ON THE JOB

November 11, 2015

Yesterday, a whole batch of accountancy undergraduates went to the office for orientation on the work of government auditors.  When I was a student, our orientation to government work was only on government accounting entries, but none of the practical work.  If there was any inclination in the curriculum then to introduce us to the real deal, it was all about corporate accounting, and none of the actual work of government accountants and auditors.

These efforts of schools are commendable, seeing that with the challenges of globalization and the volatility of world economies, most particularly our own, government service is being seen as a more lucrative and stable career opportunity.

However, like the adage that says that “genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration”, one could liken the work of government accountants and auditors to ten percent theory and ninety percent practice.  Hence, one could only learn how to do the job properly once exposed to actual work, with all its challenges, most particularly in dealing with other people.

It is important too, for one to continue learning and reviewing the laws, principles and concepts applicable to their job, and be updated with its never-ending pronouncements and guidelines.  Hence, the importance of maintaining an actual library of laws, rules and guidelines and actually reading and memorizing them too, and attending the seminars which are administered regularly by the Commission.

Somebody strongly complained at the office today why some of the items on her claim were deducted or disallowed, and even challenged the wisdom or the legal basis to do so.  I reminded her that if she has not forgotten the Circular which was issued decades ago which was not yet superseded, and refer to it in relation to the Executive Order which she was screaming in my ears, she would learn that the Commission cannot maintain a double standard while being strict when it comes to auditing other agencies’ disbursements, and being too lenient to the point of indulgence when auditing our own.  She would have been well advised to remember that government work is a privilege and not a right, hence, one could not just do what they want with it and get anything they want from it, but to always do their best to work efficiently and effectively, while ensuring that the government is not unduly burdened by excessive and unreasonable expenditures.

I’d say learning from school is good, but I’d say learning on the job is better.  In school, our minds are fed and we are asked to give output that goes back to us only, in terms of passing marks.  However, when one is actually working, we are being disciplined: first to apply the concepts we have learned from school and from the seminars in order to help achieve the aims of the organization we are working for; and second to get along well with people on two fronts: officially—since each person’s work is a part of a whole long process that has a concrete although intangible output of the human aspect of government service; and personally—since being made to spend more time at work than at home in any given day, our colleagues become more family to us than our blood and marriage relations.