Kashnee Sewnarain CA(SA)

Kashnee Sewnarain is a Chartered Accountant (CA(SA)) with significant experience in public sector financial management, specialising in municipal governance, GRAP compliance, and capacity building. She is the Founding Director and CEO of Inspired Financial Management Solutions (Inspired FMS), a 100% black female-owned firm based in Pietermaritzburg that delivers focused consulting, training, and technical support to municipalities across South Africa. Through her leadership at Inspired FMS, she has focused on strengthening financial management practices by aligning system functionalities with the MFMA, mSCOA, and GRAP, with the ultimate goal of improving accountability, audit outcomes, and service delivery.

In her national role, Kashnee is currently leading the National Treasury mSCOA Regulations Project, which is responsible for defining, standardising, and regulating municipal business processes and system functionalities. This landmark project seeks to embed mSCOA not only as a financial reporting tool but also as a mechanism to transform financial discipline, ensure consistent classification, and enhance transparency across all municipalities. Her leadership reflects a unique ability to link financial policy requirements with practical system solutions that drive sustainable reform in local government.

Previously, Kashnee served as Director of Financial Reporting at the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Treasury. In that role, she successfully drove provincial mSCOA implementation, addressed long-standing audit qualifications, and improved the integrity of financial reporting. Her leadership at Treasury contributed to strengthening the quality of financial reporting and ensuring greater accountability in public resource management. At local government level, she gained experience within the Budget and Treasury Office, where she focused on implementing and improving budget processes, strengthening internal controls, and resolving audit matters. This provided her with a practical appreciation of the day-to-day realities faced by municipal officials and deepened her ability to design reforms that are realistic, impactful, and sustainable.

Beyond her technical expertise, Kashnee is recognised for her proven experience in skills transfer and capacity building, particularly through her previous role on the SAICA Eastern Region Public Sector Committee. In this role, she has contributed significantly to training initiatives aimed at empowering finance professionals in the public sector. She has facilitated numerous knowledge-sharing sessions, and workshops, ensuring that officials are equipped with the necessary skills to implement best practices in financial management and governance.

Her governance contributions extend to serving as Audit Committee Chair for a local municipality, where her strategic oversight and guidance supported the achievement and sustaining clean audits. Nationally, her expertise and leadership have been recognised through features in Accountancy SA and KZN Top Business, as well as her selection as a finalist in the prestigious 2024 SAICA Chairman’s Awards.

Kashnee is a strong advocate for ethical leadership, preventative internal controls, and financial management as an enabler of service delivery. Guided by the principle expressed by Albert Einstein, “Try not to become a person of success, but to become a person of value,” she continues to inspire transformation in municipal finance by combining regulatory leadership, technical expertise, and a deep commitment to building capacity for sustainable change in the public sector.