FOCUS RESOURCES
Services
Build the systems that protect your funding and support your growth.
We work with your team to develop daily compliance through education, tools, training, and other services.
What we put in place
Audit-ready financial operations
The books have to show what the award paid for, who did the work, and which costs never belonged in the rate. We guide you to set up the structure before a finding forces the cleanup.
- Chart of accounts and project accounting that separate award costs from the rest of the company
- Timekeeping that is contemporaneous, by person and by project, and tied to payroll
- Indirect-rate support: pools, bases, unallowable costs kept out, and a rate you can explain
- Documentation and an audit trail that can be produced without reconstructing the month
SBIR/STTR compliance processes
Phase I through Phase II and beyond. The process has to match the agency, the instrument, and how the work is actually done.
- Allowable-cost rules applied to labor, consultants, materials, travel, and subcontractors
- Effort reporting, subaward and vendor controls, and invoice support that traces to the ledger
- Policies and procedures a reviewer expects to see — and that the team will follow
- Foreign-risk, export, and registration issues that can stop an award or a payment
Guidance, tools, and day-to-day references live on SBIR Basics. Implementation of the system lives here.
Go to SBIR Basics and Beyond website for resources and tools.
Commercialization discipline
A commercialization plan that does not match the books is a finding waiting to happen, and a weak story for the next award.
- Milestone tracking tied to the funded scope
- Customer, partner, and market evidence the company can actually support
- Financial plans that connect technical work to a path beyond the award
How an engagement runs
We do not hand over a template and leave. The work is built around your award stage, agency, and current books, then we work with your team to build and execute.
Before you submit
Key elements include budget structure, cost allowability, registration status, and the accounting setup required for a Phase II or cost-type award. The proposal budget should reflect your business and describe a system you can operate.
Award setup
Each award adds complexity, so project codes, labor charging, indirect rates, subaward files, and invoice support must be in place from day one. It is far better to invest in setting up correctly than to incur the higher costs for redesign and clean-up later. This is the cheapest time to build the system.
When a review is already in motion
Desk review, site visit, incurred-cost question, or audit. We identify what the record supports, what must be rebuilt, and how to respond without creating a second problem.
What the work covers
- Proposal review and budget development
- Accounting system setup for government-funded projects
- Indirect rate calculation and support
- Policies, procedures, and internal controls
- Timekeeping and labor-charging design
- Invoice, drawdown, and financial-report support
- Subaward and consultant file requirements
- Audit preparation and response
- Commercialization planning tied to the financial record
Related advisory
Some companies need the compliance, funding, and core business systems, and a narrower operating problem solved at the same time. These stay inside the same discipline: protect the money, and build a company that can grow past the award.
Funding-ready company setup
For founders preparing a first award or a first outside round. Business model, financial plan, and the operating basics an agency or an investor will test.
- Financial planning and a forecast the award budget can sit inside
- Operating rhythm: who approves costs, who owns the books, who signs the invoice
- Funding readiness that does not outrun the accounting system
Financial leadership without a full-time hire
Executive-level finance oversight for a funded company that is not ready for a full-time CFO. Reporting, rate support, and board or investor communication, scoped to the award and the company.
- Financial oversight and reporting
- Budgeting against the funded scope
- Capital and cash decisions that do not compromise the award
Specialized services
The same expertise, used outside a consulting engagement.
Board service and board training
Lea A. Strickland serves on boards and advisory panels, and trains boards on compliance, financial management, fiduciary duty, and strategy. The work is most useful where government funding, IP, or a commercialization milestone is on the agenda.
- Private companies and government contractors
- SBIR/STTR companies and university spinouts
- Nonprofits with federal awards
Expert witness
Finance, accounting, contract compliance, and federal-award matters for counsel who need the record explained, not summarized.
- Forensic financial analysis
- Contract and award compliance
- Business operations and damages
- SBIR/STTR and federal grant compliance
- Fraud and mismanagement questions
Media commentary
Broadcast, print, and digital commentary on small business, federal funding, compliance, and the operating reality behind an award.
Start with the exposure
If you are preparing a proposal, standing up a new award, or bracing for review, start with a consultation. We will look at where the company and funding are exposed and what has to be built to protect it.
919-234-3960