“I’d like to serve as a board member in Nigeria… CMI can help me achieve this”

As finance manager at an award-winning international law firm based in Lagos, Nigeria, Solomon Siyanbade CMgr MCMI needs to be at the top of his game. 

“Working closely with the management team, I advise on financial strategy and decision-making, as well as managing my own team of accountancy staff,” explains Solomon, who is our Chartered Manager of the Week.

He has always had a passion for his field of expertise. “I love reading articles about finance,” he says. 

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Despite having 12 years’ experience in his current role, he began to realise that his in-depth financial knowledge needed to be coupled with more extensive management skills if he was to realise his full potential. In 2018, he decided to travel to the UK and take a mini MBA course at the London School of Business and Finance. He came across CMI in early 2023. 

“I had been researching various institutes, and I could see that CMI offers a wide range of resources to create very effective and competitive managers,” he says. “I decided to join, as I felt I needed to expand my understanding of leadership.” 

Nothing falls through the cracks

Solomon wasted no time in starting the Chartered Manager process and was able to complete it by July 2023. Since then, it has helped him implement positive changes. 

As an accountancy professional, he was already used to working in a methodical way, but the tools provided by CMI have helped him refine his day-to-day processes.