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…
Risk is not what you think will happen; it is what you are not seeing
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…
summitBI Data Analytics weekly challenge | week 1
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…
Why most auditors will be irrelevant in 5 years to come.
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…
Mastering data analytics in 3 hours, from basics to advanced
Every Thursday & Friday | 9 am–12 noon | @ IFIS, Ntinda Complex, Block B, 4th Floor, Opp. St Luke Church Kampala YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE A TECHIE TO WIN WITH DATA. I have seen it again and again. Executives overwhelmed. Business managers are guessing. Teams are working hard, but not working smart. Why? Because they do not understand how to read, clean, and extract insights from data. They fear Excel. They think analytics is for the IT team. That ends now. This is your weekly 3-hour Data Analytics Breakthrough Session designed for professionals like you. Whether you are a…
The Whisper behind the Throne: The silent power of the company secretary in winning boards.
When the new board chairman of a regional insurer took office, he arrived with gravitas, strategy decks, and bold promises. But after his first board meeting, he put me aside and said, “That woman saved me.” He was not referring to his deputy or the CEO. He meant the company secretary. Earlier, he had fumbled protocol. Missed the nuances of a heated audit committee legacy. Almost triggered a no-confidence motion with a careless comment. The boardroom was polite, but tense. Only the company secretary, seated quietly at the far end, sent him a discreet note mid-meeting: “Pause. Acknowledge the past before…
