early as their potential job prospects in a new administration will likely diminish. Vacancies in key positions can have the impact of slowing the decision process around procurements and contract awards."

That got us thinking. What do other contractors say? Here's a sample:

In its annual report, ManTech International of Fairfax cautioned that its finances can be affected by changes "in Presidential administrations and senior federal government officials that affect the timing of technology procurement," as well as "in federal government policy or budgetary measures that adversely affect government contracts in general."

SRA International of Fairfax warned that changes "in spending authorizations and budgeting priorities could occur due to changes in the number and intensity of political conflicts, including the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the significant relief and recovery costs associated with natural disasters, the rapid growth of the federal budget deficit, increasing political pressure to reduce overall levels of government spending, or other factors."

-- Terri Rupar