CENTRAL BANK OF KENYA
Remarks by
PROF. NJUGUNA NDUNG’U
GOVERNOR
OPENING OF THE SYMPOSIUM FOR CENTRAL BANK
FINANCE DIRECTORS IN THE AFRICAN REGION
Kenya School of Monetary Studies
Tuesday, April 1, 2013

Distinguished Guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen:
1. It gives me great pleasure to be here today to officially
welcome all of you to this Symposium for Central Bank
Finance Directors in the African Region hosted by the
Kenya School of Monetary Studies (KSMS) in collaboration
with the U.S. Department of Treasury, Office of the
Technical Assistance Banking and Financial Services
Program. On behalf of the Central Bank of Kenya, let me
extend my warm welcome to all of you who have come in
the middle of your very busy schedules to participate in
this Symposium. A warm welcome also to those delegates
who are coming from other countries, I encourage you to
spare some moments to sample our beautiful city and the
countryside.
2. The Central Bank of Kenya through the School has
established collaborative partnership with International
Institutions to offer capacity building initiatives in
support of regional integration agenda. In this Symposium
the Kenya School of Monetary Studies is leveraging the
expertise of the pool of internationally acclaimed
facilitators through the knowledge, skills and experiences

developed over the years in the areas of:
Corporate Governance in Banking;
Financial Stability;
Business Development;
Processes of Organizational Change and Renewal;
Application and Implementation of International
Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
3. The Symposium is tailored to provide the right mix of
exposure to Heads of Finance in Central Banks with
leading edge concepts particularly in the area of corporate
governance and financial reporting. Delivered by
inspirational leaders who have been there and recognized
in both the private and public sectors, nationally and
internationally, centered on the skills and concepts
required to deliver positive business change that will
support Central Banks in the 21st century.
4. It is important to emphasize here that the Symposium we
are commencing here today marks a critical milestone as
the event provides an excellent forum for delegates to
reflect and debate current and emerging financial
reporting challenges affecting Central Banks’ performance
and service delivery within the region.
5. Ladies and Gentlemen: This Symposium for Central Bank
Finance Directors in the African Region comes at an

opportune moment for the Financial Sector. The African
Continent is an emerging market with unique challenges
and developments. The continent needs to position the
practice of sound financial reporting and corporate
governance in a manner that meets international best
practice and develop solutions that are practical and
relevant for Africa. The Symposium also provides an
opportunity for delegates to engage in discussions that will
complement the presentations by drilling down into
specific issues, taking time to share country experiences
and learning how their peers are dealing with similar
situations.
6. Ladies and Gentlemen: Corporate governance being the
structure through which an organization is directed,
controlled and held accountable, defines a framework of
rights, responsibilities, procedures and relationships
amongst the various stakeholders of an organization,
including its directors, managers, shareholders and
regulators. Finance Directors are at the heart of this
framework of corporate governance, and can arguably be
said to be the most important focal point for ensuring that
their respective Central Banks make appropriate strategic
decisions that are consistent with their ultimate objectives
and mission.

7. Ladies and Gentlemen: Further, best practice in corporate
governance requires that Members of Senior Management
undergo periodic training to refresh their knowledge and
skills, in order to become and remain better leaders and
change agents of their organizations. This Symposium will,
no doubt, play a pivotal role in preparing the Finance
Leaders here in attendance for the challenges of the
modern, changing and dynamic environment. Over the
next four days of active interactive sessions and
deliberations, you will refresh and extend your thoughts
on a range of subjects of immediate relevance and
importance to any Finance Director working in a Central
Bank.
8. Ladies and Gentlemen: As Africa at large becomes an
increasingly attractive destination for investments, the
onus is on you, the financial industry regulatory players
to tap into the tremendous potential of this Symposium in
growing the much needed technical capacity, going
forward; and consolidate what you already know; provide
a foundation for what you should know and get a flavour
of what you might need to know as the environment and
all its attendant challenges evolve in the 21st Century.
9. The road has not been an easy one and the Financial

Sector must strive to overcome challenges that include;
weak institutional frameworks, low levels of financial
inclusion, poor corporate governance, risk management,
emerging legal and regulatory frameworks and most
importantly, the lack of awareness by the majority of
consumers of the reported financial information. Finance
Directors can positively contribute to this by demystifying
the information content in the financial reports.
10. Ladies and Gentlemen: In the current economic climate,
many countries across Africa face the dual challenge of
stimulating growth in fragile economies while at the same
time implementing fiscal discipline. In this environment,
therefore, it is increasingly important for Financial
Institutions to be financially transparent and for
regulators to establish a sound regulatory environment for
corporate financial reporting. Corporate financial
transparency must also traverse national borders. As
highlighted by the financial crisis, economies have
become ever-more interconnected and interdependent,
with increasingly important regional production networks
and high volumes of intra-regional trade.

11. Ladies and Gentlemen: It is helpful for Central Banks in
the African region to know how their corporate colleagues
around the world use International Financial Reporting
Standards (IFRS) and have a basis from which to work as
the World deliberates on the transition to a new form of
Financial Reporting Standards. This change is fueled by
global demand from regulators, investors, businesses, and
auditing firms for a single set of high-quality accounting
standards; demand that is driving increasing worldwide
adoption of IFRS and a convergence with internationally
generally accepted accounting principles.
12. With these few remarks, Ladies and Gentlemen, it is
now my honour and pleasure to officially open this
Symposium for Central Bank Finance Directors in the
African Region. I wish all participants fruitful
deliberations as you commence the Symposium.
Thank You and God bless you all