South Africa’s uncertain future is motivating private and public sector managers to take a closer look at costs. An old idea from the 1970s has re-emerged right on cue. Zero-based budgeting (ZBB) asks managers to question each line-item in their budgets, and the related activity, from scratch. ZBB supporters dispute the merits of traditional budgeting,…
Nompendulo Pearl More was born and raised in Volksrust in Mpumalanga. She had no commercial background from high school and no clue what a CA(SA) was or did. She can still remember the day she received a call from the Thuthuka Bursary Fund to tell her she had met the criteria to study at the…
One way to describe what kind of person Mandy Muchnick is would be to tell what drives her. Mandy loves investing in people. This is at the centre of her investment philosophy at her work as a transactor in the private equity industry as well as in her role as the Africa Chair for One…
In this article, we analyse the results of the IRBA’s Public Inspections Report 2019 against those reported in previous years, as well as against the International Forum of Independent Audit Regulators’ (IFIAR) Survey of Inspections Findings 2019. We also highlight success factors or recommended practices to be applied by firms in order to ensure the…
Key messages from a webcast by Mario Fazekas are summarised in this two-part article series. Part 1 covers the history of the audit in terms of the responsibilities for the detection and prevention of fraud, the characteristics of fraud and an overview of a sceptical mindset while Part 2 will outline the eight steps that…
What is it like to be a female leader in today’s world? We asked some of South Africa’s high-profile women CAs(SA) what it takes to reach the top and what it’s like when you get there. As part of our 40 Years of Excellence, we are celebrating outstanding female leaders. It has long been said…
With a background in financial management and business valuations, I have always been intrigued by ‘strategy’, the thing that ultimately sets a company apart from the next and probably, together with strong leadership, the main driver behind sustained value creation. In a series of interviews, I will be exploring the different approaches of different business…
SAICA has noted with concern the Auditor-General’s report of the audit outcomes for local government, which showed that only 8% of municipalities received clean audits for the 2018/19 financial year despite R1,26 billion being spent on financial reporting consultants. The report revealed how vital strong internal controls, appropriately skilled people and ethical conduct by both…
BCX has started the process of empowering its team of 250 employees with professional accounting qualifications offered by SAICA. Information and communications technology giant BCX has begun to professionalise its finance team with the professional accounting designations of Associate General Accountant (AGA(SA)) and Accounting Technician (AT(SA)). Commenting on the decision to professionalise her finance team,…
As communicated throughout 2019 and 2020 to members, the new CPD policy came into effect on 1 January 2020. The most significant shift in the CPD policy was the move from measuring CPD activities on the input basis (hours) to the output basis (competence). The changes to the CPD policy also remove the granting of…
