Since last contributing to ASA in May 2007 (IFRS, Cold Comfort at Minus 40), I have continued my travels to deliver the IFRS message. Last year took me to Russia, to South East Asia and to one of the new EU states in Eastern Europe. All three had different reasons for having or wanting to…

Introduction The introduction of capital gains tax (CGT) with effect from 1 October 2001 brought about many additional administrative changes. In addition, CGT had to be integrated with a variety of different sections in the main body of the Income Tax Act, 58 of 1962 (the Income Tax Act). The topic of dividends was no…

IASC FOUNDATION AMENDS CONSTITUTION TO EXPAND THE PACTICAL EXPERIENCE OF ITS INTERPRETATIONS COMMITTEE The Trustees of the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) Foundation, the oversight body of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has published amendments to the Foundation’s Constitution reflecting its wish that the membership of the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) should…

Can persons other than SARS officials inspect the financial records of the business? Over the past few years, a number of persons would appear to have been appointed as commission agents under the Unemployment Insurance Act, and persons appointed by the Sector Education Training Authorities (SETAs). The question that arises is whether these persons are…

Daar is twee waarhede waaraan ons nie kan ontsnap nie. Ons volhoubare groei is nog nie so hoog soos ons dit verkies nie, so ons kan nog nie volhoubaar teen 5% groei sonder om inflasierisikos te loop nie. Ons moet vir eers tevrede wees met hoogstens 4.5% BBP groei. Terwyl ons vaste investering die land…

There can be few more mournful sounds than that of a church bell tolling to summon congregants to church for a funeral. In some very old parishes, the bell is tolled for each year of the deceased’s life. Tolling involves pulling the rope so that the bell swings through a short arc, in contrast to…

Last month we introduced the “NEW GEN” column that is specifically for all our young generation CAs(SA) in the workplace. This month we talk about an area that has been a hot topic in businesses over the last few years – Emotional Intelligence. Why all the fuss? Human beings have always believed that cognitive intelligence…

CA CHARTER: ACCOUNTANCY PROFFESSION UNVEILS EMPOWERMENT CHARTER CA Charter insists chartered accountants have a duty to support broad based empowerment The Chartered Accountancy [CA(SA)] profession’s Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Charter was signed in Johannesburg towards the end of 2007. The CA Charter, some four years in the making, promises to play a pivotal role…

Introduction: In August 2007, the revised international standard IAS 23 Borrowing Costs become a reality for South African GAAP (the international standard was issued in March 2007). We’ve known the previous statement as one to which not many people paid much attention other than to review it briefly to cover the risk of being asked…

PRACTICAL PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED IN THE ACCOUNTING FOR PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT (PPE) During 2007, in presenting the SAICA workshops on PPE, it became apparent that although IAS 16(AC 123) – Property, Plant and Equipment, was effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2005, there were still difficulties being encountered in implementing the…