Uganda’s $500bn economy dream faces a sustainability and accountability test

Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE | Uganda’s ambition to grow its economy to $500 billion by 2040 could be undermined by environmental degradation, weak accountability and unsustainable business practices unless accountants take a more active role in shaping economic decisions, experts have warned.

The warning emerged at the second Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda (ICPAU) Research Conference in Kampala on November 12, where professionals, researchers and policymakers challenged the accounting profession to move beyond traditional financial reporting and become central players in Uganda’s economic transformation.

Professor Twaha Kigongo Kaawaase, the keynote speaker and First Deputy Katikkiro of Buganda, said the country’s pursuit of rapid economic growth must be accompanied by responsible management of natural resources, social protection and stronger environmental accountability.

“These dreams of ours—this rapid growth—without sustainability is an illusion. If we don’t emphasise the environment, if we ignore the social element, we are not creating wealth now. We are actually borrowing this growth and profitability from future generations,” Kaawaase said.

His remarks place the accounting profession at the centre of a growing debate over whether Uganda’s economic expansion is being measured only through investment, production and financial returns, or whether the environmental and social costs of that growth are also being adequately accounted for.

The conference, held under the theme, “Accountancy at the Forefront: Driving Sustainability and Uganda’s Economic Transformation”, comes as government pursues its Tenfold Growth Strategy, which seeks to expand the economy from approximately $60 billion to $500 billion by 2040.

While the strategy identifies agro-industrialisation, tourism, mineral-based industrialisation, including oil and gas, and science, technology and innovation as major growth drivers, Kaawaase argued that these sectors also carry significant environmental and financial risks.

Climate costs

He pointed to agriculture as one of the sectors where climate change is already threatening economic productivity.

Coffee-growing areas, including Bugisu and Masaka, are experiencing challenges associated with changing rainfall patterns, affecting the sustainability of production and farmers’ incomes.

He also highlighted emerging international trade requirements, particularly those linking agricultural exports to deforestation, which could affect Ugandan farmers seeking access to European markets.

Tourism faces similar pressures. The retreat of glaciers on the Rwenzori Mountains and the destruction of forests threaten ecosystems that support wildlife, tourism and cultural heritage.

For the oil and gas industry, the challenge is balancing commercial opportunities with environmental protection, particularly in the biodiversity-rich Albertine Graben, around Lake Albert and the River Nile.

Kaawaase also warned that businesses operating on reclaimed wetlands risk substantial financial losses from flooding, including damage to buildings, stock and other assets that may not be adequately insured.

These examples point to a wider economic problem: environmental damage is not simply a conservation issue. It can translate into higher business costs, lost export opportunities, declining agricultural output, reduced tourism earnings and increased financial exposure.

For accountants, this means that conventional financial statements may not always provide investors and business leaders with a complete picture of the risks facing an organisation.

Beyond profits

Kaawaase said the profession must strengthen its role in environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting as investors increasingly demand credible information about the sustainability of businesses.

He warned against greenwashing, where companies exaggerate or misrepresent their environmental achievements to attract investment, and bluewashing, where organisations make misleading claims about their social and sustainability commitments.

Such practices can distort investment decisions, undermine public confidence and expose companies to reputational and financial risks.

He noted that ICPAU had already taken steps to align Uganda’s accountancy profession with international sustainability disclosure requirements through the adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) S1 and S2.

The standards provide a framework for organisations to disclose sustainability-related financial risks and climate-related information to investors.

Kaawaase also pointed to ICPAU’s roadmap towards sustainability assurance, with milestones set for 2029 and 2031, arguing that accountants must position themselves to verify sustainability claims rather than simply receive and report information supplied by companies.

He cautioned that the profession must also protect its role in sustainability assurance by developing the technical expertise required to undertake environmental and social reporting assessments.

The challenge is significant because sustainability information is increasingly becoming part of how investors assess companies, particularly those seeking international financing.

Research to policy

Beyond sustainability reporting, the conference placed considerable emphasis on research as a tool for improving public financial management, governance and economic policy.

Kaawaase challenged researchers to ensure that their work produces practical recommendations instead of remaining confined to academic publications.

He proposed four questions that researchers should use to test the relevance of their findings: So what? Who cares? What is new? And how?

The questions, he explained, should help researchers establish the importance of their findings, identify the people and institutions responsible for acting on them, demonstrate what new knowledge has been generated and determine whether changes in laws, regulations or policies are required.

He also urged researchers to communicate their findings in simple language, particularly when engaging Parliament and other policymakers, rather than relying on technical academic terminology.

The argument is particularly relevant to Uganda, where public financial management, procurement accountability, taxation and the allocation of national resources remain central to the country’s development debate.

Research that identifies weaknesses in public spending, revenue mobilisation and institutional governance could help improve how public resources are managed and how development priorities are funded.

Profession evolves

ICPAU Chief Executive Officer Derrick Nkajja said accountants must evolve from professionals who primarily explain past financial transactions into strategic partners capable of helping organisations understand current developments and anticipate future risks.

He said the profession had an important responsibility to safeguard financial resources through credible financial information, effective risk management, sound governance and responsible resource allocation.

“Therefore, our research must provide resources, must provide solutions, and must bring new tested ideas that can help Uganda develop,” Nkajja said.

He urged accountants to invest more in research and contribute to the development of practical solutions that can strengthen institutions and support economic growth.

ICPAU President Timothy Ediomu said the conference was designed to strengthen the research culture within the profession, encourage collaboration between academics and practitioners and generate evidence to inform professional standards, technical guidance and public policy.

He noted that proceedings from the inaugural 2025 conference had been published and made available to the public through the institute’s website.

The institute also plans to establish a dedicated research journal to document and disseminate findings to policymakers, practitioners, researchers and the wider public.

Ediomu said Uganda’s economic transformation required more than investment and economic growth. It depended on accountable institutions, sustainable businesses, prudent management of public resources and decisions informed by reliable financial and non-financial information.

He encouraged researchers to produce evidence-based recommendations that can contribute to the country’s Vision 2040 and the Fourth National Development Plan (NDP IV).

The accountability test

The conference raises an important question about the contribution of Uganda’s accountancy profession to national development: how effectively can research and financial expertise influence the decisions that determine the country’s economic future?

Uganda’s economic ambitions will require substantial investment in agriculture, infrastructure, energy, tourism and manufacturing. However, the returns from these investments will depend partly on how well institutions manage financial, environmental and social risks.

For public institutions, accountants can help identify inefficiencies, strengthen expenditure controls and improve accountability for taxpayers’ money. For private businesses, they can provide reliable information to investors, assess emerging risks and ensure that sustainability claims are supported by evidence.

But this wider responsibility will require more than conferences and research publications. It will depend on whether findings translate into better professional practices, stronger regulation, improved corporate reporting and measurable changes in public financial management.

As Uganda pursues its $500 billion economic ambition, the accounting profession faces an opportunity to demonstrate that its contribution goes beyond balancing books and auditing transactions.

Its influence will increasingly be measured by how well it helps the country protect its resources, build accountable institutions and ensure that economic growth creates lasting value for both present and future generations, attendees unanimously agreed.

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