Imagine a family where dinner-table conversations always find their way back to ethics and integrity – where concepts like honesty, respect, truthfulness, fairness, responsibility and trust are watchwords, and success in life means doing what’s right.
That’s how it is for Steven Turyahikayo FCCA when he meets up with the four of his offspring who followed him into the accountancy profession via ACCA. ‘I didn’t force them,’ he says. ‘They are all quite different people, and each of their journeys into the profession has been their own.’
‘Our father’s work ethic rubbed off on us’
Now semi-retired, though still a partner in Kazibwe Kenneth & Steven, the practice he co-founded in the 1990s, Steven’s 50-year career included spells as an audit manager at Coopers & Lybrand, head of finance at Uganda’s national cotton market board, chief internal auditor at Bank of Uganda, and chair of the risk and audit committee at the country’s Capital Markets Authority and Barclays’s Bank Uganda (now ABSA).
‘I did very well in maths at school,’ says Steven, who had considered becoming an engineer. However, Uganda’s 1971 military coup forced him to reassess his options. On a visit to the Uganda College of Commerce in 1973 he was introduced to ACCA, and four years later qualified and started his career at Coopers & Lybrand Uganda.
Little did Steven then know that his accountancy career would span more than half a century and that, eventually, four of his five children would follow him into the same profession. ‘Maybe they saw what I was doing,’ he muses.
They do indeed appear to have been paying attention. ‘Dad worked very hard and was passionate about his work,’ recalls Diana Komugisha FCCA, Steven’s eldest daughter, whose career has taken her from KPMG via the Capital Markets Authority to the Embassy of Ireland in Kampala, where she is currently senior adviser, internal audit and risk. ‘His work ethic rubbed off on us.’
Inspiring figure
Donald Mugisha FCCA, the eldest of the siblings, shared his father’s love of numbers so started his professional journey with a degree that included accountancy, followed by the ACCA qualification. ‘Because of the training I was able to get a place with Ernst & Young Uganda as an auditor, then with Weatherford International, an oil and gas company, where I rose to the position of East Africa finance manager.’
Today, Donald is an economist in the fiscal analysis division of the Parliament of Uganda. ‘In hindsight, I can see that we were all inspired to join the profession by our father,’ he says.
‘Dad often spoke about integrity and professionalism’
Youngest sibling Ronnie Rukundo FCCA was attracted to accounting for different reasons. Now pursuing an MBA at the Bologna Business School in Italy on sabbatical from his role as an internal auditor for the Central Bank of Uganda, he is currently working in mergers and acquisitions with packaging automation company Coesia as part of his MBA, gaining valuable international corporate experience.
‘I always admired how much Dad travelled for work,’ he says. ‘He’d come back with stories from different places and that sparked the idea that work could take you places, literally and figuratively.’ It also fed Ronnie’s innate curiosity.
‘I loved asking questions. I was always interested in how things worked, especially in the world of business,’ says Ronnie. ‘I really didn’t like maths,’ he admits with a smile, but slowly he saw the benefit in understanding numbers, ‘not just as figures, but as a language that tells the story of how a business is doing’.
Family language
‘Accountancy isn’t just our profession, it’s kind of the family language,’ Ronnie continues, adding that this has helped to shape each of the siblings. Diana agrees: ‘Dad often spoke about integrity and professionalism, and I could see that he and his friends in the profession were people of honour and integrity who spoke well.’
Steven lived, worked and raised his children with the professional values that define ACCA – especially integrity. ‘That became our moral compass,’ says second daughter Esther Arinaitwe FCCA who, following spells in commercial banking at Barclays Bank and Standard Chartered Bank in Uganda and Kenya, now manages a significant trade finance portfolio at the Eastern and Southern Trade and Development Bank in Kenya.
‘We grew up knowing that ethics and accountability weren’t just buzzwords – they were non-negotiables,’ she says.
‘Our mum isn’t an ACCA, but she is a pillar of strength to all of us’
Those values have guided the siblings professionally and in everyday life, continues Esther, whose recent move into development finance answered a desire for purpose.
‘I was seeking work that delivers long-term tangible impact, to contribute meaningfully to Africa’s economic transformation by improving access to finance, enabling sustainable trade and supporting inclusive growth.’
Character building
In all their endeavours, the siblings have always been able to rely on the support of mother Joy. ‘Our mum isn’t an ACCA, but she is a pillar of strength to all of us,’ says Diana. ‘As well as being a great support to Dad, she prayed for us as we sat our ACCA exams and encouraged us to try again when we failed.’
Looking back as he edges towards retirement, how does Steven feel about his decision to become an accountant and the successful careers that he and his four children have built? ‘Accountancy is hard work and won’t make you a billionaire, but it is worth it because it builds your character and your integrity, and you have the chance to see so many things,’ he says.
‘As an accountant you can find yourself in any sector just about anywhere’
His dynasty of accountants may yet extend to a third generation. Diana says she does not talk much to her children about the profession, but she does try to interest them in what she does – and the increasingly wide range of possibilities a finance career offers: ‘As an accountant you can find yourself in any sector just about anywhere.’
Ronnie thinks the next generation are already picking up information about the profession and its values, whether they know it or not. ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if one day one of them ends up saying: “You know what? I understand why this stuff matters.”’
