Good boards provide insights that management do not know. If the board is well composed, it provides: 1) Strategic insights and guidance on how to solve start up challenges like access to capital -equity and or loan 2) Avoiding problems that kill most start ups like poor recruitment, lack of compliance, and a bad business model. A good board asks questions to help the start up owners reflect and fine tune their business case. 3) Strategic positioning. If a start up is lucky to have a seasoned person of high repute on their board, it gives them good visibility. Imagine…
Life’s work with Jim
Jim Drani Drileba is the Manager of Risk Advisory Services (RAS) with BDO East Africa, a specialistaudit and consultancy firm. Jim also headed the Internal audit department at Lacor Hospital before moving as the Director of Business risk and compliance with Mazars BRJ. He met with Mustapha B Mugisa and shared his journey in the risk and investigation. Jim says if you are a person who is professional with integrity and humility, you succeed. Time management is critical in our profession. Dress for the part. And lastly, write well. Tell us about your journey. How and where did you start…
Can a CEO be the director of a company?
Yes. Another name for CEO is Managing Director or Executive Director or President. In the UK, the organization’s top honcho is referred to as Managing Director. If it is a not for profit organization, the same role is referred to as Executive Director or Executive Secretary. In the US, the same position is referred to as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or President. Any staff involved in the day-to-day running of the business or organization is called an Executive staff member. An Executive Officer or Director is a Director or an Officer who is also involved in the day to day…
Life’s work: 1:1 with Peter Kirimunda
He is currently a farmer and consultant. A seasoned Auditor who trained in the United Kingdom. A former Director of Internal Audit at Uganda National Roads Authority, Peter Kirimunda has been there and seen it all. He met with Mustapha B. Mugisa at his office about his life’s lessons. In brief: Life skills are best learnt when people are still young. For example, I learnt agriculture, the discipline of hard work and earning from your sweat. The level or place you are does not matter, it is your determination and passion that will take you where you want to be.…
Legal innovation
If you are a lawyer in the private legal practice, google this term: “trademarkia”. You will learn it is a website that offers free web content, connects users to paid legal services and as of 2019, it helped the new law firm that started it to top the filing of trademarks — dethroning the traditional law firms… Indeed, new entrants in tech law are taking small pies from the big boys. Now is the time for new law firm strategy – where will growth come from? What is your law firms long term game? Where do you plan to grow…
Are you winning?
Below is a memo a branch manager of a bank wrote to his team, which I was part of, after an encounter. At the time, we persistently came to work late. That was way back in 2003! It is surprising that this discipline of timekeeping is a real career trapper. In Uganda, when it rains, many programs change. People fail to move. Something called an umbrella does not exist. On my first job, it rained. I came slightly late, just checked in 10 minutes past the official reporting time of 8:00 am. Then branch manager at Nile Bank looked at…
