Have you ever considered a move to the public sector? Three CAs who have carved out successful careers share their views on why the public service can be a fulfilling choice for finance professionals.

---

Penelope Leith CA

CFO at Te Manatū Waka – Ministry of Transport (New Zealand)

The warmth and friendliness of the people drew Penelope Leith CA to work in the public sector.

“Audit New Zealand was the most welcoming stand at the university careers fair,” she says. “That seemed like a good reason to work there. Now I can’t imagine working in any other sector.”

Along with lifelong friendships, Leith finds fulfilment in solving problems.

“Being a CA gives you a great basis for finding answers and solutions,” she says. “I also learned early on that there’s a real benefit in having CA networks to call on for opinions or to share policies.”

After four years with Audit New Zealand, she accepted a role with the UK Civil Service.

“This was an easy way to cross from being an auditor, as the work was varied and technical,” she says. “Two experiences that stand out for me were working out how to consolidate thirds of the BBC, and the budgeting treatment for winding up the London 2012 Olympic Village.”

A need for change

As a finance manager and then a principal advisor with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), Leith was the finance lead for MPI’s budget submissions, cabinet papers and briefings to ministers. The opportunity to take on a deputy CFO role at the Ministry of Defence was an important step forward in her career – though, when she was simultaneously pregnant and coping with COVID-19 lockdowns, she felt in need of a change.

“I spent 10 months as the financial controller at New Zealand Trade and Enterprise but I missed the challenge of working in a government department,” she says. “I was lucky to secure the role of CFO at the Education Review Office – a great place to work in my first CFO role as it is a very small government department,” she says.

Leith’s current role is CFO at another small agency, the Ministry of Transport.

“I really like small agencies like this because I think it’s easier to contribute when you know and understand your colleagues and their work programs,” she says. “I’m also really interested to see how, as a country, we will solve our large infrastructure deficits – and you don’t get much larger than transport.”

 

---

Sally Druhan FCA

CFO at the Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate, ACT Government

As a new graduate from the Australian National University in Canberra, Sally Druhan FCA was adamant she didn’t want to join the public service. The plan went seriously awry. Today, she is CFO at the Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate, which she describes as “a mash-up of all the central agencies that you find in the commonwealth, with a sprinkling of service delivery to other directorates through whole-of-government policy leadership and shared services arrangements for human resources, finance and IT”.

“There’s also a strong focus on service delivery to the community through our one-stop shop for information and advice, Access Canberra, and a range of other activities designed to support a thriving, vibrant and safe city for everyone,” Druhan says.

Her career began in Sydney as part of the graduate program at Coopers & Lybrand – later PwC. With this grounding, she found the transition to the commercial world easy, settling into a commercial management position with a private company working in the bulk printing and imaging industry.

“One interesting aspect of my work over the next 10 years was assisting the company to transition from private ownership to public with a listing on the ASX and working with foreign investors,” she says.

A return to Canberra

Relocation to Canberra for personal reasons facilitated a move to the ATO.

“Despite my earlier thinking, I realised that the best opportunities for someone with my skills lay with the public service,” Druhan says.

Over the next few years she moved through most of the senior roles in the finance group – internal budget, external budget, procurement, financial reporting, financial systems and tax management.

“It’s a special kind of experience being responsible for managing tax compliance in the organisation that is responsible for overseeing tax compliance,” she says.

She then diversified into service delivery and client engagement work.

“Leading a significant superannuation reform program proved to be a baptism of fire, with more than 1000 staff across many locations doing time-critical work,” she says. “I loved it, and I got a lot of support from others who had much more experience of this kind of environment.”

Druhan is grateful to have worked in an organisation where there was a willingness to support people’s learning and development, and an opportunity to work in a wide range of roles. However, a chance to return to a finance role at the Department of Defence proved too attractive to ignore.

“There’s something deep inside me that still gets excited about supporting quality decision making and bringing the financial perspective to the table,” she says.

Druhan continues that work as she leads strategic finance in her current role. “I’m really proud that, after 35 years of working in a wide range of roles and sectors, I can call myself a chief finance officer,” she says.

---

Mayooran Sinnathurai FCA

Senior director of Corporate Assurance and Risk Management, ACT Government

 

Mayooran Sinnathurai FCA has worked in the private and public sectors with roles in auditing, financial accounting, management accounting, tax compliance and investigations, and academia. Now senior director of Corporate Assurance and Risk Management (CARM) at the ACT Government, he has notable examples of collaboration, support and inspiration throughout his career. This contributed to his selection as winner of the 2023 CA ANZ Leadership in Government Achievement Award, which recognises potential leadership in the assurance, accounting and finance function of the public sector.

Over the past three decades, Sinnathurai has maintained his dedication to continuous learning and professional development. He jointly organised several governance forums and helped establish the ACT public service as an approved training employer with CA ANZ. As part of his commitment to diversity and inclusion, he has mentored about 25 new immigrants through the work experience and support program, and supported them in their subsequent careers. He is also a member of the National Multicultural Festival Steering Committee.

Leading change

Sinnathurai’s ability to lead system change came to the fore when he played a key role in the ACT public service working group on best-practice administration during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We had to be agile and think very quickly about what kinds of governance practices should immediately be put in place, so work could continue without interruptions,” he says. “As well as an opportunity to contribute, the experience enhanced my leadership skills.”

He has also jointly led the development of innovative digital solutions to enhance better governance practices in the space of risk management.

Sinnathurai’s work has taken him from his home in Sri Lanka to countries around the world, starting with a six-year spell as a CFO in Botswana.

From there, he moved to New Zealand, where he spent five years as a senior tax compliance specialist/investigator, before broadening his skills and experience with a year as a management accountant.

During the following three years as an assistant professor in auditing at the University of Canberra, he was sent to China as a visiting lecturer for postgraduate programs.

“I also conducted a residential training program for the National Audit Office of the People’s Republic of China staff in Canberra,” he says.

His last move came in 2012, when he joined the public service.

“I’m very honoured to have received the achievement award at this stage in my career,” he says. “It reflects the opportunities I’ve enjoyed in my current role in public service and the professional support that my current employer provides.”

---

In memoriam

Peter Gibson FCA

It is with deep sadness we announce the passing of Peter Gibson FCA (pictured above, left), winner of the 2023 Leadership in Government Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Public Sector. We thank Peter for his service to the accounting profession, leadership and expert guidance for countless finance students. We are proud to acknowledge that Peter's memory will continue to inspire and guide future generations of accountants.

---

Take away

2024 Leadership in Government award applications now open

Each year, CA ANZ presents two Leadership in Government awards, recognising outstanding contributions in the Australian public sector. The awards are the achievement award for future leaders, and outstanding contribution to the public sector, which recognises a current leader’s contributions. Click here for award criteria and the nomination form.