How winning in the CFO Awards has opened up a world of possibilities for Maj Julius Katanaka, FCCA Major Julius Katakana is the CFO of Wazalendo Savings and Credit Cooperative Society (SACCO)⏤ a savings and credit institution of Uganda’s security forces, especially the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF), Uganda’s national army. In the 2019 CFO Awards, Julius won the Sustainability Award and in 2022 was the CFO of the Year RunnerUp. In this interview, he speaks about winning the award and the impact it has had on his career and reputation.

What does winning the CFO award mean to you?

Winning this award is one of my biggest personal achievements as a Head of Finance, a motivator to my team, the organization I work for, and the entire UPDF fraternity.

What impact has winning the award had on your career so far?

This award has exposed me to the finance industry both local and international as one of the best Accountants in Uganda, increased my Brand as a respected accountant, and increased my pride and reputation in the armed forces as being the first Army officer to participate and win in the CFO awards. 

Why are awards such as the CFO awards crucial for one’s career journey?

These awards are crucial in that they expose you to the market and gauge you amongst your peers as one of the few best accountants in the country. 

What are you looking forward to in this year’s CFO awards?

Am looking forward to seeing new participants and more finance professionals featured in this event.  

With reference to this year’s CFO Awards theme, how different is the CFO role from the CVO role?

The CFO role has evolved over time from number cruncher to being a value creator in terms of the broader reporting that organisations are now undertaking. The role requires sustainability reporting, insight generation, transactional efficiency, compliance, and control in addition to the traditional roles.

How have you prepared yourself for the Chief Value Officer role?

It’s only acceptance of the change of the title but actually what we are doing now as Finance officers in terms of guiding on the strategic direction of the organization, to reporting including sustainability reporting and management of assets and risk is more than being a CVO.

Any parting shots to the finance professionals especially fellow CFOs? 

I want to thank ACCA for always calling upon me to share my thoughts with the accounting world, and I wish to encourage my fellow CFOs to participate in this year’s competition if they are to gauge their worth in the industry. I wish all the participants the best of luck.