Finance Academy

About the Program

Category: Personnel Management, Employment and Training (Best in Category)

Year: 2009

To meet the needs of succession planning efforts and to improve the consistency in financial management skills across the organization, the County of San Diego created the Finance Academy, a 10-week training program for County financial professionals. The program was designed to strengthen the financial management skills of the staff, skills that are becoming more valuable in today’s economic climate. Forty individuals were selected from throughout the organization for each session of the Finance Academy, ensuring that the students would have a broad range of experience. Finance Academy classes cover a variety of financial and performance topics designed to build context and provide tools for appropriate financial decision-making. Classes are taught by County Finance Directors and staff with expertise in various areas including revenue, budgeting, debt management, purchasing, audits, and financial systems. The Finance Academy gives employees who are in a financial role the opportunity to learn the concepts and management strategies unique to County finance, while also building the skills and understanding of more seasoned employees. Created jointly by the Chief Financial Officer and the Department of Human Resources, the Finance Academy has proven to be a cost-efficient and effective means of ensuring strong financial management for the county.