I have been a treasurer at Kenya Railways Corporation for the past nine years charged with running the treasury, financial risk and cash management functions at the state-owned railway operator. Specifically, I am responsible for cash flow forecasting, working capital management, investments, funding management, financial risk management, bank relations, managing trade finance facilities, hedging, financial reporting and financial systems implementation. As the company is currently undertaking the biggest infrastructure project in the country, my role has occasionally made me delve into areas such as project management, strategy and business automation.
Treasury is a fast paced and an ever-changing (evolving) role and therefore not routine in nature. In addition, I get to make decisions that change every given day depending on the circumstances. Whether it is financing, operation, investment or even strategic decisions, the changing needs of the organisation mean that the decisions change as well. Finally, treasury is becoming a strategic business advisor to the organisation and therefore impacts on all virtually all facets of the company.
Treasury is the engine that runs the organisation, from operational, tactical and strategic viewpoint. Since all decisions have an impact on the financial health of an organisation, treasury plays the critical role of ensuring that there is funding for both capital and operational activities and most importantly, that funds are expended (invested) on the most strategic areas that have a bearing on the future success of the organisation. Focussing on the commercial side of things thrusts treasury into dealing with a host of stakeholders, both internal and external in nature.
I was involved as the project team leader in the complete automation of financial processes for Kenya Railways Corporation, right from the petty cash (imprest) workflows, to reconciliations and overall financial reporting. The team was composed of representatives from user departments, IT and finance. It enabled me to understand the whole organisation from a strategic point of view. We were the first organisation to go cashless through adoption of technology and innovative techniques in the management of financial resources thereby becoming a benchmark for other public sector organisations to emulate.
The greatest challenge is keeping abreast with the rapid technological changes especially in systems implementation and the business side of things. Businesses are evolving every day and new ones are coming up. Better systems are hitting the market rendering previous investments moribund.
Knowledge base from the conferences and events to magazines and the website. There is a lot to learn and keep abreast with. The networking opportunities are precious at both the personal and corporate level.
My smart phone. From accessing the prayer app, to photos, emails and keeping in touch via the social media platforms. It keeps every day interesting between work, family and social life
Resourceful, self-driven and purposeful
To make a good decision, be in the other persons shoes. It has helped me to be balanced in my approach to work and life generally.
As the old adage goes, life starts at 40. This should be the year that the ACT scales to heights and becomes the authority in treasury matters globally.