Government contractors should resist the urge to indulge in schadenfreude (perhaps the best German word ever) over troubles incurred by Boeing, Raytheon, and other large contractors.  The simple fact of the matter is that the information age means that the actions of every contractor are under scrutiny and that companies need to ensure that they act accordingly to stay on the right path.  It’s not just large companies, either.  Ever heard of Envistacom LLC or HX5 LLC?  The Department of Justice has.  Each of these small companies was recently the target of monetary recoveries in the range of $8 million.  The financial stakes for larger, public companies are greater and not just because fines from the government could be higher.  Boeing’s stock price, for example, is currently trading near its 52-week low.  While not all their problems are government contract related, the fact that the F-35 is going into production six years late is certainly no help.  Indeed, contractors should absolutely be aware that even their non-federal business problems could create issues for their federal operations.  Remember Enron?  They were debarred from government business solely because of their commercial market troubles.  Ironically, they had continued to perform well on government contracts, but that was not enough to save them when the chips fell as they did.  We’ve written before about the False Claims Act (FCA) barbarians at the gate, but the issue of proper conduct goes beyond FCA considerations.  The Center for American Progress Action is just one example of outside groups pointing the finger at contractors for alleged improper actions, in this case those having to do with incorrect billings on service contracts.  Contractors need to remember that their actions are being monitored more closely than ever.  While mistakes happen, companies need to act in ethical and responsible ways.  Losing federal business and market capitalization can be steep prices to pay for acting otherwise.