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FMI
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IGF JOURNAL
VOLUME 25, NO. 1
Recruitment and Development
A robust and sustained financial man
agement community contributes to effective
stewardship and clear accountabilities across
government. In support of this community,
the OCG manages well-established gov
ernment-wide recruitment and develop
ment programs such as the Financial
Officer Recruitment and Development
(FORD) Program and the Internal Auditor
Recruitment and Development (IARD)
Program.
We are working hard to ensure that
the FORD and IARD programs are
consistent with the direction of the
Chartered Professional Accountants of
Canada and with the proposed merger
of the chartered accountant, certified
management accountant and certified
general accountant designations. We
will use the opportunity provided by this
merger to rejuvenate these development
programs, and we are considering changes
that will standardize the programs across
departments, including the provision of
training, workplace performance, and
entry requirements. In addition, we are
developing a core learning curriculum and
a competencies guide for finance managers.
With respect to the other professional
communities for which I am responsible,
we are working to develop a professional
classification for internal auditors to
ensure that they have the competencies
they need, and we are implementing a
five-year capacity-building strategy for the
procurement, materiel management and
real property communities. That strategy
includes defining the competencies for
procurement and materiel management
and establishing a Level II certification
program for the procurement community.
Investing in people will help ensure the
continued viability and strength of the
comptrollership function in the federal
government.
5. Conclusion
Over the next few years, the Government
will be placing more emphasis on using
financial information in decision making
as
stewardship
and
accountability
requirements increase. Our efforts will
continue to be driven by the need for
more timely, consistent and responsive
financial information to support decision
making across government. We are already
addressing this need on numerous fronts,
including technology, business processes
and people management, and are providing
the financial management community with
the tools, processes and guidance it needs.
Taken together, our initiatives will help
achieve the Treasury Board of Canada
Secretariat’s priorities of strengthened
government financial and expenditure
management and leadership in the strategic
use of information technology. They will
also support the mandated deliverables
of the President of the Treasury Board,
including the reform of the expenditure
management system, the improved
efficiency and effectiveness, cost savings,
and challenging value-for-money proposals.
We are at various stages of the
transformation of financial processes. Some
initiatives have been implemented; others
will buildonwhatwe have accomplished.We
have already made considerable progress,
including the development of standard
business processes and data elements; and
the development of guidance on internal
controls, attestation and life-cycle costing.
We have also made inroads on some of
the longer-term initiatives, including
policy reviews and the establishment
of a governance structure and plan for
the development of a standard financial
management application configuration.
The entire process will take several years,
but once completed the financial manage-
ment community will provide more timely,
consistent and responsive information to
support decision making across govern-
ment—something the government has
identified as a priority. The initiatives will
also improve financial services by allowing
managers to use resources more effectively
and will achieve efficiencies and cost savings
by standardizing, streamlining and consoli-
dating financial services and systems.
James Ralston, the Comptroller General
of Canada since 2009, is responsible for
government-wide direction and leadership
for financial management, internal audit,
federal assets and acquired services.
Mr. Ralston also supports capacity building
and professional development in each of
these areas.
Prior to this role, Mr. Ralston served
as Chief Financial Officer and Assistant
Commissioner of the Canada Revenue
Agency. He also spent 15 years with the
Office of the Auditor General of Canada
and eight years in a national public
accounting and consulting firm.
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COMPTROLLERSHIP INITIATIVES
