World Housing Solution

World Housing Solution’s (WHS’s) cutting-edge shelter construction filled an important gap for the U.S. Department of Defense. But earning the government contract meant WHS now needed specialized bookkeeping services. With expertise in Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) compliance standards, Supporting Strategies was the perfect fit.

Client Profile

WHS President and CEO Ron Ben-Zeev founded WHS in Sanford, Florida in 2011 to provide “expeditionary solutions” to problems ranging from refugee crises to natural disasters to rapid military deployments. The firm manufactures proprietary modular shelters that can be erected quickly without special training, special tools or level ground.

Overcoming Logistical Challenges

As a small, agile company, WHS is well-positioned to respond to emergencies quickly. After Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, for example, WHS delivered three mobile medical clinics to the island: general medical with X-ray and telemedicine; obstetrics/gynecology and pediatric; and dental.

Navigating the complex world of government contracts called for a different kind of responsiveness, however. The DCAA, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) all have detailed reporting requirements that contractors must meet to remain in compliance. “Once you are a government subcontractor, you have to run all of your accounting through a DCCA system regardless of whether it’s a commercial sale or a government sale,” says WHS Director of Administration Michelle Theodoseau. “Our original accounting firm did not have the experience that these very specialized government contracts require.”

“With Supporting Strategies, we have a subject matter expert that we can rely on 100% to get the right answer for whatever questions we have.”
Michelle Theodoseau, Director of Administration, World Housing Solution

Supporting Strategies to the Rescue

Connections through the Central Florida business network led WHS to Jim Rice, Managing Director of Supporting Strategies | Orlando & Rochester. “We started working with Supporting Strategies solely as a resource for DCAA compliance,” Theodoseau says. “But we quickly realized that there’s more to DCCA compliance than just keeping your books.”

Besides setting up a chart of accounts and an accounting manual that were calibrated to government specifications, Supporting Strategies also helped WHS log its intellectual property and trademarks as on-the-books assets.

Moreover, Supporting Strategies offered invaluable input on bid proposals. “We worked together on costing and budgeting for a specific project, and things like overhead rates and allowable costs based on government standards,” Theodoseau says. “Supporting Strategies developed a budgeting spreadsheet that required a different format from a standard proposal. We would really have struggled with that on our own.”

Always at the Ready

Knowing that Supporting Strategies is on call to handle compliance issues allows WHS to focus all of its resources on its core mission. “That’s a huge weight off of the business administration and the company executives at a small business like ours,” Theodoseau says. “There are so many questions along the way regarding issues that are government-specific; it can be a nightmare to figure out how to do your bids and your proposals properly. Their inside knowledge really helps us respond better to RFQs and RFPs.

“With Supporting Strategies, we have a subject matter expert that we can rely on 100% to get the right answer for whatever questions we have.”

“We started working with Supporting Strategies solely as a resource for DCAA compliance. But we quickly realized that there’s more to DCCA compliance than just keeping your books.”
Michelle Theodoseau, Director of Administration, World Housing Solution