Department of Energy CFO Steve Isakowitz was first appointed DOE CFO by President George W. Bush in 2007 and was last year reappointed to that role by President Obama. We recently spoke to Isakowitz and asked him about the DOE’s business hand.

BF: As CFO of a large government agency, what is your top priority today?

Isakowitz: Our top priority right now is putting Americans back to work and getting the dollars that we got through the [American] Recovery [and Reinvestment] Act -- $36 billion -- spent quickly so that we can get people back to work and spent well so that the investments we make are lasting investments. We are hoping to stimulate private sector investments and green jobs and green businesses for clean energy. That's probably the most important thing that we're working on right now.

BF: Can you give us an example of how these investments ultimately stimulate job creation?

Isakowitz: We have projects that span from basic research, where we are spending to augment the kind of research that is being done at universities, to taking facilities that have either deteriorated or are what we call "shovel ready" for repairs or construction and allowing them to get in the line for work much faster than they would otherwise. We have weatherization programs where we go into low-income communities and provide energy-efficient improvements to homes. This involves hundreds of thousands of homes in the coming year and will be putting lots of people back to work. We are doing this on the local level and working with the states very closely, especially the ones that are the largest recipients of this funding. We are making investments in renewable projects, whether it's through R&D or through tax incentives that we're working on with the Treasury Department, and we have government-backed loans for businesses that are looking to manufacture or produce clean forms of energy. These loans allow them to build facilities and employ large numbers of Americans.

BF: Given the volume of dollars involved, it's clear that you face a huge challenge in tracking them ...

Isakowitz: This administration has made openness one of the key features of the whole Recovery Act. For example, we're using Recovery.gov, where you can learn where these dollars are being put to use and for what opportunities. We are also tracking individual recipients in terms of what they are receiving and what jobs are being created. Meanwhile, we're just trying to provide as much information as possible so that people understand what opportunities there are. From our side, it has required a rather unprecedented level of insight to where the dollars go. Normally, in a given year we would spend a few hundred million dollars and these would go to the states. Under the Recovery Act, $11 billion will be flowing out this year, and that's just an unprecedented level. Unlike the past, where you were largely just tracking the check to the states, we have an expectation of ourselves to go beyond and understand how the states are putting those dollars to use -- to make sure not just that we're giving them the money, but in fact that they are taking these dollars, hiring people, and getting work done. So this has required a lot of reporting and coordination with the states through which we have tried to track these funds and make certain that they are being put to good use.

BF: When everything is said and done, how are you going to measure your success?

Isakowitz: It can be challenging when you're really part of a larger team, but within the department, what I've been working on is trying to transform the organization from one that was largely transactional and compliance-based to one that's much more focused on decision support. We have made significant investments in new systems that allow us to be more modernized in our business practices, and we have sought people with backgrounds that are more analytical as opposed to just pure accounting-oriented. In other words, I want something more than a person telling me what the number is. I want someone to tell me whether it's the right number. And by doing this, I think that we have demonstrated our value back to the leadership here and to the programs that execute these activities, and in terms of being at the table to provide advice, to provide the information to do help them do their jobs right.

BF: This is almost identical to what many CFOs in the private sector would tell us ... but how is your role different?

Isakowitz: Well, at the end of the day, we're not a profit-and-loss organization, where you look dollar-wise at the return to shareholders. We're providing a public service back to the taxpayer, and this is not necessarily measured in dollars. In fact, most often it's not. Typically, in our organization what we most often provide is science, technology, and engineering, and the same type of challenges that we often face when it comes to measuring are the same challenge that an R&D outfit would face in a larger organization. The support of the U.S. Congress and the President are one way to measure our efforts, and they are really looking at how we are executing the plans and goals that we have set for ourselves. We often bring in outside advisory groups to review how we're meeting these goals, and we get into the specifics of what we're doing, whether it's in the larger science community or through what successes we see in the marketplace.

BF: Meanwhile, day-to-day, you are CFO, and many of your priorities are what they would be for a CFO in the private sector ...

Isakowitz: There are a lot of similarities. The fact that we require good accounting and finance systems that can track where our dollars are going. The fact that we need to be compliant with the rules that are upon us and that we have our own version of shareholders -- being the President and Congress. And we have competing demand for scarce resources. So from this standpoint, I see our worlds as very similar. The modern CFO for the federal government is much more than a green eyeshades guy. He or she needs to be someone who can provide counsel to the department Secretary on a board level and understand what decisions are about to be made. They need to understand where the risks are and where the opportunities might be. In these times of record deficits, there is a growing scrutiny when it comes to scraping up dollars to fund the things that you want to do, and this requires a close look at your operations.

BF: What advice would you have for finance professionals seeking to build their careers in the public sector?

Isakowitz: A modern CFO needs to be more than a CPA. He or she needs to really understand the business so that you're at the table and a member of the decision support team. I mentioned before that we have shareholders similar to those in the private sector, but the fact is that ours are much more diverse. We've got essentially 535 people up on Capitol Hill and the President and all his minions. All need to be addressed. So, it's much more diverse, and it's challenging in that way because you're trying to please all of those people as well those in the department itself. And the budgeting process is highly unique to the federal government in terms of working with the White House, and in terms of getting the dollars you need to get the job done. One big challenge is that every year you are reviewing it, and it's hard to get the long-term commitments you need, particularly for projects like we have, which include projects where we're building major scientific facilities. It's a challenge to get that stability when there are changes in parties. It's a very dynamic environment, and one where you have to learn to work through the bureaucracy. And it's one that I personally find very rewarding because of the mission itself. There are things that you are trying to accomplish -- whether it's helping to create jobs, to win wars at the Pentagon, or to visit planets, such as when I was working at NASA -- and I don't think that you find this in the private sector.