Pros
I believe that most of the reviews here are rather pessimistic and do not give enough credit to the department. A grossly understated benefit from employment at AGD is the immediate appreciation for any other future workplace. Think of this as basic military training for employment. All employees are thrust into positions of accountability without power, and this creates an interesting situation which is also somewhat ironic as you are working for the Accountant General. Given the challenging nature of policy work and variety of projects, this is a fantastic opportunity for learning via blame. Management regularly forgets / second guesses decisions already made and is most likely overworked. Therefore, all employees are trained to be extremely efficient to optimize workflow to make time for insignificant / cosmetic corrections which will account for about 80% of your time, including overtime [unpaid :( ]. It is not uncommon to work during weekends. It is my opinion that management makes terrible and asinine decisions frequently, but what do I know? You are also trained (somewhat) to make decisions for management, and as a bonus you will also be solely responsible for any suboptimal outcome. Another feature of the blame game is that it is shared among all. Usually in accounting firms, the different levels of hierarchy shelter blame from lower levels. Here, the fury permeates to the bottom. I will never forget the weekly meetings where managers would exit the room in tears, blamed for things which they have no ability / power to change. Whether they were responsible for the boo-boo was irrelevant. What this means is that few or no managers are willing to "stick out" their necks for junior staff when things get rough, because there is no point. As a learning experience, you build the capacity to take higher level responsibility, and this really prepares you for higher positions at an early stage of your career, assuming you are junior. I can confidently say that my experience at AGD has hardened my heart and lowered my workplace expectations to a point that ANY other job will greatly exceed them. It is true that NO other place can offer what AGD does. People honestly complain way too much. First world problems.
Cons
Management style is swift and effective, and most likely modeled from sweatshops and low-wage high-output factories. Unfortunately, this archaic style does not achieve the desired outcomes in a knowledge-based economy due to rigidity. There is also little to negative value-add by Management in the problem solving process in terms of quality of insight and relevance of opinion. Lack of internal politics among staff is not conducive to personal drive and motivation. Only the strongest and most focused should apply. There is little transfer of technical or industry-relevant knowledge to junior staff due to outdated systems and a lack of established processes including documentation. Self-directed learning is also restricted as the nature of work / rotation system provides less opportunity for re-application of experience from prior projects. The department trains generalists which is typical practice in the public sector. This may be a pro or con depending on perspective. Managers have no private sector experience and are greatly demoralized and worn. I worry for the future when management exits.