Retooling the Workforce

The CFO Council regards development of human resources as a top priority. In its 1999 Federal Financial Management Status Report and Five Year Plan, the council outlines the following objectives for developing a high-quality financial management workforce that will support agency missions:

• Assist personnel managers in recruiting and retaining qualified finance personnel.
• Strengthen qualifications standards for financial management personnel.
• Promote effective education and training within the federal workforce.

To help agency financial management and human resources offices attract and develop a skilled workforce, the council has published a number of guides for federal managers. Among the most useful are the following:

• Executive Tool Kit-Building a Financial Management Workforce is a Web-based tool designed to assist senior financial managers in assessing their workforce development needs and implementing plans to prepare their offices for future financial management challenges. The guide is available at www.financenet.gov/financenet/fed/cfo/hrc/exectool.htm.
• Recruiting and Retaining Financial Management Employees-Useful Tools was published jointly with the Office of Personnel Management and lists personnel authorities available to improve recruiting and retention. The guide, which is organized around common problems reported by financial managers, is available at www.opm.gov/iag/public/recruiti.htm.