STRATEGIC FINANCIAL LEADERSHIP

CHALLENGES LOCAL GOVERNMENTS NAVIGATE ARE INCREASINGLY COMPLEX. TALENT RETENTION, AGING INFRASTRUCTURE, HOUSING SUPPLY AND AFFORDABILITY, INFLATION, COST OF LIVING, CLIMATE CHANGE, RECONCILIATION WITH INDIGENOUS PEOPLES, AND OTHERS ALL PLACE IMMENSE PRESSURE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO “DO MORE WITH LESS”.

These challenges demand next level leadership from local government staff, including exceptional strategic thinking, collaboration, innovation, and communication and engagement, and the ability to wrestle with complex trade-offs and to demonstrate grace under fire. This is particularly true for local government finance staff, who are at the centre of these challenges and are uniquely positioned to help their organization and community navigate them.

With this leadership imperative in mind, GFOABC, with support from Urban Systems Ltd. and ERPIE Advisory Inc. developed the Strategic Financial Leadership program for local government finance staff. Educational programming focused on leadership competency development exists but is not tailored to the local government finance context. Existing educational programming for local government finance staff is often focused on technical aspects of finance and service delivery and not on leadership competency development. Together, this created a gap in the ecosystem of leadership competency development for local government finance. Strategic Financial Leadership is meant to address this gap. It is a cohort-based, applied leadership program for local government finance professionals who are eager to enhance their leadership competency while expanding their network, advancing an important initiative in their community, and positively contributing to the experience of peers in the program. The program is underpinned by GFOABC’s Leadership Competency Framework, which was developed in 2022 to guide GFOABC’s educational programming and as a tool for finance staff to use in hiring, performance assessment, and professional development contexts.

Strategic Financial Leadership kicked off at the recent 2023 GFOABC Annual Conference in Whistler with a cohort of nine finance staff representing small, mid-sized, and large municipalities and regional districts across the province. Strategic Financial Leadership will run for ten months and conclude with a capstone presentation delivered by the cohort at the 2024 GFOABC Annual Conference in Kamloops.

The goal is that as more cohorts experience the program over time, an inter-generational network of finance professionals is created, contributing to greater leadership capacity and relationships across the local government sector.

In addition to Strategic Financial Leadership, GFOABC will also be designing and delivering more focused programming on select leadership competencies, which as outlined in the Leadership Competency Framework include Strategic Leadership, Inclusive and Effective Collaboration, Service Excellence, Continuous Self-Development, Innovative Value Creation, Holistic Critical Thinking and Decision Making, and Effective Communication and Engagement.

We look forward to continuing to support members with their leadership development and will share updates on the Strategic Financial Leadership program and other leadership programming in the coming months.

FROM FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATORS TO TRUSTED FINANCIAL ADVISORS, FINANCE OFFICERS, AND THEIR TEAMS PLAY AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE COMMUNITIES THEY SERVE AND THE ORGANIZATIONS IN WHICH THEY WORK. THE EXCELLENCE IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT FINANCE AWARDS RECOGNIZES THE MANY OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS THAT LOCAL GOVERNMENT FINANCE PROFESSIONALS MAKE IN BUILDING SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE PROVINCE.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THIS YEAR’S RECIPIENTS OF THE EXCELLENCE IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT FINANCE AWARDS:

NEW MEMBER AWARD

Mike Kennedy, City of Rossland

The New Member Award is to recognize new members who demonstrate the desire to take on the challenge of local government finance through education and professional development. To be eligible for this award, new members should have a maximum of two years of local government finance experience.

Mike Kennedy is this year’s recipient. He has made valuable contributions to GFOABC as an active participant in our online forum, sharing his knowledge and supporting GFOABC members around the province. He has also taken a keen interest in advancing the community’s natural asset agenda, going above and beyond the traditional role of a local government finance official.

INNOVATIVE IDEA AWARD (TEAM)

Chris Jury, City of Nelson

The Innovative Idea Award recognizes the originality and creativity of a program or project that has overall significance to local government. The program or project is a financial or technical advancement, improving a process significantly with proven cost and benefits, and has garnered recognition within the British Columbia local government community.

Chris Jury and the City of Nelson are receiving this award for the City of Nelson’s Financial Services Agreement with neighbouring municipalities. This agreement supports these communities with monthly and annual accounting services, as well as budgetary planning assistance. Through its provision of financial services, the City of Nelson is helping regional partners meet current standards of local government accounting and is contributing to better governance for citizens and taxpayers in the Kootenays.

Life Member Award

Valla Tinney, District of Saanich (Retired)

The Life Member Award recognizes members and partners who have made significant contributions to local government. This includes an individual’s dedication throughout their career to GFOABC, promoting education, peer support and networking to enhance professional skills within local government.

Over Valla Tinney’s 30-year career, she has served her communities by enhancing their financial health, mentoring the next generation of local government finance officers, and initiating valuable educational programming through GFOABC. GFOABC benefited immensely from her eight terms on its Board of Directors and terms as President (2010-2012). Valla previously received the GFOABC Outstanding Achievement Award in 2015 and CPABC’s fellowship designation in 2017.

Do you know someone who deserves recognition? Then we want to hear from you!

GFOABC has five (5) Award Categories to celebrate outstanding achievements and contributions of local government finance professionals. We are looking for potential nominees for this year ' s selection process and what better way to find those superstars among us, than by asking local government finance professionals from across the province!

The Award Categories are:

New Member Award Outstanding Achievement Award

Innovative Idea Award Outstanding Contribution Award

Life Member Award

The details of each category can be found at gfoabc.ca/about-us/awards/. Please take a moment to check it out and think about someone you might know that should be recognized. If you have a person (or team) in mind, we would love to hear about it and help guide you through the nomination process. Please reach out to our Executive Director, Kala Harris, at execdir@gfoabc.ca.

Intake for Award Nominations is year-round!

Award nomination packages are due December 31st of each year