Innovative, hard-working and approachable.
I am currently the Head of Product Control for the Africa Regions subsidiaries of Standard Bank Group. Product control is a middle/Backoffice function for the treasury and financial markets business segments of the bank.
My finance career started in 2009, as a graduate trainee within the finance department of Stanbic Bank Uganda, a subsidiary of Standard Bank Group. Back then when I joined the bank, I barely had any accounting background or experience since I had just graduated with a BSc degree in mechanical engineering. The CFO of the bank, at the time, was deliberately looking to hire engineering graduates into finance, mainly for their analytical mindset and I fortunately made the cut through the two rounds of interviews that were held. Initially it was sheer curiosity that kept me going, however my passion for finance grew when I landed the role of treasury accountant where I got the opportunity of working with treasury financial instruments (valuation, measurement and recognition).
Problem solving opportunities that come by quite often. Almost every other day presents a new challenge.
Treasury is a specialised function, whose scope is quite often not comprehensively defined in many organisations, especially in developing/emerging markets. Having looked through the course content offered by the ACT qualifications I was drawn to the structured layout of the course, which provide the building blocks that define best practice in setting up a treasury function and governance. The organisation I am currently working for has a wide geographical footprint within Sub-Saharan Africa, this has given me exposure to the diversity in African markets in terms of challenges and opportunities. Over time, through observation and purposeful engagement with various CFOs and business unit heads within the organisation, I came to the realisation that having a sound financial risk management framework, a solid liquidity plan and good capital management are vital elements to building a resilient business. In addition, the recent disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated the need for a strong treasury function for any business to successfully navigate the turbulent economic environment.
Absolutely, I specifically appreciated the course material on the yield curve and treasury organisation and operations.
I think the key benefits are:
The flexibility around managing my study plan. With a full-time job, I have adapted to a routine of starting my day as early as 4:30 allowing me at least 2 hours of personal development time before I get to work and with the recent work-from-home arrangement in my organisation I get additional time saving which I am able to allocate towards my studies.
Treasury is a specialised function that is increasingly evolving into a strategic decision making function. Technical competence is one of the critical aspects to making a good treasurer, I would therefore recommend enrolment on a reputable treasury course to develop this facet.
Malcolm Lowe who retired a few years back from the Standard Bank group but before that he was the best treasury Head for the Africa Regions franchise of the group. He was revered for his in-depth knowledge on Sub-Saharan financial markets and the ability to run an effective treasury function. Working with him was such a great opportunity as I learnt quite a lot from him.