Roles and Opportunities as an FI in the Financial Management Advisor Presentation to the FMI Professional Development Session By: Lionel Lobo, CGA February 27 th, 2014

2 Purpose / Key Considerations  Overview of my Roles  Financial responsibilities  Stakeholders involved  Communication Skills  People Skills  Challenges  Opportunities  Questions

3 Overview of my Roles  Financial Advisor to the Information Science and Technology Branch (ISTB) at the CBSA. ISTB has a budget of over $350M, many projects, and 1,400 FTEs Support three out of eight directorates Manage FIs Analyze the financial status of the directorates on a monthly basis Lead on the Financial Status Report for the Vice President Review Dashboards on projects / initiatives Report to Corporate Finance

Financial Responsibilities  Analyze budgets, forecasts, and plans  Use various financial systems, i.e. SAP  Provide financial input into the Memoranda to Cabinet, Treasury Board Submissions, and costing templates  Integrated Business Plans  Business cases, and pressure reports  ARLU, Capital Year Plans, etc… 4

Stakeholders involved with a FMA  VP  Director Generals  Directors  Managers  Administrative Staff  Finance Colleagues Other FMAs Internal Reporting TB Submissions Financial Systems Policies 5

Communication Skills  Who is your audience?  Finance is a language  Listen carefully to your clients  Problems – followed by solutions, and recommendations  Speak confidently  Be careful of what you say and write  Get right to the important matters when dealing with the senior executives 6

People Skills  Let the clients know that you are there to help them  Be approachable  Encourage staff to engage face to face with the clients  Give hands on training, and be patient  Build a trust in the relationship with the clients 7

Challenges  Financial Management roles are expanding  Understand the clients business  Two bosses - clients and manager  Be accountable for your actions, and follow through on commitments  Short deadlines  Delegate work  Managing the staff and their work you are responsible for  Be a mentor to your employees, continuous learning i.e. CGA/CMA, language, etc…  Values and ethics – serving with integrity and respect 8

Opportunities  Clients must be satisfied with the service they are provided by with a FMA  Build trust in your relationship with the clients  Engagement - opportunities to work on changes in the finance community, brainstorm with colleagues  Thinking things through - think outside the box, and share your ideas to make improvements  Excellence – delivering results through your own work, relationships, and responsibilities 9

Questions? 10