Uka exits Deloitte, urges accountants to stick to integrity
Deloitte Malawi managing partner Nkondola Uka has bowed out of the audit, tax and business advisory firm where he served for 41 years with a call to accountants to stick to integrity
Speaking in an interview after a farewell party that attracted fellow accountants, business captains and other professionals in Blantyre on Friday, he said while the profession is evolving, the key principles of accounting do not change.
“In as much as the standards change and become more complex, but the core principles of integrity remain there,” said Uka, calling upon other professionals to trust numbers more than people.
He described his career at Deloitte Malawi, which started on July 11 1983 with a salary of K250 as exciting.
Said Uka: “The profession has evolved, so there have always been challenges.
“You are always learning new things and new ways of doing things.”
National Bank of Malawi plc and Illovo Sugar (Malawi) plc board chairperson Jimmy Lipunga, who joined Deloitte Malawi on the same day with Uka, described his colleague as “pride to the nation”.
He commended Uka for being “a very astute professional and chartered accountant who has touched on every facet of life”.
Illovo Sugar (Malawi) plc managing director Lekani Katandula said his relationship with Uka evolved from being his boss, mentor and partner to elder brother.
He said: “I look up to him as a well of wisdom on many matters. He is someone that really changed my life, helping me to grow to become the person that I am today.”
Katandula worked for Deloitte Malawi for 19 years.
Uka joined Deloitte after completing his Bachelor of Social Science degree in economics at Chancellor College. In 1996, Uka was appointed partner of the Zimbabwe and Malawi firm and two years later, he rose to the post of Deloitte Malawi managing partner.
