Look out for career growth opportunities

Maria Mugerwa, is the Head of Finance at BAT Uganda, a job she started doing on October 1, 2020.

She is directly responsible for delivering BAT’s strategy and purpose to build a better tomorrow for its stakeholders. She oversees risk management, financial management, financial reporting, and liaison with internal and external stakeholders.

She notes that one of her focus areas is coaching and mentoring her team to deliver high quality results in line with the financial needs of the business. She also ensures compliance with the governance structures and controls in place.
 
In her core role, Mugerwa says she is part of BAT Uganda’s leadership team at various levels including the cluster office in Nairobi, as well as the board of directors, regulators and external business partners such as financial institutions.

The accountant says she got her inspiration to become an accountant from her love of living in an orderly and organised environment.
 
According to Mugerwa, accountants should remain relevant by providing the much-needed insight into how the industry can achieve resilience within the highly regulated environment in which it operates.

BAT operates in a highly regulated industry and as such Mugerwa says ensuring compliance to laws and regulations, as well as internal controls and governance frameworks is one of her critical responsibilities.

She adds that through the financial forecasting and reporting processes, the finance function also provides critical insights that support BAT’s strategy and performance.

Ultimately, the finance team ensures the completeness and accuracy of financial information reported by BAT and underpins key decisions with regard to business strategy.
 
Getting a career coach
She credits her career trajectory to Isabellah Ekudde who coached her through the early stages of her career.

“I was inspired by her focus, diligence, integrity and attitude with which she approached work. I wanted to be just like that and she generously offered her time to mentor me,” Mugerwa says.

Ekudde, who is currently the head, Office of the Group CFO at Standard Chartered Bank, UK, taught her to work hard or smart. “Different circumstances call for different approaches and ways of working. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to the way people work,” she says.

Mugerwa says she is blessed with an extremely supportive husband and family that enable her to properly balance her career and familial duties. The accountant and her husband James Denis Mugerwa have two daughters, Anna Jasmine Mugerwa (six year) and Aretha Ruth Mugerwa (two years).
 
“In my experience, a great support system eliminates the unnecessary disruptions so that one can concentrate on the task at hand. When I am home, I do not expect work commitments to encroach on my private time and vice versa,” she shares.
 
 Mugerwa says BAT also has an excellent people agenda which includes flexible working hours and other relevant benefits geared towards supporting work-life balance for employees. Mugerwa notes that opportunities for personal development are immense and urges others to watch out for them in order to reach their potential in their given careers.

“In order to succeed you must work hard as well as smart, be open to feedback and approach work with a great attitude, diligence and integrity,” she advises.
As a female in a top managerial position Mugerwa says she sees her role as an opportunity to develop talent by transferring the knowledge and skills she has attained over her career journey, and an example to young female professionals.

Brief bio
She began her career journey as an audit associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Uganda on September 1, 2009. After putting in the work for several years, she was seconded to PwC Manchester in the UK for one year from October 2015 to September 2016.

 Mugerwa says over the course of her career, she has garnered a wealth of knowledge in corporate finance with over 11 years’ experience, providing financial assurance services to entities both in the public and private sectors, in Uganda and the United Kingdom.

For her education, Mugerwa attended Bright Grammar Boarding Primary School, Maryhill High School and Gayaza High School. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics (honours) degree from Makerere University Kampala, Uganda. She is a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA) and a member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda (CPA).