CPA Prof. Richard M. Kiai, PhD, was until his substantive appointment acting as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor- Planning, Finance, and Administration at Karatina University and previously as Dean of School of Business. CPA Prof. Richard M. Kiai, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Finance in the School of Business at Karatina University, specializing in finance and accounts. Prof. Kiai holds a Ph.D. in Finance from Karatina University. He also holds a Master of Business Administration in finance from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology. His undergraduate study was at Egerton University, where he pursued a Bachelor’s in Agri-Business Management. Prof. Kiai is also a Certified Public Accountant (K), Certified Investment and Financial Analyst, Certified Information Systems Auditor, and a member of ICPAK and ISACA. He is also a certified Business Simulation Trainer and ISO 9001:2015 lead auditor. He has a training in Tea Specialty and Tea Trade from Zhangzhou College of Science and Technology, China.

He has approximately 20 years of work experience in both academia and administration, beginning his career as a Certified Public Accountant with Peterson and Associates (CPAK) in 2005, where he served as an audit supervisor. He then moved to join the government in the Ministry of Cooperative and Development in 2007 as a cooperative auditor. From 2009 to 2011, he worked with Dedan Kimathi University of Technology as the Internal Auditor and head of Internal Audit. He later joined Karatina University in 2011 as an Internal Auditor, where he rose to Senior Internal Auditor and head of Internal Audit up to the year 2017. As the internal auditor, he was the secretary to the Audit and Risk Management Committee of the Council. In 2018, Prof. Kiai moved to teaching in the School of Business as a Senior Lecturer, and in 2023, he was promoted to Associate Professor of Finance.

Prof. Kiai has also been instrumental in corporate governance and quality management systems. As the internal Auditor, he introduced Risk Management as a management strategy in the university that helped in the improvement of university systems. He was instrumental in the quality management systems of the University where he was involved in the certification of the university in both ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 9001:2015 quality management systems. In both cases, he was the Lead Auditor in preparedness. Prof. Kiai is a trained Integrity Assurance Officer and was secretary to Corruption Prevention Committee and technical advisor to this committee. Further, he has been a member of various committees of the university, which included the Departmental Postgraduate Studies Committee, the Tea Institute, the University Budget Committee, the Human Resource Policies Development Committee, and the University Establishment Committee, among other committees.

Prof. Kiai’s research interests include finance, poverty reduction, and corporate governance, fields in which he has conducted extensive research and published widely in peer-reviewed journal articles. Prof. Kiai has also published one (1) university-level book in the area of finance and governance. In his research, he has been focusing on financial inclusion and employment among the youth. His studies have contributed to mechanisms of poverty reduction among financially included youth, as evident from several journal articles he has published that are being used by academics and industry practitioners. His research work led to the development of a policy brief, which subsequently influenced national policy changes.

To advance academics and the finance profession, Prof. Kiai is a member of Ethics in Social Research in East Africa, African Science Frontier Initiatives, the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK), and the Information Systems Audit Control Association (ISACA). He is a reviewer for several journals of finance and accounts, an external examiner in public universities, and has been an examiner at the Kenya Accountants and Secretaries Examination Board (KASNEB) in the area of finance. He has been a mentor to the students and a patron of students’ clubs in the university.

Prof. Kiai has had collaborations internationally and nationally in the areas of resource mobilization, research, and consulting. Some of the collaborating organizations include Sustainable Innovative Entrepreneurship Worldwide (SIEWA); Marketplace Simulations; the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB); the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM); the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD); the University of Cologne and the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK); and KCB’s Mobigrow Program, among others. Prof. Kiai is a consultant in finance and a business development coach and consults for the finance industry, national and county governments on finance, poverty reduction, and corporate governance. He is a board member of different entities, including a board member of two (2) audit committees with the government and a member of BOM in various schools. He has been instrumental in setting up the Karatina University Savings and Credit Cooperative society (KARUSCO), where he served as a board member. He is also a founding trustee of the Karatina University Pension Scheme, where he is serving as its current chairman of the board.

Kiambati, K & Kiai, M.R. (2022). Human Resource Audit, Standards, Guidelines, Manual and Toolkit. Aura Publishers, Nairobi

Peer-reviewed Publications

Hesbon Mbuthia Kiura ,  Kenneth Wanjau & Richard Kiai (2023) Mediating Role of Entrepreneurial Leadership on the Relationship Between Senior Team Attributes and Organizational Ambidexterity of Coffee Marketing Cooperative Societies in Kenya. International Journal of Arts and Social Science (IJASS). https://www.ijassjournal.com/2023/V6I8/4146663564.pdf

Hesbon Mbuthia Kiura ,  Kenneth Wanjau & Richard Kiai (2023). The Influence of Shared Vision On Organizational Ambidexterity In Coffee Marketing Co-Operative Societies In Kenya. Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, 12(6), 23–31. DOI: https://doi.org/10.20525/ijrbs.v12i6.2689

Kinyua PK, Kiai R, & Macharia S. (2022). Moderating Effect Of Bank Size On Nexus Between External Equity Capital And Financial Performance Of Lower-Tier Commercial Banks In Kenya. Management and Economics Research Journal, 8(3): MAERJ12. https://doi.org/10.18639/MERJ.2022.9900071

Michael Wachira, K. ., Mburu, D. K., & Kiai, R. . (2022). Total Quality Management Practices and Supply Chain Performance among Manufacturing and Allied Companies Listed at Nairobi Securities Exchange, Kenya. European Journal of Business and Management Research, 7(1), 269–279.  https://doi.org/10.24018/ejbmr.2022.7.1.1188

Kinyua PK, Kiai R, & Macharia S. (2022). Moderating effect of bank size on nexus between internal equity capital and financial performance of lower tier commercial banks in Kenya. International Journal Of Research In Business And Social Science 11(6)(2022) 277-287.  https://doi.org/10.20525/ijrbs.v11i6.1983

Maina, J. N., Kiai, R.M., & Kyalo, T. N (2020). Financial Innovation Practice, Sacco Size and Financial Sustainability of Deposit Taking Saving and Credit Co-Operatives in Kenya.  Financial Studies Journal  3, 51-65   http://hdl.handle.net/10419/231704

Maina, J. N., Kiai, R.M., & Kyalo, T. N (2020). Cash Management Practice, Sacco Size and Kenya Deposit Taking Saving and Credit Co-Operatives Financial Sustainability. Journal of Perspectives on Financing and Regional Development. 8 (4), 319-330 DOI: 10.22437/ppd.v8i4.10161

Maina, J. N., Kiai, R.M., & Kyalo, T. N (2020). Credit Management Practice, SACCO Size and Financial Sustainability of Deposit Taking Saving and Credit Co-Operatives in Kenya. Journal of Accounting, Finance and Auditing Studies, 6(3), 175-192 DOI: 10.32602/jafas.2020.023

Mutegi, E. K.,Kiai, M.R., & Maina, E. W. (2020). Influence of Micro-economic Factors on Financial Sustainability of Informal Finance Groups in Kiharu Constituency- Kenya. Research in Business and Social Science Journal, 9(1), 88-93. DOI: 10.20525/ijrbs.v9i1

Kiai, M.R., & Kiambati, K. (2019). Examining the Contribution of Interest Rate Capping Conditions on Financial Performance of Women-Owned Agribusiness SMEs in Nyeri Central Sub-County, Kenya. Management and Economics Research Journal, 5, 1-7 DOI: 10.18639/MERJ.2019.953268

Oeta S. M, Kiai, M. R., & Muchiri, J. M (2019). Capital Intensity on Financial Performance of Manufacturing Companies Listed at Nairobi Securities Exchange. International Journal of Scientific and Engineering Research, 10 (9), 18-31  https://karuspace.karu.ac.ke/handle/20.500.12092/2388

Oeta S. M, Kiai, M. R., & Muchiri, J. M (2019). Influence of Tax Planning on Financial Performance of Manufacturing Companies Listed at Nairobi Securities Exchange. Research in Business and Social Science Journal, 3(1), 12-24. DOI: 10.20525/ijrbs.v8i6

Githinji, C. W., Kiragu, D. N., & Kiai, R. M. (2019). Effects of Collateral Requirement on Financial Performance of Agribusiness Small and Micro Enterprises in Nyeri Central Sub County Kenya. International Journal of Economics, Business and Management Research, 3(1), 28-40  https://karuspace.karu.ac.ke/handle/20.500.12092/2211

Riri, J. M., Kiragu, D. N., & Kiai, R. M. (2018). Effect of Cashflow Management Practices   on Financial Performance of Hotels in Nyeri County, Kenya. International Journal of    Business Management and Economic Review, 1(6), 142-154. http://ijbmer.org/link.php?id=70

Gitau, P. M, Kiarie, D., & Kiai, R. M. (2018). Integrated Financial Management Systems, Procurement Performance and Customer Satisfaction in the County Government of Nyeri. International Journal of Supply Chain Management, 3(1), 27-45. https://www.iprjb.org/journals/index.php/IJSCM/article/view/605