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Billions Under the Microscope: GSA and DOGE Increase Scrutiny on Consulting Giants
The federal contracting landscape is undergoing significant examination as the General Services Administration (GSA) and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) increase their scrutiny of consulting contracts. This heightened attention has brought billions of dollars in unexercised contract ceilings under the microscope.
A new analysis by TechnoMile has shed light on the potential exposure of the GSA’s top 10 consulting firms, revealing a staggering $94 billion in unexercised contract ceilings across three major spending categories. These firms, identified by GSA as the federal market’s largest consultants, include: Accenture Federal Services, Booz Allen Hamilton, CGI Federal, Deloitte, General Dynamics IT, Guidehouse, HII Mission Technologies, IBM, Leidos, and Science Applications International Corp..
TechnoMile’s analysis highlights the largest areas of these unexercised ceilings: management and advisory services at $25.3 billion, application work at $13.6 billion, and technical and engineering services at $8.7 billion. An additional $1 billion in ceiling is spread across other needs such as technology base, equipment modification, IT management, IT outsourcing, systems development and security services, as well as research-and-development, social services, equipment maintenance, logistics support services, operational systems development, and ammunition and explosives.
Interestingly, while TechnoMile’s analysis points to $94 billion, GSA itself presented a different figure, stating that these companies stood to reap $65 billion in consulting fees. This discrepancy suggests varying methodologies in defining and categorizing consulting work. Notably, IBM and Accenture have reported contract cancellations due to this increased focus on consulting contracts. Leidos has also indicated that only about 1% of its revenue falls into the consulting category.
Regardless of the specific figures, the TechnoMile report underscores the significant exposure these top consulting firms face and the substantial leverage the government potentially holds over them. The sheer volume of $94 billion in unexercised ceiling represents a considerable amount of unrealized value and potential risk in the federal contracting market.
federal consulting, GSA scrutiny, DOGE oversight, unexercised contract ceilings, TechnoMile analysis, top 10 consulting firms, government contracts, contract cancellations, management and advisory services, application work, technical and engineering services