FROM THE PEN Sink or swim: surviving the crisis It has happened before. In Spain in the 15th century after it discovered silver in South America and used this new resource to finance wars. In the 1870s, after the railroad and agricultural finance collapse in the US. In the 1980s in Japan when loans on…
It was with great pride that we hosted the National Standard Setters’ meeting with Sir David Tweedie, the Chairman of the IASB, in April. One of the features of our deliberations was the recognition of the successes that South Africa has enjoyed in its early adoption of IFRSs for SMEs, and the resultant lessons for…
Enhanced Disclosures about Financial Instruments The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has issued amendments to IFRS 7(AC 144) – Financial Instruments: Disclosures, aimed at improving transparency in the disclosures about financial instruments. These amendments form part of the IASB’s response to the credit crisis and are effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1…
For some years now, SAICA has enjoyed global reciprocity with six Chartered Accountancy bodies and one CPA body. And today, it is a founder member of the Chartered Accountants’ Group of Eight (CAGE), together with: • Australia (ICCA); • Canada (CICA); • England and Wales (ICAEW); • Hong Kong; • Ireland (ICAI); • New Zealand…
A thought leadership issue Governments across the world have reacted to the credit crisis by committing to large scale economic stimulus packages, which include bringing forward infrastructure projects, making tax cuts, providing liquidity to key industrial sectors, guaranteeing bank loans, purchasing assets, injecting capital and, in some cases, nationalising banks or insurance companies. Stimulus packages…
As an investor in the equity markets, it is natural to feel elation at rising share prices. We all feel wealthier – at least on paper. As fund managers, we understand that prices fluctuate far more widely than values. Rather than despairing over falling prices, we fund mangers see them as long-term buying opportunities. The…
As the public sector begins the implementation of its conversion to Generally Recognised Accounting Practice (GRAP) for government, an examination of how this will assist in effective service delivery is necessary. The fundamental question is whether or not this exercise will provide benefits for the South African public – or if it will simply cost…
There is no doubt that the world we knew before the global economic meltdown will not return. The causes of the meltdown will not disappear, and lurking behind them is another set of even more fundamental issues facing humanity. The often quoted Chinese curse – ‘may you live in interesting times’ has never been more…
Ever since the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in South Africa in 2005, and even more so with the impending adoption of Generally Recognised Accounting Practice (GRAP) in the public sector, many entities in both the private and the public sectors have been finding the need to reconstruct their fixed asset registers. This…
Given recent developments in corporate governance and internal control, organisations are required to provide more and more information about their own internal controls environment to a variety of external and internal stakeholders. In addition, the current regulatory environment presents new challenges, specifically with regard to the internal control reporting requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley, Basel II, the…