Government Contract Compliance Experts to Host Panel at Larger Market Participant Summit

WASHINGTON, District of Columbia – As the buzz around the insideARM 2016 Larger Market Participant Summit grows, conference registrants and those considering registering who have interests in government and higher education markets should consider the breakout session entitled Best Practices in Gov’t & Higher Ed Contracting Compliance: A New Era in “Getting it Right.” This session will be held on Friday, April 22, 2016, and will discuss current and proposed regulations affecting government and higher education contractors, including best practices in areas to include:

• The Service Contract Act;
• The proposed rule exempting Federal debts from general prohibitions in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) against calling cell phones using autodialers;
• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs issues;
• Federal subcontracting regulations for prime and subcontractors;
• IRS Publication 1075, Tax Information Security Guidelines for Federal, State and Local Agencies;
• The role of compliance in gaining clients in these markets; and,
• Other audience-driven topics.

Moderators will include Larry Laskey, Vice President & General Counsel at Windham Professionals, Timothy M. Sullivan, President of HS Financial Group, and Nick Bernardo, Managing Member of Fed Cetera.

Mr. Laskey has been active in the industry for over 19 years. Since October 2010, he has worked in his capacity as an attorney to help Windham implement changes affecting the student loan industry, providing concise analyses of new and pending laws, regulations and interpretations. Larry has developed strong working relationships, particularly within the student loan industry, assisting in the development of manuals and related materials implementing administrative processes unique to federal student loan programs, and participating in the federal negotiated rulemaking process.  Larry is a member of the ACA International’s Members Attorney Program. He is a subject matter expert and frequent conference presenter in areas such as the FDCPA, TCPA, Higher Education Act and privacy rights. Windham Professionals is a U.S. Department of Education (ED) Private Collection Agency (PCA), and also has experience on numerous state and local government contracts.

Mr. Sullivan, also an attorney, serves as collections special counsel to the Ohio Attorney General. In this capacity he has extensive experience handling non-bankruptcy and bankruptcy collections matters involving dozens of different State departments. HS Financial Group also serves as a Federal subcontractor on the ED PCA initiative.

Mr. Bernardo assists in the operation of Fed Cetera, a business development organization whose purpose is to promote the Fed Cetera Network, a group of more than 50 mainly small businesses seeking to participate on Federal contracts as subcontractors.  Mr. Bernardo consults with prime contractors and subcontractors on compliance topics related to Federal subcontracting, while advising small businesses on how best to access Federal subcontracting opportunities.

About Windham Professionals

Windham Professionals innovates, improves and advances our client’s business through Business Process Services that span the entire order-to-cash life cycle while providing cost reductions and increased efficiencies. Windham also provides exceptional customer contact services that extend customer loyalty and grow revenues. Our focus on experience, knowledge and teamwork start with each and every employee and extend through our long-term relationships with our clients.  Established in 1982, Windham is based out of Salem, New Hampshire with offices located throughout the United States.

About HS Financial Group

HS Financial Group and its affiliated law firm are performance-driven, certified Veteran-Owned Small Businesses that have earned a reputation for Professional, Ethical, and Excellent debt collection services. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, HS Financial Group is an existing U.S. Education Department subcontractor. We feature extensive student loan and government collections experience. Since 2000, our collection specialists and full staff of legal and administrative support personnel have been dedicated to ensuring that our clients receive superior service. We strive for quick and efficient recovery of your delinquent accounts and we maintain a personal working relationship with every client, and will do the same with you.

About Fed Cetera

Fed Cetera helps companies in the collection industry pursue opportunities with the Federal government.  Federal PCAs have strong incentives to give a portion of their core collections work to qualified small businesses.  Companies working with Fed Cetera to pursue subcontracting opportunities recently surpassed $50,000,000 in total billings for their work provided as subcontractors to ED PCAs.