As part of KPMG's Global Development Initiative, which focuses on member firms' skills and resources on achieving the United Nations Millenium Development Goals (MDGs), KPMG in the UK developed this report highlighting the potential opportunities for investment in Kisumu, Kenya, one of the selected mid-sized cities across sub-Saharan Africa.

In keeping with tradition, the three East African Finance Ministers simultaneously delivered their budget speeches on 12 June 2008, articulating changes expected to take effect later on this year. The budget speeches re-emphasized the need to build prosperity for all and hence focused on development initiatives.

Types of Funds
Private Equity (PE) in its simplest form refers to equity investments in private rather than public or listed companies. Viewed differently, it is the use of privately owned funds for direct investment into privately owned companies.

As part of KPMG Kenya's contribution to the healing process in our country, for two months the firm has designated every Friday ‘KPMG Action Days’.

Are you getting the full benefit of your assessment?
Today, more than ever, there is increased demand for the internal audit function to add value to the organisation. Executive management is relying more on internal audit to identify, measure and control business risks. Audit committees are asking tough questions about the quality and effectiveness of their internal audit functions. The regulatory authority including Capital Market Authority, central government regulations and Central Bank of Kenya expect internal audit to be the eyes of the Audit Committees. There is increased scrutiny of the function.

If you increased your sales by 25% to 50% over the next six months, what would happen to your cash balance?
My experience is nine out of ten business owners can’t answer this question. That’s why so many businesses succeed in growing their business only to end up with an uncomfortable and embarrassing cash flow crisis on their hands.

Financial statement analysis presents several challenges for investors, financial analysts and investment managers. This is due to the fact that information on a company’s performance is presented in the form of financial statements and myriad notes. All this information needs to be read together – the need to properly understand the inter-relationship of the financial statements and the notes cannot be over-emphasised.

Four New Partners have been admitted into the East Africa Partnership, with effect from 1 September 2007.

In keeping with tradition, the three East African Finance Ministers delivered their budget speeches on 14 June 2007, articulating changes expected to take effect later on this year. Notably, while the budget speech by the Tanzanian and Ugandan Finance Ministers stuck to tradition, Kenya’s was once again a deviation from the norm; the Kenya Finance minister chose a thematic approach focusing on sectoral priorities.

Economically, the region appears to be riding a crest, with the three countries registering a GDP growth of above 6%, largely propelled by the hotels and restaurants, construction and transport sectors.

Going forward, the deliberate shift of focus towards development expenditure as well as strengthening and reforms of the financial sectors will no doubt result into stronger economies for the three East Africa Countries.

Are you Doing enough to protect your business?
The proper term for dry cleaning dirty money is “Money Laundering”. Criminals launder the financial proceeds of their crimes in order to make them appear to have been derived from legitimate activities.

Austin, Texas – December 26, 2006: The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), the world’s leading provider of anti-fraud training and investigation, is pleased to award Mr. Zahir Sheikh, CFE the globally preferred ‘Certified Fraud Examiner’ (CFE) designation. CFE’s are knowledgeable in four areas critical to the fight against fraud: Fraudulent Financial Transactions, Criminology and Ethics, Legal Elements of Fraud and Fraud Investigation.

Training is a small price to pay for qualified staff. Indeed successful companies view training as an investment rather than an expense.
Providing training opportunities to staff provides a two-fold benefit:

• It builds employee skills empowering them to improve on the firm's service delivery.
  
• It boosts staff morale as they see that the company is interested in their personal development.
  

As the primary professional body in the insurance industry, the Insurance Institute of Kenya approached KPMG Kenya and Lattice Consulting Ltd to carry out an independent annual Survey of the insurance industry

Explores the range of challenges that banking institutions face in complying with enhanced anti-money laundering requirements and how they are responding to the changed environment.

KPMG Kenya is the appointed distributor for IDEA - is a comprehensive file interrogation tool for auditors, accountants and investigators - for the region which covers Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Ethiopia. The distributorship involves selling IDEA to the region, providing training and the first line of support.

KPMG Kenya recently launched Taxsoft – a Windows-based corporate tax software for Kenyan businesses

KPMG’s development and public sector services aim to turn knowledge into value for the benefit of our clients, our people and the communities we serve.

As e-commerce revolutionises business, it also revolutionises business fraud. KPMG surveyed the world's largest companies in 12 countries on the topics of e-fr@ud and security-related issues and produced some revealing findings.