15 | W&F Ethical Finance Awards 2024 Auditing & Ethical Finance Expert of the Year 2024: Kagiso Khutsafalo Kagiso Khutsafalo is a Pan-African leader in the auditing field within the financial services industry. She is currently an Internal Audit Executive for Bank Gaborone in Botswana. Amidst an ever-shifting corporate landscape, she is not only an exemplary professional with over a decade of experience, but also committed to integrity, excellence, delivering information transparently and showing a deep respect for the layperson. Here, we explore the attitude and track record that formed the seasoned expert she is today. Kagiso Khutsafalo is a talented, multi-skilled professional. Between accounting, auditing, corporate governance, risk and compliance, her experience speaks for itself, comprising a varied and exciting resume. In all things, she upholds integrity and aims to work efficiently and objectively. In doing so, Kagiso execute her duties ethically, serving businesses transparently, mindfully, and with the greater good at heart. Working ethically means speaking out for what is right, and Kagiso does so by advocating for good corporate governance. She is conscious of workers’ and clients’ needs across the entirety of a business structure and understands the importance of aligning auditing and financial practices with a company’s strategy, goals, and ethos. While raising the bar for outstanding practice in her field, Kagiso promotes an attitude of across-the-board corporate excellence. Concerned with clients’ reputation, Kagiso also upholds standards of customer experience, having worked with businesses to convey the impact of consumer dissatisfaction. Her ethical approach within the field goes beyond internal ethics, extending to fostering positive clientbusiness relationships. To Kagiso, analysing customer experience is an important facet of risk management, which speaks to her support for ethical, morally sound business practice. As an agile, proactive worker, Kagiso relishes the opportunity to engage with professional networks. She sums up this approach poetically: “alone you can walk fast, but together we can walk far.” Staying atop the latest trends, news, and legal developments is no easy feat, but Kagiso shares her support with others and enjoys the benefits of professional communities. She belongs to these, among others; Botswana Institute of Chartered Accountants (Botswana), Institute of Directors (London), Institute of Internal Auditors and Chartered Management Institute (UK). Remaining an active presence among like-minded professionals keeps Kagiso at the top of her game, and sometimes even a step ahead of it. Kagiso’s approach to internal auditing, finance and risk management emphasises simplicity, which is key to ethical working. Providing audiences broken-down, easily comprehensible analyses ensures that everyone is on the same page and that she is working transparently. Using relatable facts and visuals, Kagiso believes in the importance of presenting digestible information. Avoiding unnecessary jargon, opting for plain language, she does not expect an audience to adapt to her expertise, instead tailors information to suit the stakeholders’ needs. It is often said that truly understanding a concept means having the ability to explain it simply. By that measure, Kagiso proves a masterful understanding of her field. Among her professional achievements, Kagiso believes in paying it forward as she volunteered her services to multiple establishments, including non-executive directorship role at the Institute of Internal Auditors Botswana, Treasurer for the Botswana Organisation for Rare Diseases and patronage to Childline and her former primary school. A profound commitment to ethical standards underpins all of Kagiso’s work; she is even willing to donate her time to worthy causes. Kagiso works transparently, ethically, and with both business and customer in mind. Her impressive body of work in the financial sector speaks to great expertise, agility, and a desire to support businesses in achieving their strategic goals. She will no doubt continue this record of award-winning work going forward, bettering the industry and profession in all she does along the way. Contact: Kagiso Khutsafalo Web Address: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kagisokhutsafalo/?originalSubdomain=bw
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