Bankruptcy for BearingPoint

BearingPoint a large consulting and engineering company that does a great deal of business with the Federal and state governments declared bankruptcy yesterday. Nextgov.com reports that the Chapter 11 restructuring may cause further problems as government customers may shy away from giving the company more business due to worries that it will not last. BearingPoint is a top 100 contractor with the Federal government doing over half-a-billion dollars in work with them last year. They also work with several states where, for example, they run the Texas Online website for that state. There are no real concerns that they cannot continue their current work although they may begin losing their better employees due to worries, but it is the fact that they may be limited in the future business that is gained. This is primarily why the companies stock went down so much since the announcement. This story further illustrates how hard the current economy is and also that even large government contractors need proper management to stay viable.

Matthew Potter

Matthew Potter is a resident of Huntsville, Ala., where he works supporting U.S. Army aviation programs. After serving in the U.S. Navy, he began work as a defense contractor in Washington D.C. specializing in program management and budget development and execution. In the last 15 years Matthew has worked for several companies, large and small, involved in all aspects of government contracting and procurement. He holds two degrees in history as well as studying at the Defense Acquisition University. He has written for Seeking Alpha and at his own website, DefenseProcurementNews.com.

More from CBS News