Scott Catlett is a 15-year CSMFO member with vast experiences. He has served in numerous capacities including at the chapter level, on committees, and as a board member. Scott is the Finance Director/City Treasurer for the City of Yorba Linda and currently also serves as CSMFO’s Administration Committee Chair and the Career Development Committee Vice Chair. It turns out life is not black and white, and change provides new perspectives and growth opportunities.

1. What is your favorite book, movie, or TV show and why?

I’ve always enjoyed reading history books, but I don’t get much time to do it these days.  I also love any movies set in the past, particularly war movies.

2. How has a previous or current mentor impacted your career?

I’ve been fortunate along the way to have a lot of mentors, both in CSMFO leadership and in my agencies.  One of the biggest impacts they’ve had is pushing me to get more involved with CSMFO, where I’ve gained some great experiences, a network of peers to talk with about mutual challenges, and a number of good friends.  A special thank you is owed to former Riverside Finance Director Brent Mason, who “volunteered me” for Inland Empire Chapter Chair when I missed a chapter meeting.  I may not have ever gotten involved without that subtle push.

3. What do you enjoy most about your job?

I mostly enjoy solving problems, especially for other departments.  Finance is somewhat unique in that we get to work a little bit in a variety of areas, from public works to utilities to human resources.  That variety is what keeps me interested with coming into work every day.  You never know what will find its way to your desk.

4. Knowing what you know now, if you were new to government finance what would you do differently when you started your career?

I’m not sure that I would do anything differently.  I started my career in consulting, and I’ve found that seeing many agencies from that perspective has given me a lot of useful skills for improving the agencies where I’ve worked.  Meeting with clients also prepared me well for dealing with the public and the City Council as a Director.  I suppose if I could change one thing, it would have been to ask my boss early when I started working for a government agency to let me learn more about the other divisions of the finance department to broaden my knowledge.  It was asking that question and getting a yes, a couple of years after I started that gave me many of the skills that enabled me to be a successful Assistant Director and Director.

5. What is your current position and what do your children or friends think you do at work?

I’m currently a Finance Director for a medium sized city.  My oldest son is the only one who really is aware of what I do, but he thinks it is primarily focused on writing checks and buying things.  Most of what I find interesting about my job he would probably find boring at 10 years old, so I haven’t corrected his understanding yet.  I’m looking forward to sharing more with him as he gets older.  I might make an accountant out of him yet.

6. How do you keep up to date with upcoming regulations?

GFOA and CSMFO have great resources for knowing what’s going on in the industry.  I’ve never had to look beyond what they have to offer to keep informed.

7. How do you motivate staff and yourself?

Most importantly I listen.  I’ve found all too often in my career that staff need someone to listen to them.  Whether it is helping them find what they love and making an effort to tailor their work to the extent possible to match those interests, or learning more about why they are not happy with certain aspects of their work environment and changing what I can.  I can’t fix every problem and may not agree that they are all really significant problems, but I can hear them and make them feel that their concerns are valid and worth my time.  Beyond that, I try to make everyone aware of why we are doing what we are doing, and what the end results will be if we are successful.  I stay motivated by keeping interesting things on my plate at the office and having a motivated staff.

8. What has been the most challenging time in your finance career and how did you overcome it?

For all of the good that we can do in our careers, agencies can change overnight and that good can be erased.  I suppose the hardest thing for me has been seeing a decade of my work evaporate in a relatively short period of time as a result of a change in agency leadership.  The good side of that experience is that it taught me that you can only do so much and there comes a time that you have to move on.  Looking back some years later, I am glad that I moved on to new places and was able to diversify my experiences through seeing how things are done at other agencies.

9. What is something about you that no one would ever guess or expect?

From high school through my late 20s, I was an active black and white photographer, primarily focused on architecture and nature.  During high school and college, I actively exhibited my work and won some awards on a local and statewide level.  I haven’t been in a dark room for over 15 years, and I miss it.  It is something that I hope to get back to when I have more time for myself later in life.

10. What advice do you have for a CSMFO member on getting more involved with the organization?

CSMFO is a welcoming organization.  If you want to get more involved, ask to join a committee that parallels your interests, or talk with your Chapter Chair about helping with events.  You will find that within a short time you will get to know people throughout the state, and a variety of opportunities will open up to participate in this great group of volunteers.  I started as a Chapter Chair, and the following year I moved on to committee leadership and a number of years later to the Board of Directors.  Getting involved was one of the most beneficial decisions that I’ve made in my career.