Auditor’s Office for Denver City and County
Gives CGFM Applicants a Leg Up
The
list of government agencies that formally recognize the specialized
skills and knowledge earned by CGFMs is growing.
Dennis Gallagher,
elected City Auditor of the City and County of Denver, has requested
that "preferred skill status" be granted to all job applicants who
have earned the Certified Government Financial Manager (CGFM)
designation. The CGFM preference applies to all accountant, auditor
and other professional financial management positions within the
Auditor's Office of about 100 employees.
Not only did members of
AGA’s Denver Chapter present detailed information on what is
involved in becoming a CGFM, but former State Auditor Tom O’Brien
spoke very highly of the credential as well, Gallagher said.
“The training and
expertise that is offered is what encouraged me to go with it,”
Gallagher said. “I’m very interested in accountability, and I think
this additional knowledge and expertise will help our people when it
comes to being more accountable.”
Gallagher also
formally recommended that the city's Career Service Authority (CSA)
grant the same preferred skill status for CGFMs applying for all
financial positions throughout the City and County of Denver.
In a May 14 letter
to the CSA, Gallagher noted that individuals who have earned the
CGFM have
demonstrated “academic achievement, experience
in government financial management, adherence to a comprehensive
Code of Ethics and knowledge of the profession.” He
called the CGFM “one
of the most appropriate professional certifications for government
financial managers.”
He wrote that the three
examinations test knowledge that directly relates to a candidate’s
job duties and responsibilities, “unlike some professional
certifications that include many elements related solely to the
private sector of financial management.”
Gallagher said he
hopes other city agencies will seriously consider hiring preferences
for CGFM candidates. “In
the long run, their investment in this professional certification
process will benefit the city by creating a more knowledgeable and
skilled professional work force ready to meet the special demands
placed on government financial managers,” he wrote.
This important accomplishment was facilitated
by the President-Elect of AGA’s Denver Chapter, Beth
Machann, CGFM, who is also deputy
director of Financial Services in the Auditor's Office. Machann
helped arrange all the necessary meetings between AGA officials and
Gallagher, his staff and the CSA, said National Executive Committee
member Jeffrey S. Hart, CGFM.
“The keys to making
this happen for us was understanding how the specific organization's
personnel system worked and determining what was possible within
that system,” Hart said. “The support of Auditor Gallagher lays an
important foundation on which we can further build and expand formal
CGFM recognition throughout Denver metro-area municipal governments
and Colorado state government.”
Gallagher said: “It’s
all about accountability — that’s why I like it.”