ACCA has announced the winners of its Public Sector Advocate of the Year award for North America, Michelle Morris FCCA; and for the Caribbean, Kim Sealy FCCA.
Michelle Morris is a director of audit services within the public sector. She works for The Regional Municipality of York, located north of Toronto. She is a valued public speaker who frequently represents ACCA at conferences and roundtables, raising the profile of ACCA and providing practical advice to members and other finance professionals.
Notable recent engagements include two presentations on the importance of ethics in public sector: one at the Institute of Internal Auditors’ Canadian National Conference held in Quebec City, and another at the virtual event supporting the Financial Management Institute’s Professional Development Week.
‘Why wouldn’t I give back when people have helped me?’
In financial reporting and internal auditing, ethical dilemmas are a reality and an area where professionals need support, she says. As an internal auditor for 21 years, she feels she can do a lot of good in this space.
‘The challenge we have is that it’s easy to do the right thing if you’re never challenged,’ she says. ‘Ethics often comes up because not every internal audit report is a good news report.’
Standing firm and navigating difficult situations can be tough. As Michelle tells her audiences, internal auditors have the guardrails of the organisation they work for, the ethical guidelines of their professional body, as well as their own integrity to guide them.
‘Managing and working with people is probably the top competency that we as auditors have to use, with that ethical lens always in front of us.’
That interpersonal experience is an important part of her advocacy for ACCA. One of the things she loves about ACCA is its global nature. Michelle’s own parents are from Jamaica. They moved to the UK as part of the Windrush generation and then moved their young family to Canada, so she understands the challenges of making a home in a new country.
Even helping just one individual navigate the working environment counts
At ACCA events she aims to help not just younger professionals, but also more seasoned professionals, particularly if they are new to Canada. Even helping just one individual navigate the working environment counts for Michelle.
‘It’s about serving people. If I can go and help one person, then that serves the purpose of why I attended. Why wouldn’t I give back when people have helped me?’
International representation
As for Kim Sealy, she won the award in recognition of her work increasing the visibility of the ACCA brand in the Caribbean, representing ACCA internationally, and for her commitment to promoting transparency, good governance and professionalism in public sector finance.
As director of operations and transformation at the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in Barbados, she actively promotes the ACCA qualification and its community to students, affiliate members, universities and employers in Barbados – and beyond.
‘What I get out of this is seeing the success of others’
She uses her own career journey to showcase the opportunities the ACCA qualification has provided her with in public sector accounting, presenting to students at the University of the West Indies and sharing her inspirational story.
Until earlier this year, Kim was a financial controller at the CBC, having joined her employer in 1997 as an accounts clerk. She was promoted to her current role in April.
‘What I have been able to achieve is not what we primarily recognise here in Barbados within the public sector. It’s something more associated with the private sector. I’m trying to break down those walls,’ she says.
As well as speaking to students at the university in Barbados earlier this year about her career journey, Kim represents ACCA Barbados at the International Assembly, actively promoting conversations around how ACCA can enhance public sector accounting education in the region.
She also chairs ACCA’s Local Chapter in Barbados, and with other regional ACCA leaders has helped open doors for ACCA with her focus on creating opportunities for ACCA students in the public sector, engaging with the Comptroller General of Barbados and the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Finance to discuss these entities potentially becoming Approved ACCA Employers.
Kim has found promoting the ACCA brand and working with others on their career pathways to be highly rewarding. ‘What I get out of this is seeing the success of others through the advice of my Local Chapter and the International Assembly.’
