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February 16, 2007
Ann Marie Sahagian
Assistant Comptroller General
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
300 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, ON K1A 0R5
Dear Ms. Sahagian,
Thank you for the opportunity to discuss with you on January 21 the recent FI-03 and FI-04 advertisements at the Office of the Comptroller General.
The FI-04 (2006-TBD-ENA-2385) and FI-03 (2006-TBD-ENA-3175) selection processes recently posted by the OCG required applicants to have graduated from a recognized university and to possess a recognized professional accounting designation (CA, CMA or CGA). As you are aware, the FI Qualification Standard, which was revised effective August 1, 2004, provides that the minimum qualifications for positions classified at the FI-02 level and above is either graduation from a recognized university or possession of a recognized professional accounting designation.
The Qualification Standard provides the minimum requirements to be used when staffing positions in the public service. In addition to providing for a competency, these standards also serve to ensure selection according to merit and the promotion of the staffing values of non-partisanship, fairness, access and transparency.
ACFO understands that your office has coordinated this recruitment exercise on behalf of over 15 departments who expressed the need for this competitive process due to their lack of success in finding adequate numbers of qualified candidates through previous internal processes.
We also understand that the essential, merit criteria and asset criteria were developed by the departments based on what they determined is needed for the positions they will be filling through this process.
ACFO sees no added value in requiring candidates to possess both a designation and a degree. If there were a valid reason to require both, the Qualification Standard would have reflected that requirement when it was revised in 2004. These competitive processes serve to exclude highly skilled and experienced FIs from these positions and is contributing to limiting the career development and advancement of valuable and skilled professionals.
Increasing the minimum qualification requirements only serves to compound and exacerbate the serious recruitment and retention problems that have led to capacity concerns in the FI community across the Public Service and will lead to a further and pronounced loss of experienced Financial Officers to the private sector.
ACFO encourages the OCG, and the concerned departments, to reconsider this decision and to ensure that, in the future, the qualifications respect the Qualification Standard. I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you at your convenience to discuss this issue further to ensure fair and transparent staffing to the benefit of the employer and our members.
Best Regards,
Milt Isaacs, CMA
Chair, Association of Canadian Financial Officers
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