Build wealth before office stops calling
"A large salary does not automatically mean substantial personal wealth. Sometimes it simply supports an expensive lifestyle, partly financed by an employer. The real test is what your own assets can sustain when those benefits disappear," writes Joshua Kato
Joshua Kato. (File)
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OPINION
By Joshua Kato
Imagine waking up on a Monday morning and nobody is looking for you.
No driver waiting outside. No urgent calls demanding your approval. No secretary reminding you about the 9:00am meeting. Even the office WhatsApp group has become quiet.
The official vehicle has been returned, the fuel card deactivated, and someone else is sitting in your executive chair. But your electricity bill has not retired. School fees have not received a retirement notice. Medical bills have no respect for your former title.
As accountants, we depreciate buildings, machinery and motor vehicles. Yet, some of us behave as though our corporate titles and government appointments have unlimited useful lives. Perhaps our job titles need an annual impairment test!
That thought stayed with me after the EY Uganda Inaugural Tax Retreat 2026. I expected tax discussions; the final day taught me about money, identity and life beyond employment.
Prof. Samuel Sejjaaka, PhD, FCCA, delivered a presentation, Thriving Beyond the Corporate Career: Strategies for Successful Investing and Entrepreneurship.
Muhammed Kakiika, a respected educator, businessman and entrepreneur, reinforced investing and planning while young.
Together, their insights raised an uncomfortable question for corporate professionals and public officials: are we building wealth, or merely enjoying the privileges of office?
Your title has an expiry date. Today, you may be a chief executive officer. Your signature carries authority; your calendar is full; people address you by your title.
But one day, somebody else will occupy that office, inherit your chair and take your parking space. The institution will continue operating.
Professional success and financial independence are different achievements. An impressive CV cannot replace savings and investments.
One important truth is, executive comfort has hidden costs. Consider the benefits attached to certain corporate and public offices: a large vehicle, driver, fuel, housing, medical insurance, travel allowances and sometimes children’s education. These legitimate benefits can conceal a lifestyle’s true cost.
When the appointment ends, the car goes back, the driver is reassigned and the fuel card stops working. Housing and healthcare may become personal expenses. School fees remain due.
Even the children do not automatically agree to cheaper schools because Daddy is no longer Commissioner!
A large salary does not automatically mean substantial personal wealth. Sometimes it simply supports an expensive lifestyle, partly financed by an employer. The real test is what your own assets can sustain when those benefits disappear.
Prof. Sejjaaka also challenged how professionals allocate capital. Some pour their peak earning years into magnificent homes while neglecting investments that generate regular cash flow.
A beautiful home provides security and comfort, and may appreciate. But unless it is monetized, it will not automatically pay monthly retirement bills.
Then comes the famous upcountry farm! Every month, money goes towards labour, feeds, veterinary services and mysterious emergencies. Profits, meanwhile, remain permanently “on the way.”
Agriculture can be profitable; so can property. The issue is whether decisions are supported by budgets, records, effective management and realistic returns. Sometimes an “investment” is an expensive hobby wearing a business suit.
Start before the salary becomes impressive - Mr. Kakiika’s message about early investment should especially concern young professionals. Many postpone saving until they earn a director’s salary. Yet when income rises, so does rent, cars, school fees and social expectations.
Time is an investor’s advantage. Regular contributions and compounding can build meaningful wealth over decades, though returns are uncertain.
Treasury bonds, unit trusts, listed shares, rental property and well-managed enterprises offer different opportunities and risks. The appropriate mix depends on liquidity needs, time horizon and risk tolerance.
Ownership is not the same as control - Another trap is the side business managed entirely by telephone. A senior executive opens a restaurant or farm, appoints a relative and assumes ownership guarantees profitability.
Before investing, ask: who receives the money? Who verifies the accounts? Can the business survive six months without another transfer from my salary?
Without oversight, a promising venture can become a permanent subsidy. For time-constrained professionals, less hands-on investments may be more suitable, provided the risks are understood.
Plan your exit before it is planned for you: We plan degrees, promotions and prestigious appointments with extraordinary care. Yet we often devote far less attention to retirement, succession or unexpected job loss.
Build emergency savings. Invest consistently. Diversify income where practical. Protect your health and nurture relationships beyond the workplace. Above all, develop an identity that is bigger than your business card.
Financial independence does not necessarily mean never working again. It means having the resources to work by choice, not desperation.
The question that should follow us home
I am grateful to EY Uganda for convening a retreat that extended beyond technical tax discussions, and especially to Prof. Sejjaaka and Mr. Kakiika for their practical wisdom. Their messages were complementary: prepare for the end of corporate privilege, and start preparing while you are young.
To my fellow accountants, lawyers, bankers, executives and government officials: pursue promotions, earn qualifications and serve your institutions well. But build personal financial resilience with equal ambition.
Your employer can replace your position. Government can appoint your successor. Your official car can be handed to another officer. Your former title, however, cannot pay your retirement bills.
So, ask yourself: if the office, car, fuel card, insurance and salary disappeared tomorrow, would your investments sustain your life, or would you discover you were wealthy only while somebody else was paying the bills?
One day, the office will stop calling. Make sure your financial future does not depend on its next call.
The writer is a chartered accountant and chartered tax advisor