Role of the Examiner Writer

The first module addresses FCA policy, statutory requirements, and guidelines for reports and report writing. Following that module are ones that specifically lay out how to structure FCA documents, draft effective paragraphs, and achieve a plain language writing style.

Now that we’ve clarified the rationale for issuing FCA examination reports and the role of writing in the examination cycle, let’s bring the discussion down to the individual level—you, the report writer. And consider this question: Are you a professional writer? 

Your answer is probably “No.” But think for a moment about the types of writing you do during a typical week—workpapers, emails, report sections, letters, and so forth. 

How much time each week would you say you spend writing? 20%? 25%? 40%? Maybe higher? 

You get paid for the time you spend writing, yes? And how else would you define “professional writer” other than as someone who gets paid for writing. And that’s you!

Examiner, Researcher, Financial Analyst, Policy Analyst, Interviewer, Presenter, AND Professional Writers

We mention this to underscore the importance of writing not only at FCA, but also to yourself and your career. Your advancement in the agency depends to an extent on how well you communicate. It’s common knowledge that Examiners who combine strong analytical skills and strong writing skills advance in the agency.

Your writing skills need to be as strong as your technical skills. The person who has only examination skills is making a limited contribution to the agency.

FCA Examiners have two basic roles:

– The first is to analyze the financial condition of institutions in the System.

– The second is to communicate the analysis. That is, write up that analysis. FCA’s only “product” is a written document—and that’s why writing is so important to the agency.

Although some FCA staff may have been drawn to financial analysis because they are strong with numbers, professionals in today’s work environment are expected to wear multiple hats and have multiple expertise—in problem solving, budgeting, teamwork, project management, computer programs, conflict resolution, leadership—and writing.

Workplace writing, especially report writing, is a skill, and skills can be learned. Granted, some Examiners have a more natural talent for writing than others, but even good writers need to continue improving their writing throughout their careers. Learning is a lifetime process, and that includes learning to write well.

One reason that writing is so challenging, even for experienced writers, is that there are no easy formulas. Although there are rules for punctuation and grammar, other aspects of writing rely on judgment and skill. There might be eight different ways to say the same idea, and the most effective way will depend on your audience, the type of document you’re writing, the surrounding sentences, the nature of the content, and the institutional style of an agency.

In the sections that follow, we’ll explore some guidelines for making your writing clearer, more concise, more emphatic, and more readable.

Here are some guidelines and thoughts to start with:

– Clear writing comes from clear thinking.  Many so-called writing problems in FCA are actually holes in the data—that is, problems with the examination.

– No amount of good writing will compensate for a bad examination—but bad writing can destroy a good exam.

– Whether your findings are accepted by the reader depends heavily on the presentation of those findings.

– Writing is a service to a reader.  The writer’s task is to make information readily accessible and understandable to readers.

– Every decision you make during writing—about structure, word choice, amount of detail, etc.—should be guided by your perception of the audience.

– Clarity is defined by the reader, not the writer.

– Half of writing is rewriting.

– When the writer doesn’t struggle, the reader does.

As you learned in this section, writing is critical to FCA’s mission. Likewise, it is critical to your career at FCA because your advancement in the agency depends to an extent on how well you communicate.