After an outstanding seven-year career with MTN Nigeria, where he held the positions of General Manager, Financial Operations and also General Manager for Financial Planning , Modupe Kadri joined MTN Ghana in 2014. Prior to his appointment in Ghana, he was the acting Chief Financial Officer at MTN Nigeria for a three month period.
His leadership, depth and dexterity in directing the financial operations of MTN Ghana are evidenced by the sustained growth of the company despite the difficult economic environment. In this interview with The CFO he talks about the evolving role of the modern CFO, the role of big data in financial inclusion, the finance industry and many more….
Please describe your job in as few words as possible.
I am the Executive responsible for managing the financial actions of the company. I am thus responsible for planning, implementing, managing and controlling all financial-related activities including the development of financial and operational strategies. The main segments are accounting, treasury, corporate finance, forecasting, strategic planning, performance analysis, negotiations and stakeholder relations. In addition, I am responsible for revenue assurance and fraud management in the company. Finally I oversee the Supply chain function supporting the business. In a nutshell, it is essentially a key role to ensure that the company remains financially secure and meets the financial obligations to all its stakeholders in the short, medium and long terms.
What’s the best and worst part about being a CFO?
The best part of being a CFO is when you have been able to strategize, implement and influence the direction of the company to be more efficient and profitable in the short term, and with a clear path to an even more profitable medium and long term.
The worse part will be when you operate in a complex environment with the macro-economic indicators spiraling out of control and thereby negatively impacting on the business plans and results. In such trying times, the business looks up to the CFO to wave a magic wand!
What is your opinion on the CFO becoming a business partner to the CEO?
This is an absolute must and most Corporate Governance frameworks recognize that. For businesses to thrive in our increasing complex and dynamic markets, business partnering is one way of ensuring that strategy is properly aligned and resources effectively allocated to the right parts of the business.
What’s been the most challenging project in your career?
Back in late 1998 when I was chosen to lead the implementation of Sarbanes Oxley Act in my previous company. This involved designing and testing well over 300 controls working with cross functional teams with diverse backgrounds across different locations. The added complexity was that we had a December 1999 deadline to be compliant otherwise it would affect the listing of the parent company in North America and the attendant knock on effect. With good project management skills I was able to deliver the project ahead of the deadline and got recognized with an award for my efforts by the Group.
What still surprises you about the job?
There is never a dull moment. As we lead the delivery of a bold new digital world to brighten the lives of our esteemed customers, there is always something new cropping up which requires the CFO’s input.
What are the biggest challenges for CFOs?
Optimizing planning, budgeting and forecasting especially in volatile economies, driving enterprise cost reduction and continually extracting value for money, supporting/managing/mitigating enterprise risk, driving integration of information across the enterprise, strengthening compliance programs/internal controls and managing investor/stakeholder relations
What are your major goals as a CFO?
To be a good role model. To deliver a good return to the shareholders in particular and other stakeholders in general.To enable and empower my fellow executives in running the business efficiently and profitable.
Which of your accomplishments are you most proud of??
Delivering the Sarbanes Oxley project mentioned above ahead of time and being named the Ghana CFO of the year twice in a row in the Telecom’s sector.
How is the finance Industry evolving?
The scope of responsibilities and skill sets required in the finance industry keeps changing requiring that educational and professional organizations adapt their curriculum and objectives to keep up or become irrelevant. For instance, we are seeing major shifts in Mobile Financial services and Telecommunication companies like ourselves are playing a key role in conjunction with the banks. As payment systems move gradually to a mobile device, a number of people who were previously excluded from the financial sector are now being included. This requires a new set of skills as CFO must convey complex financial results and business performance to external stakeholders while championing specific initiatives internally.
What role is big data playing in financial decision?
We have moved from the IT stage to the knowledge era where big data plays a crucial role in providing the insights from analytics to support business decision. Increasingly, companies that are successful are those that have moved towards data driven culture where collection, storage and analysis of data are paramount in decision making. Examples are Google, Amazon and Facebook. Beyond big data is the era of artificial intelligence and we are already seeing this come to fruition with robotics and self driving cars amongst others!
Tell us about your department and how you motivate them for success?
I basically give them a free hand, I don’t micro manage. I paint a big picture as to where we should be headed as a department in terms of service delivery to our various stake holders. I also offer my advice to the team members as they pursue their individual and personal goals. In a nut shell, I make myself accessible to all staff.
If you were not an accountant, what other profession would you have taken up?
I Probably will be a Pilot. I enjoy flying.
Describe yourself in three key words?
I am Humane, blunt and focused.
If you had three wishes what will they be?
To be President of my Country, To increase my philanthropic activities along the lines of what Bill Gates is doing with his Foundation and to fly an aeroplane.
What is your advice for new entrants in the industry?
New entrants in the industry should strive to be ahead of the learning curve. We all must continually learn and improve ourselves literally every day. They must master the art of keeping abreast with trends in the industry and striving to be the best ahead of their peers or colleagues.
