Government Operations committee  There is a notion that if you're going out to a consulting firm, it's third party independent, which is not the case. I've seen reports change, even the conclusion, based on comments from people. Our members are not accountable to the consultants. They report to the CFO. Their job is to maintain the integrity of the financial information.

Government Operations committee  It's a great question. I'll give you an example. If a deputy minister has a new program objective and needs to get the job done and needs resources to do so, we could find and hire the right people, but we don't, because it takes too much time: “I cannot wait six months to get this project going; I need to start today because I have deliverables and I need to reach my objectives.”

Government Operations committee  We have fewer temporary contracts. For us, it's more consultant work.

Government Operations committee  Chris, can you speak to that?

Government Operations committee  It's definitely correlated. When our members get weeded out of competitions or processes and they ask what's their recourse, sometimes you have to tell them not to bark too much because the next time a competition comes around, it's going to be the same people assessing the same committees.

Government Operations committee  That's a very good question. Recruitment and retention is an issue. Take the example of one of our typical members who has just recently graduated and is a CPA. We want to attract the best and the brightest and they're looking for a job in the public sector, and all of a sudden it will take four months, six months, 12 months.

Government Operations committee  I wish I could tell them, “Do your job well and your career will progress well.” You could be the best accountant in the government and you could be stuck in the position all your career, because you will apply for competitions, but no one knows who you are. No one has heard of you.

Government Operations committee  Can I take this one?

Government Operations committee  It's a very interesting question. Some of our financial officers, accountants, have the know-how, the experience and the skill set to do a job, and all of a sudden a particular task gets outsourced. The consultant comes in, starts talking with our members about what's wrong with forecasting or budgeting, for example.

Government Operations committee  Chair, honourable members, and committee staff, good afternoon. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. My name is Dany Richard. I am both a public servant and the president of the union representing more than 4,600 financial professionals in the public service across Canada, members who work every day to ensure the integrity of the public purse.

Finance committee  I can tell you, as a chartered professional accountant myself, with 10 years' experience in the public service, that too often we'll deal with outside resources, and when these contracts come back, we have to review them, correct them, and say, “You might want to revise this.” Why?

Finance committee  Yes, $8 billion.

Finance committee  Yes, there are several flaws in the Income Tax Act, and there are many ways to correct them. We are working with accountants, and they often come up against suspicious things. They find that this makes no sense, and they want us to do something about it. Changing the act is one possible approach.

Finance committee  We haven't looked at it, no.

Finance committee  Good afternoon. Thank you for this opportunity to present on behalf of ACFO. We are North America's largest union exclusively representing accountants, comptrollers, auditors, and financial professionals. We're speaking today on behalf of more than 4,600 dedicated federal public servants.