As you read this the News of The World (NoW) tabloid is dead. It ‘died’ on 10th July 2011. Ironically, on its last print day, it sold seven million copies. After 168 years of print, the World’s most popular tabloid just folded up on the cusp of a potentially debilitating phone-hacking scandal. The gory details of this scandal are just emerging, but for 168 years, NoW played the part of chief malice cheerleader. With no regard to its readers and the wider society, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. International made money while it mocked the rest of the world. And the…
The Power of Networks
There is a proverb in some of the East African cultures to the effect that ‘show me your friends, and I will tell you your character’. Others say ‘birds of the same feathers flock together’. So the rich flock with the rich, corporate types flock with corporate types and well, laggards flock with laggards. People tend to identify with those with whom they share the same economic status or better. What is true for folklore is also true for business. The story of many business successes is filled with amazing coincidences and opportunities that entrepreneurs chanced upon and made good.…
The Power of Knowledge
Businesses often fail because founders and investors neglect to look before they leap, surging forward with plans without taking the time to realize that the base assumptions of the business plan are wrong. Most successful businesses are the result of more business knowledge than anything else. In the Graham Hancock’s classic, Lords of Poverty: The Power, Prestige, and Corruption of the International Aid Business, Hancock vividly recounts how “experts” in charge of a World Bank project attempted in vain to set up a fish farming project in the remote rural areas of the Egyptian Sahara. Despite their best efforts and…
External Audit of information and communication technology systems of Supervised Financial Institutions (SFIs)
On July 10, 2019, Bank of Uganda issued Instruction Circular ‘EDS.306.2 as a follow-up to circular Ref: EDS.306.2 dated July 13, 2017, with respect to the subject matter. All SFIs are required to conduct an external audit of their ICT Systems. And that an SFI may identify and engage any firm from the list of firms prequalified to provide External Audit Services; and such a firm DOES NOT have to be appointed external audit of the said SFI. Summit Consulting Ltd has partnered with an audit firm to provide External Audit of SFI ICT Systems at an affordable fee. You…
The cunning accountant, part 1
Beautiful, self-motivated and full of energy, Jane Kugonza was an exceptional accountant with a sense of style. She held the latest iPhone model and had a particular liking for red stylish shoes with matching lipstick and leather bags. A certified chartered accountant, Jane was an envy of those who knew her: the boys wanted some piece of her while the ladies envied the attention she commanded. However, her beauty and false innocent look led to the collapse of a business in a Ugx. 3 billion fraud scheme. Jane worked with two assistants, Julius Okiring and Maria Atukunda in her finance…
Bank fraud in East Africa, how to prevent this ever-present danger, part 1
No system is unhackable. That is the hackers’ credo. And it is accurate. There is no security system that cannot be breached. The catchphrase these days is “military-grade” encryption. The truth is, the military-grade security system is managed by human beings! It goes without saying that what one human being can do. Another can do better. The good guys, the IT professionals, and cybersecurity experts are always in the comfort of their offices. They can easily sleep off. However, the bad guys are highly motivated. So what is hacking and how do hackers do it? Hacking is a breach of…
