What am I good at? I was once an Internal Auditor at Nile Bank, now ABSA. One day, I witnessed a colleague being terminated for lacking qualifications. That moment cut deep. I went home shaken, not because it happened to someone else, but because it could have been me. So, I did what the comfortable never do. I began reading. Studying. Becoming. Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA. Then Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Then, Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA). Then Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH). Then, Certified Hacking Forensic Investigator (CHFI). Then, Master of Business Administration (MBA). Then Certified Fraud Examiner…

This month (July) 2025, I had the honour of briefing a high-level Board. It always feels nice to engage at the board level. Management had requested that I attend, not as a visitor, but as the one who facilitated the entire strategy planning process. My task was clear: to help the Board understand the process we followed and present the key breakthrough ideas shaping the new strategy. You know, at this level, management must own the strategy. That is why they present it to the Board, not the consultant. My role was to provide an overview of the process behind…

Consultants see a lot. Some time back in 2016, I worked with a bank whose strategy sounded perfect on paper. Five pillars. Fancy PowerPoints. Consultants paid. Town halls held. But six months in, nothing had changed. Just busier people and louder meetings. Why? No data discipline. No execution muscle. Everyone had opinions. No one had facts. Execution is not about shouting louder. It is about measuring tightly. When I came in, I asked one question: “How do you know you are winning?” Blank stares. We started with the basics. Every objective got a scorecard. Every initiative got a weekly dashboard, not a…

I once facilitated a board risk retreat for a fast-growing financial services firm. They had just crossed the 500 billion shilling mark in assets. Celebration everywhere. Balloons. Banners. Speeches. But I noticed something odd in the boardroom. Every risk they mentioned was either on their risk register or in their last audit report. Not one board member asked, “What are we blind to?” I asked the members to reflect: “What if your biggest risk isn’t in the room? What if it is the thing you are not talking about because it is invisible to your current systems?” That is the danger. We…

Data analytics is a core business skill. From Finance, Audit, Risk, and Compliance to the boardroom, you need data-driven insights to make informed decisions. At summitBI Data Analytics, we have created a weekly challenge to improve your data analytics skills. For customized training for your team, please contact us at support[at]summitcl.com, or WhatsApp 0775845691 for an instant quote or to attend our general classes every Thursday of the week. Or you can register here Now take the challenge This practical test covers various Excel functionalities, including shortcut keys, formula usage, and best practices for financial modeling. A score of below 55% indicates you…

During one strategy retreat, a seasoned board member told a story about a broken lock. It revealed why many internal auditors do not add value. They just collect the monthly paycheque for the role of “window dressing” compliance check-box. “We have an internal audit department.” We meet the requirement! You get the idea. He said, “A vault had five locks. Four were strong and regularly checked. The fifth, hidden at the back, was old and rusty. No one paid attention to it. One day, the vault was emptied, not broken into, just quietly opened through that one weak point. The…