Transforming a Federal Agency

Chapter 1The Nomination Process

Imagine being contacted by the Presidential Personnel Office of the White House about serving your country. I was sitting in my home office in New Albany, Ohio, absently browsing the internet and contemplating the next stage of my life, when I received an email about my interest in the chief financial officer position at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, working with Secretary Ben Carson. The Trump administration was interested in bringing private-sector experience into government. The President's Management Agenda included creating more efficient operations by modernizing the financial and IT infrastructure of government. The administration was aware that the Big Four¹ accounting firms had relatively young retirement ages for partners and reached out to the firms to solicit interest in public service.

I sat in my office staring at the golf course in our backyard and contemplated the inquiry. This was March 2017, and I was three months away from retiring after a 37-year career with Ernst & Young LLP as a senior global audit partner. There was a lot to think about. I had not contemplated the demands of public service in retirement.

Like all Big Four accounting firms, EY has a relatively young retirement age—generally around 60 years old. It's embedded into the partnership agreement a new partner signs in their thirties. You don't have to agree to the terms; nobody forces anyone to join the partnership. But I've yet to hear about ...