International Journal of Advanced Engineering, Management and Science (IJAEMS) Peer-Reviewed Journal ISSN: 2454-1311 | Vol-9, Issue-5; May, 2023 Journal Home Page: https://ijaems.com/ Article DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.22161/ijaems.95.1 This article can be downloaded from here: www.ijaems.com 1 ©2023 The Author(s). Published by Infogain Publication. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Financial Competence of Non-Accounting Graduates in the Department of Education in Cabanatuan City Sheena H. Banting 1 , Mary Rose M. Bayacsan 2 , Hannah Joma M. Bencalo³, Julianne Marie V. Cunanan 4 , Maria Alexa J. Roca 5 , Alma Pia G. Reyes 6 1 Administrative Officer II, DepEd Schools Division Office of Nueva Ecija, Sta. Rosa, Nueva Ecija 2 Faculty Member, NEUST Carranglan Off-Campus, Carranglan, Nueva Ecija Intermediate ³Audit Staff, Earnst and Young GDS (CS), BGC, Taguig 4 Accounting Staff, Pamana Water Corporation, Guimba, Nueva Ecija 5 Loan Servicing Assistant, First Isabela Cooperative Bank, Guimba, Nueva Ecija 6 CMBT Faculty, Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology Received: 30 Mar 2023; Received in revised form: 29 Apr 2023; Accepted: 06 May 2023; Available online: 16 May 2023 Abstract— This study sought to evaluate the financial acumen of Department of Education graduates who did not major in accounting. Second, how it impacts their ability to perform at work. The relationship between financial competence and performance rating was described and examined in this study using a descriptive correlation research design. The study's findings indicate that most respondents were females in the age range of 31 to 40, college graduates, and mostly administrative officers with two to three years of experience. They received a score of 39% for knowledge, 53% for skills, 74% for attitude, and 72% for behavior. The average score is 60%, indicating that their level of financial competence is average. The findings indicate a strong positive correlation between financial competence and performance rating, with a correlation coefficient of 0.724. This implies that a person's performance will increase in direct proportion to his level of financial competence. It is necessary to take into account their mediocre level of skill and limited knowledge. Programs for financial education may assist employees in achieving and maintaining a high level of financial competence at work, which will lead to good performance. Keywords— Assessment, Department of Education. financial competence, performance, qualification and skill mismatch I. INTRODUCTION Financial competence involves the ability to handle money, understand financial institutions' roles, and participate in financial planning. In an ever-progressive professional environment, employees are expected to gauge work with sufficient financial competence. The concept of competency is usually applied to define the whole of individual abilities, skills, behaviors, and knowledge, oriented to effective performance in a particular working environment. (Kolibacova, G., 2014). Companies today require employees who understand their finances and can make a significant contribution to the bottom line. One of the problems that arise in the appointment of school managers is that the appointment itself is not based on the training and expertise possessed by school heads, which in turn will cause the appointed school heads to manage in a trial-and-error manner. The said school head will also be heavily dependent on the accounting clerk who is known to be more experienced in the school’s financial management. Therefore, this would cause problems in the financial management of the school due to the prevailing fact that is lacking knowledge and experience among school heads in preparing school expenditures (Galigao et al., 2019). This is also true in DepEd Cabanatuan. Like most institutions, the job-skill mismatch is another issue that DepEd Cabanatuan is dealing with. There is no denying that job-skill mismatch remains a problem in the country’s labor sector (Villanueva, 2016). The pandemic