Defense and aerospace finance operates under a unique set of rules — government contract accounting, DCAA audit exposure, cost accounting standards, overhead rate negotiations, and the intersection of manufacturing cost systems with federal compliance requirements. Apex understands all of it.
Defense and aerospace companies face financial management requirements unlike any other industry. Beyond standard manufacturing cost accounting, you must navigate DCAA audit exposure, indirect cost rate structures, cost accounting standards (CAS), government contract cost principles (FAR Part 31), and the scrutiny of prime contractors and government contracting officers.
Our team has several decades of experience as executives of publicly traded manufacturing companies in the aerospace and defense industry, supplying mission-critical products to the U.S. military and prime contractors. In those roles we managed standard cost accounting, capitalized variance analysis, overhead rate development and validation, ERP reconciliation, and direct interface with the external audit team.
We work with defense and aerospace companies — from small defense subcontractors to mid-size manufacturers with government prime contracts — who need a financial leadership partner with hands-on experience in this unique environment. If your auditors are asking about your overhead pools, your ERP is not producing the reports your contracts require, or you are preparing for a transaction — we are the CFO you have been looking for.
"Defense finance is not just manufacturing finance with a different customer. The compliance overlay, audit exposure, and contract structure require a CFO who has lived it."
Develop, validate, and defend your indirect cost rate structure — FOH, VOH, G&A, and fringe — against your actual cost pools and allocation bases.
Build and maintain a standard cost system that accurately captures direct labor, direct material, and overhead — producing reliable job-level cost and variance data.
Reconcile and validate your capitalized variance accounts — ensuring your balance sheet correctly reflects the difference between absorbed and actual manufacturing costs.
Prepare the documentation, accounting policies, and cost accounting practices that DCAA auditors require — reducing audit risk and protecting contract profitability.
Epicor, Oracle, Deltek, SAP — we reconcile your ERP cost data to your GL and produce the financial reporting your contracts and auditors require.
Implement FAR Part 31 compliant cost accounting practices — allowable vs. unallowable costs, direct vs. indirect cost segregation, and contract-level profitability tracking.
Prepare workpapers, reconciliations, and supporting schedules that survive rigorous external audit scrutiny from Deloitte, PwC, KPMG, or EY.
Defense consolidation is active. We prepare sellers with audit-ready books and government contract disclosures — and help buyers evaluate defense targets with the diligence they require.
Our team has led standard cost accounting, variance analysis, and Big Four audit support inside defense manufacturing — the cost discipline contractors and their auditors expect.
Buy-side and sell-side advisory across $5M to $15M deals — due diligence, QofE, deal structuring, and post-merger financial integration.
We support PE-backed and investor-owned companies with investor reporting, covenant compliance, and value creation tracking.
We have run finance for multi-entity energy and construction companies with complex project-level accounting, including large, multi-team finance functions.
We work directly with Big Four audit teams, building the financial infrastructure and documentation that holds up under rigorous external scrutiny.
Experience across Epicor, Oracle, SAP, NetSuite, and Anaplan — implementing and optimizing ERP systems for accurate, timely financial reporting.
Whether you are preparing for a DCAA audit, need to clean up your cost accounting system, or are considering a transaction — we bring the hands-on defense finance experience you need.
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