Transforming a Federal Agency Management Lessons from HUD's Financial Reconstruction

Discover how the author transformed a massive government department in just a few years and fixed seemingly unfixable problems 

In Transforming a Federal Agency: Management Lessons from HUD’s Financial Reconstruction, finance and strategy expert Irving (Irv) L. Dennis delivers an insightful and eye-opening exploration of the lessons he learned in bringing private sector experience to the transformation of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s financial systems. 

Pulled out of retirement after a 37-year career at Ernst & Young (EY), the author’s tenure at HUD involved a rapid and surgical rejuvenation of their financial infrastructure. The book details the ten management areas he focused on and also includes: 

• The transformation process and the barriers and roadblocks the author encountered on his journey 
• Ensuring an enduring transformation even after changes in administration 
• Functional differences between the private sector and governmental organizations 
• How the author approached his first 100 days as Chief Financial Officer of the Department 
• Insights into the innerworkings of the Executive Branch of government  

Perfect for government employees, finance professionals in the public and private sectors, and business students, Transforming a Federal Agency is a simultaneously fascinating and instructive journey through the remediation of seemingly intractable financial mismanagement. 

Irv Dennis is a strategic board member, advisor, executive, and financial expert. He is the former Chief Financial Officer of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and spent a 37-year career at Ernst & Young, LLP, retiring as a Senior Global Client Service Partner.

Foreword from former Secretary of HUD, Dr. Ben Carson

Introduction—What a Reader Can Expect

PART I—THE BEGINNING

Chapter 1—The Nomination Process

Chapter 2—About HUD

Chapter 3—HUD’s State of Affairs upon My Arrival

PART II—THE EVALUATION PROCESS

Chapter 4—My First Hundred Days

Chapter 5—The Evaluation of Governance, People, Processes, and Technology

Chapter 6—Understanding How It Got This Bad

Chapter 7—Barriers to Success

PART III—THE TRANSFORMATION PROCESS

Chapter 8—Building the Platform for Success

Mission Statement

Stakeholder Buy-in

Leadership

Governance

Chapter 9—Financial and IT Modernization

Financial Transformation Plan

Intelligent Automation Strategy

IT Modernization

Enterprise Fraud and Risk Management

Chapter 10—Coordination with Critical Service Providers

Shared Services with ARC

The Audit Process

Chapter 11—The Results: Where we were in 2020

Chapter 12—Making HUD’s Transformation Sustainable

PART IV—OBSERVATIONS AND REFLECTIONS

Chapter 13—Differences Between the Private and Public Sectors

Chapter 14—Final Thoughts: An Experience of a Lifetime

Pursuing a Career in the Executive Branch

Why It Matters

Testifying before Congress

Why the President’s “Transactional” Nature with His Staff Made Sense to Me

I Was Told It’s a Mean City and Trust No One

Experience of a Lifetime

The Final Twenty-Four Hours

Appendix A—Acronyms and Definitions

Appendix B—History of HUD

Appendix C—Summary of HUD’s 2020 Enacted Budget

Appendix D—CFO Letters in the Agency Financial Report

Appendix E—My Resignation Letter

Appendix F—List of HUD’s Accomplishments in 2019 and 2018

Acknowledgments

Index

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