FROM THE PEN Risky Business There are surely many who would argue that the one factor that triggered the current financial crisis we’re facing is greed. Toru Hashimoto, former chairman of Deutsche Securities, was recently quoted at an international Financial Crisis Advisory Group (FCAG) meeting as agreeing that greed, excess liquidity and poor risk management…
In our August 2008 edition, I outlined the process being followed to review the CA(SA) qualification process consistently to ensure maintenance of the standards we have grown so accustomed to. Much progress has been made since that date and I thought it important to remind members of where we are headed with the qualification process…
If a competition were held to find the most common rhetorical question, there is little doubt that this one would win – why do taxes increase? How many readers remember General Sales Tax? The introduction of the Sales Tax Act in 1978 not only brought about an entirely new consumption tax with a wide impact…
Risk is an unavoidable fact of human life, and nowhere is this more evident than in financial matters. Without risk there can be no trade or commerce, as all commercial ventures depend on a certain degree of risk: and very often the riskiest venture returns the greatest profit. For any manager, the primary goal of…
Will this lead to a big four audit market dominance? External auditing (hereafter referred to as auditing) has evolved from a routine checking of the books of account to a vital part of the governance process of companies. Factors such as the volume of transactions, information technology, globalisation and the constant increase in the complexity…
Dit is alweer meer as ’n jaar gelede dat die ekonomie ’n belangrike waterskeiding bereik het. Die sikliese opswaaifase wat middel 1999 begin het, het in laat 2007 tot ’n einde gekom. ’n Afswaai fase het begin, en veral gedurende 2H2008 spoed opgetel. Tog het verwagtinge gedurende 2008 redelik positief gebly. Na jare van vinnige…
Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) is South Africa’s sole provider of railway freight services. The company moves about 180 million tonnes of goods over its 17,000km of track every year and has an annual turnover of R16.5bn (£1bn). It has successfully developed what I have termed a network activity-based costing system (NABC) from scratch over the…
Who was it that said “the first step to wisdom is admitting what you don’t know”? I really have no idea – and of course I feel wiser for saying so – but I do wish that this old chestnut could be more commonly observed in business. I am often amazed at how a few…
Accountants appear to regard the use of spreadsheets to consolidate the financial statements of listed companies as unusual and somewhat unsophisticated. It is also generally considered that companies, whether listed or unlisted, that use spreadsheets to perform the consolidation, are behind the times. This article will explore some of these sentiments and examine empirical evidence…
Leadership 101: knowing, accepting and being Having the ability to lead yourself independently and authentically (self leadership) regardless of your career or position in the company is an essential quality that each New Gen should develop in order to become an effective team leader. To lead yourself you need to know yourself, accept yourself and…