Despite increased participation, public sector chief finance officers (CFOs) failed to make the cut at the 9th edition of the ACCA-Deloitte CFO Awards.
Speaking during the awards gala in Kampala last week, Mr Sanjay Rughani, the Standard Chartered chief executive officer and the lead judge for the past three years, said none of the public sector nominees scored above 60 percent in the awards that were largely dominated by banking and insurance CFOs.
‘This year, we are not awarding public sector CFOs because they failed to meet the benchmark. They need to do quality work and prepare better for future editions,’ he said.
CFOs from banking, financial services, and insurance continued to outperform their peers from other sectors in the awards organized by the Association of Chartered Certified and Deloitte.
Once confined to financial oversight and compliance, CFOs today play a transformational role, driving financial planning, forecasting, and strategic decision-making, aomng others.
The 9th edition of the CFO Awards attracted the highest number of entries since the awards began in 2017, with Ms Charlotte Kukunda, the ACCA country manager, noting that this year the awards recorded 546 nominations from 63 CFOs, a 30 percent increase from last year.
‘Out of the 63 nominees, 20 were repeat entrants, while 21 were disqualified for not following guidelines,’ she said, noting that banking, financial services, and insurance had 13 nominees, six of whom made the final shortlist.
The awards recognised excellence in nine categories, including Young CFO, SME, Public Sector, Compliance and Governance, Finance Transformation and Technology, Strategy Execution, Sustainability, Leadership, and Not-for-Profit. The tenth category was reserved for the CFO of the Year Award.
Mr Patrick Ayota, the NSSF managing director, challenged finance leaders to go beyond traditional number-crunching and focus on creating legacies that drive long-term value.
‘A CFO sits in a position of privilege,’ he said. ‘Every decision, whether from HR or marketing, converges in finance.
Like the good book says, to whom much is given, much is required. You must have a greater impact than any other department head.’
Mr Peter Ssenyange, PostBank CFO, was the overall winner.