In 2008, the U. S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) partnered with the Chief Human Capital Officers (CHCO) Council to prioritize occupations for future Governmentwide competency models. Together, we identified financial-related occupations as a top priority. Changes in technology, financial standards and systems, and responsibilities under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) have placed new and increasing demands on the financial management workforce, highlighting the importance of this initiative.

During FY2009, we conducted a Governmentwide study to identify critical competencies for five financial management occupations, working closely with the Chief Financial Officers Council Human Capital Task Group and the Budget Formulation and Execution Line Of Business Group. Subject matter experts provided key insights, and employees and supervisors across the Government completed surveys to paint a comprehensive picture of financial management work in the Federal Government.

We are pleased to provide the attached competency study results. Agencies can begin using the competencies immediately in hiring financial management employees. In addition, we encourage expanded use of the competencies across all human resources efforts, such as workforce planning, training and development, and performance management, for a comprehensive approach to building and sustaining a first-class financial management workforce.

Thank you for your continued support of this important project. If you have any questions regarding the competency model, please contact Andrea Bright, Manager of the Standards, Competencies, and Assessment Development Group at (202) 606-3600, or email competency@opm.gov.

Attachment

cc: Human Resources Directors

Competency Model for Financial Management Occupations

The following tables present the competencies that have been confirmed as appropriate for selection on a Governmentwide basis for the five occupations presented below. Agencies may use these competencies to select applicants without additional job analysis for the occupations and grades indicated in the following tables. Agencies are responsible for collecting job analysis information to support the use of competencies for other occupations and/or grades. Please refer to OPM’s Delegated Examining Operations Handbook for more information on conducting a job analysis.

Occupations and Grades with Confirmed Competencies

501 Financial Administration and Program Series

510 Accounting Series

511 Auditing Series

560 Budget Analysis Series

Competency Importance Rankings

The table below presents the rank order of the 20 most important competencies on current importance and future importance in three years based on supervisor and employee ratings.

General Competencies

Decision Making

Reading - Understands and interprets written material, including technical material, rules, regulations, instructions, reports, charts, graphs, or tables; applies what is learned from written material to specific situations.

Writing - Recognizes or uses correct English grammar, punctuation, and spelling; communicates information (for example, facts, ideas, or messages) in a succinct and organized manner; produces written information, which may include technical material, that is appropriate for the intended audience.

Arithmetic - Performs computations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division correctly using whole numbers, fractions, decimals, and percentages.

Mathematical Reasoning - Solves practical problems by choosing appropriately from a variety of mathematical and statistical techniques.

Oral Communication - Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.

Creative Thinking - Uses imagination to develop new insights into situations and applies innovative solutions to problems; designs new methods where established methods and procedures are inapplicable or are unavailable.

Information Management - Identifies a need for and knows where or how to gather information; organizes and maintains information or information management systems.

Decision Making - Makes sound, well-informed, and objective decisions; perceives the impact and implications of decisions; commits to action, even in uncertain situations, to accomplish organizational goals; causes change.

Reasoning - Identifies rules, principles, or relationships that explain facts, data, or other information; analyzes information and makes correct inferences or draws accurate conclusions.

Problem Solving - Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and to make recommendations.

Learning - Uses efficient learning techniques to acquire and apply new knowledge and skills; uses training, feedback, or other opportunities for self-learning and development.

Teamwork - Encourages and facilitates cooperation, pride, trust, and group identity; fosters commitment and team spirit; works with others to achieve goals.

Integrity/Honesty - Contributes to maintaining the integrity of the organization; displays high standards of ethical conduct and understands the impact of violating these standards on an organization, self, and others; is trustworthy.

Self-Management - Sets well-defined and realistic goals; displays a high level of initiative, effort, and commitment towards completing assignments in a timely manner; works with minimal supervision; is motivated to achieve; demonstrates responsible behavior.

Interpersonal Skills - Shows understanding, friendliness, courtesy, tact, empathy, concern, and politeness to others; develops and maintains effective relationships with others; may include effectively dealing with individuals who are difficult, hostile, or distressed; relates well to people from varied backgrounds and different situations; is sensitive to cultural diversity, race, gender, disabilities, and other individual differences.

Planning and Evaluating - Organizes work, sets priorities, and determines resource requirements; determines short- or long-term goals and strategies to achieve them; coordinates with other organizations or parts of the organization to accomplish goals; monitors progress and evaluates outcomes.

Attention to Detail - Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail.

Administration and Management - Knowledge of planning, coordination, and execution of business functions, resource allocation, and production.

Project Management - Knowledge of the principles, methods, or tools for developing, scheduling, coordinating, and managing projects and resources, including monitoring and inspecting costs, work, and contractor performance.

Managing Human Resources - Plans, distributes, coordinates, and monitors work assignments of others; evaluates work performance and provides feedback to others on their performance; ensures that staff are appropriately selected, utilized, and developed, and that they are treated in a fair and equitable manner.

Accountability - Holds self and others accountable for measurable high-quality, timely, and cost-effective results. Determines objectives, sets priorities, and delegates work. Accepts responsibility for mistakes. Complies with established control systems and rules.

Leadership - Influences, motivates, and challenges others; adapts leadership styles to a variety of situations.

Teaching Others - Helps others learn through formal or informal methods; identifies training needs; provides constructive feedback; coaches others on how to perform tasks; acts as a mentor.

Customer Service - Works with clients and customers (that is, any individuals who use or receive the services or products that your work unit produces, including the general public, individuals who work in the agency, other agencies, or organizations outside the Government) to assess their needs, provide information or assistance, resolve their problems, or satisfy their expectations; knows about available products and services; is committed to providing quality products and services.

Strategic Thinking - Formulates objectives and priorities, and implements plans consistent with the long-term interests of the organization in a global environment. Capitalizes on opportunities and manages risks.

Organizational Awareness - Knows the organization’s mission and functions, and how its social, political, and technological systems work and operates effectively within them; this includes the programs, policies, procedures, rules, and regulations of the organization.

External Awareness - Identifies and understands economic, political, and social context that affect the organization.

Influencing/ Negotiating - Persuades others to accept recommendations, cooperate, or change their behavior; works with others towards an agreement; negotiates to find mutually acceptable solutions.

Conflict Management - Manages and resolves conflicts, grievances, confrontations, or disagreements in a constructive manner to minimize negative (personal) impact.

Partnering - Develops networks and builds alliances; collaborates across boundaries to build strategic relationships and achieve common goals.

Resilience - Deals effectively with pressure; remains optimistic and persistent, even under adversity. Recovers quickly from setbacks.

Flexibility - Is open to change and new information; adapts behavior or work methods in response to new information, changing conditions, or unexpected obstacles; effectively deals with ambiguity.

Computer Skills - Uses computers, software applications, databases, and automated systems to accomplish work.

Technical Competence - Uses knowledge that is acquired through formal training or extensive on-the-job experience to perform one's job; works with, understands, and evaluates technical information related to the job; advises others on technical issues.

Technical Competencies

Legal, Government and Jurisprudence – Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, legal practices and documents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, government organization and functions, and the democratic political process.

Compliance – Knowledge of procedures for assessing, evaluating, and monitoring programs or projects for compliance with Federal laws, regulations, and guidance.

Contracting/Procurement – Knowledge of various types of contracts, techniques for contracting or procurement, contract negotiation and administration.

Capital Planning and Investment Assessment – Knowledge of the principles and methods of capital investment analysis or business case analysis, including return on investment analysis.

Cost Estimation and Analysis – Knowledge of the principles, practices, and methods used to determine, estimate, and analyze costs, including determining life cycle costs, application of cost models, and evaluation of cost realism.

Business Process Reengineering – Knowledge of methods, metrics, tools, and techniques of Business Process Reengineering.

Risk Management – Knowledge of the principles, methods, and tools used for risk assessment and mitigation, including assessment of failures and their consequences.

Internal Controls – Knowledge of the principles, methods, and techniques for establishing internal control activities (for example, authorizations, verifications, reconciliations), monitoring their use, and evaluating their performance (for example, identification of material weaknesses or significant deficiencies).

Control of Funds – Knowledge of the principles, procedures, and requirements for maintaining control and accountability of obligations and expenditures for all appropriations and fund accounts (for example, revolving, non-appropriated, multiyear, and single-year appropriations).

Cost-Benefit Analysis – Knowledge of the principles and methods of cost-benefit analysis, including the time value of money, present value concepts, and quantifying tangible and intangible benefits.

Data Management – Knowledge of the principles, procedures, and tools of data management, such as modeling techniques, data backup, data recovery, data dictionaries, data warehousing, data mining, data archiving, and data standardization processes.

Financial Systems - Knowledge of the standards, architecture, and specifications of automated financial systems, including source documents, system flows, system interfaces, and related internal controls.

Principles of Accounting - Knowledge of generally accepted accounting principles, standards, and practices (for example, double entry accounting, accrual accounting), including the full accounting cycle and the preparation of work sheets, financial statements, ledgers, and journals.

Cost Accounting - Knowledge of the principles, procedures, and methods of cost accounting, including the use of historical cost, market value, or present value to measure cost; methods for assigning cost to accounting periods; and cost allocation, cost accrual, depreciation, and unit cost.

Accounting Operations - Knowledge of general ledger accounting and the control/subsidiary account relationships and reconciliation techniques, including accounts receivable, accounts payable, and disbursing officer's accountability.

Performance Measurement - Knowledge of the principles and methods for evaluating program or organizational performance using financial and nonfinancial measures, including identification of evaluation factors (for example, workload, personnel requirements), metrics, and outcomes.

Financial Analysis - Knowledge of the principles, methods, and techniques of financial analysis, forecasting, and modeling to interpret quantitative and qualitative data; includes data modeling, earned value management, and evaluating key financial indicators, trends, and historical data.

Decision Support - Knowledge of decision support theories, methods, and tools for identifying, synthesizing, representing, and evaluating the important aspects of a decision situation and prescribing the recommended course for decision makers and other stakeholders.

Budget Administration - Knowledge of the principles and practices of budget administration and analysis; including preparing, justifying, reporting on, and executing the budget; and the relationships among program, budget, accounting, and reporting systems.

Principles of Finance - Knowledge of the basic principles, practices, and methods of financial management to include requisitions, apportionments, allotments, investments, fiscal management, activity reporting, and fiscal year guidelines.

Federal Funds Processing - Knowledge of methods and procedures for processing direct and reimbursable program funds (for example, automatic and funded reimbursements, interagency agreements, transfer appropriations), grants, loans, and credit programs.

Auditing - Knowledge of generally accepted auditing standards and procedures for conducting financial and compliance, economy and efficiency, and program audits.

Audit Reporting - Knowledge of the principles, practices, and techniques used to report audit findings (criteria, condition, cause, effect, and recommendation).