While there is no denying that specialized knowledge of government contract rules and regulations is essential to sound contract management, not everything is a big FAR-based mystery.  A little common sense can help even the most uneducated contractor get a start on ensuring that they don’t run afoul of their contract management and ethics responsibilities.  One such common sense approach is following the maxim to not be “pennywise and pound foolish”.  Good people who know what they’re doing cost a little money.  They can quite literally be worth their weight in gold, though.  Experienced, well-trained people can prevent problems from occurring before they happen, and, should an issue actually arise, are likely better prepared to address it so that a small bump doesn’t become a wall that your entire federal business crashes into.  Some contractors, though, look at contract managers as “overhead” and not worth the investment.  Experienced hands can be re-assigned or even let go.  That all looks like a great move until an auditor or whistleblower comes calling.  Suddenly, one week of lawyers, consultants, and document production requests can eat up as much time and money as a year’s-worth investment in the manager who knew what he or she was doing.  There are a lot of ways contractors can end up on the short end of the contract compliance stick.  Not using common sense is one sure way to put your firm in a position to have to write checks – maybe big ones – back to the government.