The-Accountant-Jan-Feb-2018

The FiRe AWARD 2017
The guest of honour at the Award
ceremony was Dr. Mukhisa Kituyi,
United Nations Conference on Trade
and Development (UNCTAD) Secretary
General. Among other achievements, he
has a wide ranging experience in trade
negotiations, and in African and broader
international economics and diplomacy.
He was represented by James Chan
who hailed the FiRe Award and the
high standards it had set for Africa. He
stressed the importance of transparency
and quality reporting, adding that this
inspires confidence. He also commended
the organizations that had participated
in the FiRe Award for their courage
in voluntarily submitting their reports
for scrutiny. He said the feedback was
useful and encouraged more people
to participate because of its invaluable
benefits.
FCPA Joe Gichuki, Managing
Partner JG Associates and CEO Kawai
Consultants EA, discussed the future of
organization reporting in East Africa –
exploring Integrated and Sustainability
reporting in East Africa. He quoted
Mr. Charles Handy, the Leadership
Guru, widely recognized and revered
for his contributions to furthering our
understanding of business in the context
of personal and ethical questions. He
explained how your thought process
leads to where you are… Mr. Gichuki
challenged the participants by asking
them; if the profits they are making are a
good indicator they are doing well; adding
that you should see profits as a proxy for
business. He stressed the importance
of creating value. You need integrated
thinking to ensure that your business
functions well. These may include strategy,
sustainability and operations. You should
not make profit your only goal. This kind
of thinking has made many companies
fail. The CEO advised his audience to
listen to those who have failed as well,
as therein lay a lot of lessons. Several
factors ensure the overall success of an
organization. So you should incorporate
resources such as human, social,
relationship and intellectual capitals
among others. The message from one
of the sponsors NSSF was to encourage
all members to contribute as much as
they can to secure their future bearing
in mind that compounded interest is
applied. They also asked accountants
to ensure that all the money deducted
is paid. They said they had decided
ICPAK CEO, CPA Edwin Makori
PSASB Chairman, CPA Bernard Ndung’u
NSE CEO, Mr. Geoffery Odundo
CMA CEO, Mr. Paul Muthaura
as an institution to make an impact
in this country. Other sponsors were
KASNEB, ACCA, ICAEW, OFFICE
OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL,
EY, IRA, MASARS, DELLOITE,
GRANT THORNTON, and THE
SACCO SOCIETIES REGULATORY
AUTHORITY among others.
It is always good to look back and
compare performances: it was therefore
interesting to listen to the various
presentations and compare notes;
Speaking about ‘Past winners’ experience;
reaping the dividends from improved
financial reporting Ms Wangui Ndirangu,
Financial Controller, Barclays Bank of
Kenya, of Kenya said Barclays, which
had operated in Kenya for over 100 years,
had received many accolades. Barclays
was the overall winner of the 2016 FiRe
Award, and participants were interested
in knowing what it had done to gain
that position. Ms Ndirangu (referring
to their 2016 win) explained that the
bank had played many pioneering roles
in many aspects. Including: influencing
policy, giving women leadership positions,
being listed in the NSE and listening to
customers’ needs among other milestones.
Barclays had also ensured that it was
involved in the FiRe Award in the early
stages and had consistently participated
in it.
CPA Benard Ndung’u, chairman of
Public Sector Accounting Standards
Board (PSASB) and who was also
the Director General of Accounting
and Quality Assurance Services at the
National Treasury had said in 2016
that that the 2016 event witnessed the
largest number of public sector entries.
“Enhanced transparency in financial
reporting is expected in Kenya’s public
sector, following increased participation
in the Excellence in Financial Report
Awards (Fire Award) this year,” said
CPA Ndung’u at that time. Mr Paul
Muthaura, the CMA Chief Executive
said during the 2016 FiRe Award
ceremony that “responsible financial
reporting contributes significantly to
ensuring that financial information put
out by the entities is reliable and enables
investors make informed decisions as they
participate in the capital markets.”
The Gala night was a delightful one;
stakeholders had an enjoyable night filled
with comedy, succulent food, good music
and useful interactions.
Theme: Inspiring Confidence through Excellence in Financial Reporting and Corporate Governance in East Africa
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