Mervyn King speaks frankly about Sustainability Reporting Q: King III calls for an integrated sustainability report – what do you mean by “integrated”? It’s not necessarily about one report. We all know about the triple bottom line (TBL). In King III we initially dropped the words TBL in favour of the triple context, which later…
DetailsThe Climate opportunity The past ten years have seen climate change explode on to the global agenda and, riding in its wake, a new order of regulations, legislation and compliance measures to which companies must adhere. Tightening regulations in energy efficiency, building and vehicle emission standards, waste regulations and greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting are all…
DetailsGood business journey Woolworths’ award winning sustainability strategy Woolworths’ Good business journey programme was launched in April 2007 as a formalisation of the existing Woolworths sustainability initiatives. The ‘Good business journey’ is a five year plan, changing the way we do business, and incorporating a series of challenging targets and commitments, centred on four key…
DetailsFROM THE PEN Mergers and acquisitions We’ve commented, almost ad nausean, about the global financial crisis. We’ve highlighted what we think went wrong, what the profession needs to do to combat the effects of the crisis, and we’ve alluded to the potential opportunities that exist within our new economic reality. We’ve said that governments, the…
DetailsBMW Z4 – 3l BMW has recently launched the latest generation Z4, which, in my opinion, has finally become a formidable sports car. The most significant change to this vehicle from its predecessors is the hard top convertible as opposed to the soft top. In the looks department, definitely a thumbs up! The new Z4…
DetailsMichael Olivier talks of De Grendel and its wines. Michael publishes in November, with Neil Pendock, The People’s Guide – navigate the winelands in a shopping trolley and is a well known wine writer and broadcaster. Visit him on his website www.michaelolivier.co.za. The beautiful manor house of De Grendel is one of Cape Town’s oldest…
DetailsThe Commissioner recently issued his findings in respect of private banking insurance wrappers by means of an Advanced Tax Ruling (ATR) on an off-shore private banking insurance wrapper. What is a private banking insurance wrapper? The concept could best be described as the integration of offshore assets into an insurance policy. The owner can transfer…
DetailsDirectors and trustees to reconsider governance structures over investments Investments are the largest balance on the balance sheet of most insurers, retirement funds and other financial services entities. The collapse of global financial markets and the associated credit crisis has resulted in significant downward revaluations of investment values. Although it is common for market corrections…
DetailsBefore you think that you will miss out on the benefits that SARS will treat you to as a micro business, beware not to trick yourself into not registering for the new Turnover Tax. Turnover Tax (introduced in the Sixth Schedule to the Income Tax Act No 58 of 1962) is a new tax system…
DetailsBefore the introduction of radio, most people received the news by way of newspapers. One of radio’s most early practices was to read the newspaper over the radio. This was because the people using the new medium did not yet understand how to use the new features of radio. Subsequently, producers of radio programmes learned…
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