Participants in the first round of ACFO’s Interchange Program were in Ottawa on December 5-7 of last year to learn how things work at their departments’ headquarters and network with fellow FIs in the National Capital Region (NCR).

During the three-day tour, members of the FI Community working in regional offices across Canada met with the Office of the Comptroller General (OCG) and were introduced to the operations and processes at Treasury Board Secretariat and participated in an FI-04 onboarding session.

Participants also got a chance to learn more about NCR operations by shadowing fellow FIs of equal or a higher level. They learned about the individual challenges facing FIs in the NCR and networked with other FIs working in different locations.

“It was an excellent week and the hosts at ESDC were very good. It’s really refreshing to see how our roles and the work we do in the regions fit in NCR” one participant said.

The Interchange Program is funded through the Joint Career Professional Development Fund (JCDP) managed by the Association of Canadian Financial Officers (ACFO) and the Office of the Comptroller General (OCG).

Participants

Name Dept City
Angela Greene INAC Amherst
Cintia Medeiros Justice Toronto
Joanna Lai ESDC Toronto
Lori Buckle ESDC St John’s
Omar Benlakehal DEC Montreal
Sheldon Ashmead WED Edmonton
Sumedha Jayasuriya ESDC Toronto
Tessie Genise AAFC Winnipeg

Participants in the Interchange Program were randomly selected from a pool of 200 regional FI applicants. There will be three additional Interchange rounds in January and February 2018; selected participants may be viewed here.

We hope to bring back the Interchange Program for the 2018-2019 JCDP and the application period will be announced in due time. For any questions about the Interchange Program, please contact jcdp@acfo-acaf.com.