“When I first started volunteering, I was hearing concerns about liability, funding, burnout, and organizational longevity,” says Justin Brogan, CPA, who began serving as a director with Nelson Pride in 2023. “As a CPA, I thought, ‘Hey, I know a solution to that.’”
Justin, who recently received CPABC’s Early Achievement Award, is an accounting analyst with the City of Rossland and they recently chatted with us about the ways they have shared their financial, governance, and collaboration skills to strengthen community organizations as well as local government practices and the broader Kootenay finance community.
Bringing financial sustainability to community groups
“Seeing other accountants making a difference in their community definitely inspired me,” says Justin when asked why they give back. With Nelson Pride, Justin recommended the unincorporated group of volunteers become a not-for-profit in order to access grant funding. After guiding the group through incorporation, Justin helped Nelson Pride secure funding for capacity building. Justin is now leading the organization through a strategic planning process that will support its long-term financial sustainability, along with the wellbeing of its volunteers. “Funding gave us access to building a long-living structure to ensure that Pride continues,” Justin notes. “We’ve been able to access grant funding for training and to prepare our volunteers for marshaling the parade safely. We’ve also begun a strategic planning process to plan for the future of the organization.”
Leading standards adoption in local government
Justin’s capacity to bring about change has also made a difference in their workplace – and to finance professionals across the province. “When I joined the City of Rossland in 2022, we had committed to early adoption of PS 3280, the new Public Sector Accounting Board standard for asset retirement obligations,” they say. “A big challenge with early adoption, and adoption of new standards in general, is a lack of information and time and the expense of engaging consultants to provide guidance. As I was leading the adoption, I documented everything I did to create a guide for others. From there, because we had adopted early, I had a year to help people in other municipalities with their adoption.”
Working with the Government Finance Officers of British Columbia (GFOABC), Justin hosted a BC-wide webinar to inform government finance professionals on how to adopt the new standard and also brought together a local Kootenay group to talk through the process. Notes Justin, “Through that initiative, we likely saved governments and taxpayers a significant amount in consulting fees. It also helped to create a culture of information sharing and built internal capacity among the government folks.”
Increasing connections among finance teams across the Kootenays
Justin has also initiated quarterly hybrid meetings for finance teams in the Kootenays, building a more resilient financial community. “We’ve created a much stronger culture of collaboration,” they say. With about 20 local governments in the area, creating a culture of information sharing is essential to best serve local residents. Justin adds, “From an internal perspective on the staffing side of things we’ve been able to help people with covering for vacancies and training new staff across different organizations. From the external perspective, these meetings have advanced conversations about how to undertake region-wide initiatives like addressing climate change.”
What equity, diversity, and inclusive leadership look like in finance
Building a more inclusive local government finance community is also a priority for Justin, who has shared insights on embracing diversity in online forums with GFOABC. “Inclusive leadership really relies on a core of authenticity,” they say. “That means bringing your full self to work and encouraging your coworkers and peers to do the same.” Justin points out that because the finance function is involved in many different areas across the organization, it possesses key insights that can create a more inclusive organization. “Finance folks often work in the back end of systems and with contracts, forms, and programs,” they say. With a knowledge of what steps can be taken for diversity, accountants can often see and improve places that others can’t necessarily impact. “For example, if you see a system that only allows for a male and female option for gender identification, it’s a quick fix to go in and add a non-binary option.”
How CPAs can propel change in their communities
Whether CPAs are passionate about volunteerism, making positive change in their workplace, or bettering their community, Justin encourages others to shape the future they want to see, saying, “As a CPA, you have a ton of great skills that any organization can benefit from and you have a lot of opportunities to make a difference. With our understanding of reporting and metrics, there are numerous opportunities to assess where we’re at now and how we can make a change for the future.” Justin notes this applies to sustainability initiatives, equity-based opportunities, and many other areas where CPAs can provide useful insights and governance advice to better our world. “The CPA designation is a really great base to make the change you want to see in the world.”
Leah Giesbrecht is a communications specialist at CPABC.
