Ssempijja, Ernst&Young’s only local partner
Nov 21, 2006
AS the only loacl tax partner, Mohammed Ssempijja is perhaps the most sought after person in business circles. He already has eight years experience with Ernst &Young.
By Emmy Olaki
AS the only loacl tax partner, Mohammed Ssempijja is perhaps the most sought after person in business circles. He already has eight years experience with Ernst &Young.
His acumen over the years elevated him to the level of a tax partner, a position that comes with enormous responsibilities.
“My clients expect better service delivery. I am the ultimate person readily available,†a soft-spoken Ssempijja said.
Ssempijja has a busy schedule. His strategy, which yields the best results, is not only look for business but also people to deliver the business.
“There are many tax consultants in the country, but not many at a tax partner level,†he says of the tax profession.
Working closely with auditing, quality assurance, and human resource partners, Ssempijja has managed to form a well motivated team.
That is because he knows people are the first pillar of business.
“We aim at recruiting the best people and giving them the best value in terms of employment careers,†he says of the secret behind the success of Ernst&Young.
After his first Bachelor of Commerce degree at Makerere University, Ssempijja joined Uganda Revenue Authority (URA).
At URA, he picked interest in accounting and auditing.
With a keen interest in knowing all, he undertook to study ACCA.
He then became a member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda.
“I am a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of the UK, Ssempijja says. “Tax is an area which is not very appealing to accountants,†Ssempijja said, explaining why there are not many tax partners in Uganda. “Even during my school days, most professional accountants had trouble with taxation papers, but because I had a background in tax, I preferred to go into this area that was scaring people so that I could dismantle it,†he says.
Even over a cup of coffee, Ssempijja will strongly advise any client that the best tax management is to be proactive.
“Don’t wait for the bad day to come. Don’t live on hope because you don’t do business on hope. Tax will get to your bottom line,†he warns.
One of his responsibilities is helping clients pay minimum tax, but within the legal framework, but for Ssempijja, the notion among many Ugandans that a company cannot survive if it pays all its taxes, is a misnomer.
“You can still survive once you have done your numbers and put tax as part of the equation from the word go. This is what we tell our clients, but we also tell them the consequences of not paying taxes,†he says.
“They just have no tax strategy. Tax is part of business if you want to survive. There are efficient tax management systems.â€
He said the trouble is that local companies are not willing to pay for advice.
“They have not yet reached that level,†he says on a more promising note.
His typical day depends on demands at hand, but on average, he is in office by 8:00am, goes through the newspapers, mainly business issues.
He then goes through his mail, responds to urgent ones and directs some to his managers before planning his schedule.
“We have teamwork. We have empowered people to do most of the work.â€
“I have a family with seven kids. I am a Hajji, but I have one wife.â€
His advice to the business community is “Have a tax strategy and proper tax risk management strategies. Comply because the cost of non compliance is high.
They should have in-house tax teams, if they can’t, they should get advisers.â€
AS the only loacl tax partner, Mohammed Ssempijja is perhaps the most sought after person in business circles. He already has eight years experience with Ernst &Young.
His acumen over the years elevated him to the level of a tax partner, a position that comes with enormous responsibilities.
“My clients expect better service delivery. I am the ultimate person readily available,†a soft-spoken Ssempijja said.
Ssempijja has a busy schedule. His strategy, which yields the best results, is not only look for business but also people to deliver the business.
“There are many tax consultants in the country, but not many at a tax partner level,†he says of the tax profession.
Working closely with auditing, quality assurance, and human resource partners, Ssempijja has managed to form a well motivated team.
That is because he knows people are the first pillar of business.
“We aim at recruiting the best people and giving them the best value in terms of employment careers,†he says of the secret behind the success of Ernst&Young.
After his first Bachelor of Commerce degree at Makerere University, Ssempijja joined Uganda Revenue Authority (URA).
At URA, he picked interest in accounting and auditing.
With a keen interest in knowing all, he undertook to study ACCA.
He then became a member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda.
“I am a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of the UK, Ssempijja says. “Tax is an area which is not very appealing to accountants,†Ssempijja said, explaining why there are not many tax partners in Uganda. “Even during my school days, most professional accountants had trouble with taxation papers, but because I had a background in tax, I preferred to go into this area that was scaring people so that I could dismantle it,†he says.
Even over a cup of coffee, Ssempijja will strongly advise any client that the best tax management is to be proactive.
“Don’t wait for the bad day to come. Don’t live on hope because you don’t do business on hope. Tax will get to your bottom line,†he warns.
One of his responsibilities is helping clients pay minimum tax, but within the legal framework, but for Ssempijja, the notion among many Ugandans that a company cannot survive if it pays all its taxes, is a misnomer.
“You can still survive once you have done your numbers and put tax as part of the equation from the word go. This is what we tell our clients, but we also tell them the consequences of not paying taxes,†he says.
“They just have no tax strategy. Tax is part of business if you want to survive. There are efficient tax management systems.â€
He said the trouble is that local companies are not willing to pay for advice.
“They have not yet reached that level,†he says on a more promising note.
His typical day depends on demands at hand, but on average, he is in office by 8:00am, goes through the newspapers, mainly business issues.
He then goes through his mail, responds to urgent ones and directs some to his managers before planning his schedule.
“We have teamwork. We have empowered people to do most of the work.â€
“I have a family with seven kids. I am a Hajji, but I have one wife.â€
His advice to the business community is “Have a tax strategy and proper tax risk management strategies. Comply because the cost of non compliance is high.
They should have in-house tax teams, if they can’t, they should get advisers.â€