TeraThink’s service offerings and core capabilities are built upon a foundation of technical expertise coupled with deep functional domain experience in the areas of finance, human capital, and supply chain management. Our consultants possess specialized knowledge of the intricacies of administrative management functions performed by our customers, including the federal government. TeraThink promotes a culture of continual learning, providing the tools and resources to our staff to obtain relevant industry certifications and develop career-enhancing skill sets in each of the following domains:

Audit Readiness
The Chief Financial Officers Act (CFO Act) of 1990 (Public Law 101-576) provides a foundation for comprehensive reform of federal financial management. The act establishes a leadership structure, provides for long-range planning, requires audited financial statements, and strengthens accountability reporting. Federal financial managers, auditors, and program managers at all levels of government are affected as agencies take actions required under the CFO Act to improve financial management systems and information.

Despite good intentions and past efforts to improve federal financial management systems, many agencies still struggle with CFO Act compliance and overall audit readiness. In this day and age of shrinking operational budgets and re-focusing of key resources on “tooth” versus “tail” activities, it is not uncommon for audit readiness and overall financial management improvements to be short-changed. Thus, having the right resources with the right strategy in place is key to best utilize scarce resources and focus the audit-readiness mission.

TeraThink consultants understand what it means to be audit ready. Many of our consultants have extensive experience both (1) conducting federal financial statement audits and (2) assisting federal agencies with implementing financial management improvements and achieving audit readiness.

Acquisition Strategy Support
A key element to the success of any program is the development of a thorough and effective acquisition strategy. The acquisition strategy is a comprehensive, integrated plan that identifies the acquisition approach and describes the business, technical, and support strategies that management will follow to manage program risks and meet program objectives. The acquisition strategy should define the relationship between the acquisition phases and work efforts, and key program events such as decision points, reviews, contract awards, test activities, production lot/delivery quantities, and operational deployment objectives. The acquisition strategy also defines the approach to provide maximum practicable opportunities to small business, including small disadvantaged business, women-owned small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled small business and Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone).

TeraThink understands that an effective aquisition strategy is one that guides program execution across the entire program life cycle. The strategy evolves over time and should continuously reflect the current status and desired end point of the program.

TeraThink consultants have extensive background in developing and supporting the execution of effective acquisition strategies for multiple Federal Civilian and DoD clients.

Business Process Re-engineering and Standardization
Business process reengineering (BPR) began as a private sector technique to help organizations fundamentally rethink how they do their work in order to dramatically improve customer service, cut operational costs, and become world-class competitors. A key stimulus for reengineering has been the continuing development and deployment of sophisticated information systems and networks. Leading organizations are becoming bolder in using this technology to support innovative business processes, rather than refining current ways of doing work. Not surprisingly, BPR has captured the interest of federal agencies, which are faced with an urgent need to reduce costs and improve service to the American public.

TeraThink leverages a proven approach to BPR and standardization called TRANSFORM—which focuses on aligning business processes and operations to business systems in a way that maximizes off-the-shelf methods and minimizes the need for system customizations.

Performance Management Improvement
In the age of shrinking operational budgets, it is essential that federal agencies maximize the return on all investment resources. Further, performance improvements are a key desired outcome of any business modernization effort.

TeraThink consultants therefore understand that an effective Performance Management Improvement strategy starts by defining the agency’s mission and strategic goals, cascading those goals down into agency business operations in a way that maximizes the return on invested resources and leverages processes that deliver the desired outcomes.

IV&V and Risk Management
Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) activities are critical to the success of long-range, complex programs. A key element of TeraThink’s IV&V success is utilizing seasoned veterans experienced with managing large, complex programs, who can provide best practices, lessons learned, and proven methodologies to guide federal agencies in their implementation efforts.

Through our IV&V support, we provide an independent and unbiased perspective of all aspects of the project. The primary purpose of this activity is to provide our clients with an objective and independent assessment of the inherent risks of the project and the effectiveness of controls planned or implemented to mitigate them, so as to assist management to control the risks associated with their project.

Through IV&V efforts, risks will continually be monitored and actions will be taken to mitigate the identified risks from critical levels to lower levels. Risk review meetings will be held on a recurring basis with senior level executives and other appropriate stakeholders.