Member Showcase: Aqsa Haroon

ACFO-ACAF is excited to launch our Member Showcase series, a feature on ACFO-ACAF members who have shown exceptional dedication to their work, made a difference in their workplace and made a profound impact on the CT Community. You’ll learn about these members’ stories, their contributions and how they’ve made an impact on their community.

Meet Aqsa

Aqsa is a very active member of the financial team at AAFC. She sits on the finance committee, is involved in the WorkPlace program, and oversees the treasury for the Government of Canada Workplace Charitable Campaign (GCWCC). She is seen as a pillar of the FIDP, AAFC’s new CT-FIN development program and has helped many new CT-FINs get a strong foothold in their early career through her mentoring. She has also helped colleagues navigate the Core 1 exam all the way up to the CFE, giving them the best chance to succeed.

Aqsa is known by her colleagues for her sense of humour, the guidance she provides her coworkers, her kindness, and her nature walks with her cat.

What’s your name, classification, and department?

My name is Aqsa Haroon and I am an FI-2 at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

In a few sentences, what do you do?

I work at the recipient audit unit at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. I’m an auditor and I audit recipients that receive funding from my department. I make sure that they are in compliance with the terms and conditions of the agreement that they signed.

What do you like to do for fun in your spare time?

A lot of the things I like to do are outdoorsy, I’m an outdoorsy person. I like camping, hiking, and gardening. Right now, I’m growing tomatoes, cilantro, and lettuce.

What’s your favourite part of your job?

My favourite part of my current position has to be speaking to Canadians and recipients. Part of my job is communicating with the people that receive the funding from my department, and I get to learn about their business and how they’re applying that funding. As a finance person, we’re usually in the back end of things, and we don’t get to see how we’re playing a role in the day-to-day operations of a business. So that’s probably my favourite part, being able to see how we’re making a difference in the day-to-day operations of businesses.

What makes you proud to be a part of the CT Community?

What I think makes me most proud to be part of the CT community is the value that our work provides. It goes beyond just crunching numbers, we’re responsible for the stewardship of Canadian taxpayer money, so just understanding how vital that role is and knowing I’m part of that process and part of that community makes me very proud.

What advice would you give to someone new to the CT Community?

I have a few pieces of advice I’d like to give to somebody new to the CT community. The first one is learning and development: there are plenty of resources through ACFO, through the organization, and a variety of other resources that I think a new CT member should take advantage of. This is good for you not only for career development, but also for your personal learning and growth.

My other piece of advice would be to network. Networking is really good for learning, and you’ll make great relationships like mentors. You’ll make friends that you would not have otherwise met through your direct team, so really taking advantage of all those opportunities presented by your department, your community, or through ACFO. Take advantage, keep learning, keep growing.

What else would you like to add?

The other thing I wanted to share with you is the FORD and FIDP program and my experience with it, especially coming from Calgary to Ottawa and being new in the city, not knowing anyone. That program really helped me get oriented. The members helped me feel welcome and it was a great experience to kickstart my career in finance.

Nominate a colleague for the ACFO-ACAF Member Showcase today

If you have a colleague whose work ethic and dedication stands out that you’d like to nominate to be featured in the member showcase, you can reach out to Director of Communications and Member Engagement Lauren Doty at ldoty@acfo-acaf.com.