The government shutdown playbook: cash flow, communication and recovery

"Which unfortunately means that government contractors have plans to dust off in the event of a shutdown or a short-term bill to keep agencies open before the Tuesday midnight deadline. Everything that should be included in those to-do lists can be found in our article from last week here. Here is another one for companies to do: call your bankers, lenders or other financial institution partners to have an honest conversation about current events."

"Stephanie Kostro, president of the Professional Services Council, told reporters in a Monday briefing that the trade group representing GovCon companies encouraged members to talk with financial institutions about items like cash flow and lines of credit. PSC held a briefing with members on Sept. 2 to tell companies to "make sure that you have sufficient cash to continue to pay your employees and to run your business," Kostro said."

Four full federal shutdowns have occurred since 1995, and a 35-day partial shutdown occurred in December 2018–January 2019. Every federal fiscal year since 1996 has started with at least one continuing resolution except 1997. Between fiscal years 1995 and 2025, Congress enacted 138 continuing resolutions, averaging roughly five per year. Government contractors should maintain shutdown and stopgap plans and prepare for halted federal payments. Companies are advised to contact bankers and lenders, review cash flow and lines of credit, ensure sufficient cash to pay employees and operate, consider using budgeted annual leave before furloughs, and determine cash requirements and mitigation steps.

Read at Nextgov.com