Director, Financial Control and Reporting Division

Mulu Kahsay serves as director for the Financial Control and Reporting Division (FCRD) in the Office of Financial Operations and Systems (OFOS). Kahsay is responsible for preparing and timely issuing the District’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) in accordance with applicable standards, relevant District law, and other federal requirements. In addition, he oversees and provides guidance on the implementation of new accounting statements issued by the Governmental Accounting Standard Board (GASB) and ensures the timely and accurate implementation of their requirements. As standards change, he provides leadership in implementing and updating policies and procedures, consistent with new guidance or current best practices. He also serves as a primary liaison for responding to inquiries received from the mayor, council, U.S. Congress, other stakeholders, and the general public regarding the District’s CAFR and financial reporting practices. 

Kahsay has served the District government in several capacities since first joining the District in 2008. Between 2008 and 2012, he worked as an accountant in OFOS’s Accounting Operations Division, Cash Reconciliation Unit, and later as an accounting system analyst, as part of a financial system implementation team. Beginning in October 2014, he subsequently worked as a financial database analyst within FCRD. In this position, he worked to maintain the accuracy and reliability of the District’s financial information by reviewing and analyzing system data to proactively identify and resolve potential discrepancies. He also assisted financial staff in properly using the District’s financial management systems; resolved issues related to the maintenance of the financial systems; provided support to agencies during interim and annual closes; and assisted with the preparation of the District’s CAFR.

For approximately four years, he served as the financial control and reporting manager in FCRD. In that capacity, he was responsible for ensuring that the District’s CAFR was timely issued and in compliance with generally accepted accounting principles. He also managed the day-to-day activities of the division. Kahsay played an instrumental role in the implementation of new CAFR management software that improved the efficiency and accuracy of the CAFR preparation process.

Kahsay has an abundance of experience working with entities outside of the District government. He has worked as a business data analyst with the Alexandria City Public Schools, where he, among other things, performed highly specialized accounting work required to maintain the agency’s financial ERP system and conducted difficult and often complex statistical and financial analyses. He also held accounting and systems analyst positions with Intelsat Corporation, Women for Women International, FINCA International, and Ethiopian Airlines.

He is a certified public accountant and holds a master’s degree in data analytics from the University of Maryland Global Campus.