FAST 50: Credence adds nuts and bolts to consulting practice

Credence Management Solutions started in 2007 as just that: a management consulting firm. With market changes and technology’s integration throughout all levels of government, Credence had to become more than simply a trusted advisor. They had to bring the nuts and bolts too.

The background of many of the employees is management consulting, but Credence has added cybersecurity and engineering dimensions to its portfolio.

“We believe we perform the best at the intersection of process and technology,” said Prashant Gaur “PG,” president of Credence.

One example is its contract with the Air Force. Credence began its work with the Air Force in management consulting and trusted advisor services for the financial management office. It has been helping Air Force officials make their books auditable, which the Defense Department is under pressure to do.

As Credence aids the Air Force in steering the project in the right direction, the company found processes connected so intimately with systems.

“We can talk about processes, but at the end of the day, unless you get into systems engineering and things, then you’re really not adding value,” PG said.

With $20.5 million in revenue in 2014 and a 64.10 percent compound annual growth rate over the past four years, Credence has added value to more agencies than just the Air Force. Credence is No. 35 on Washington Technology’s 2015 Fast 50 list. The company was No. 32 on last year’s Fast 50 list.

Credence has prime contractor spots on the General Services Administration’s One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services Small Business (OASIS SB) contract, GSA’s 8(a) STARS II governmentwide acquisition contract, the FBI’s Solutions for Administrative and Program Services (SOAPS) blanket purchase agreement, and the Navy’s Seaport Enhanced (SeaPort-e) indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract, among others.

Credence does a lot of work with military and defense agencies, offering support ranging from financial management to data synchronization for drones. Its major customers are DOD, Defense Information Systems Agency, Defense Logistics Agency, the Air Force, the U.S. Agency of International Development, and the FBI.

The company focuses on meeting its clients’ mission and business needs with functional and technology skills. The company provides high-impact, innovative solutions across financial, healthcare, IT, human capital, international development, national security and intelligence, engineering, and logistics.

“We pretty much get into the nuts and bolts of everything that’s going on,” PG said.

In March, Credence announced that the Defense Human Resources Activity had awarded the company a follow-on contract for its Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program. For the program, Credence develops curriculum for training and had 35 experts helping veterans and their families as they go through deployment and then reintegration.

These specialists work with these families to ensure they have access to information about healthcare, education, financial assistance, and legal benefits. More than 1 million people have benefitted from the program in the last several years.

“It’s a project we are very proud of,” said Leigh Boyle, a client executive at Credence.

Credence is also proud of its corporate culture where no task is too trivial for anyone.

Boyle, who has been at the company for 18 months, said soon after she arrived at the company, she was laying out on the counter papers for her first proposal and a company executive asked to help her.

“That just blew my mind,” she said. “It made for a very warm and supportive environment.”

One of the company’s core values is employee participation and team relationships. The name “Credence” is taken as dictionaries define it: A noun meaning trust, credibility and confidence.

The approach seems to have worked. Business has grown in the past years. PG summed it up by saying, “When a company performs well, word gets around.”