When I enrolled at the University of Cape Town in the 70s I was undecided about the direction I wished to pursue and registered for a science degree. At that stage it was uncommon for young women to do accounting. Approximately 5% of my CTA class was female, a far cry from the current 45…
DetailsStarting out From a very young age my dream was to become a teacher. Then, in high school I wanted to become a medical doctor. My career guidance teacher at Sand du Plessis Hoërskool in Bloemfontein, Mr Naude, suggested at the time that I should keep my options open by taking accounting as my fourth…
DetailsThe accounting profession has long been perceived as a profession for men in grey suits. But this is a professional stereotype that is fast changing, and rightly so. Women CAN make it in this “cut-throat” profession. The beauty about it all is that we do not have to be replicas of men; we just have…
DetailsZarina was the first black woman in SA to hold the position of a partner at Ernst & Young, and the first black woman to be executive director of Absa Private Bank, in this country. She is currently Vice-chairman of Absa Retail Bank. he sub-prime lending crisis is having a ripple effect all over the…
DetailsO fortunatos nimium, sua si bona norint, agricolas Oh, blessed beyond all bliss, the farmers – did they but know their happiness. This was Virgil, apparently expressing a romantic view of bucolic life. To be fair, the farmers he had in mind were not perceived as blessed because of the nature of their work…
DetailsDit is wel so dat die ekonomie sterk groeiankers het in die landbou, mynbou en die konstruksiebedryf wat baat vind by die besteding op infrastruktuur deur die openbare sektor. Dit ondersteun die ekonomiese groei en is ‘n belangrike stut in moeilike tye soos die huidige. Dit beteken egter nie dat sulke groeisektore onder alle omstandighede…
DetailsOne of South Africa’s tangible business challenges today is retaining scarce, “sought after” talent, especially in Professional Service Firms (PSFs). This is supported by an article, published in the January issue of the Harvard Business Review (HBR), in which the authors argue that today’s PSFs are so busy making money that they have lost the…
Detailsll companies are statutorily required to grant employees the right to take leave in one form or another. IAS 19 – Employee Benefits requires companies to recognise a liability for “compensated absences” if various requirements are met. The purpose of this article is to examine the accounting requirements for providing for leave pay under IFRSs…
DetailsIn terms of amendments to the Copyright Act and the Performers’ Protection Act, music users such as broadcasters, restaurants, sport stadiums, malls, gyms, hairdressers, retail outlets etc, may not broadcast, diffuse and/or communicate to the public any CDs, cassettes and other sound recording carriers, without payment of a royalty to the copyright owner of the…
DetailsFinance functions face important choices about where to place focus. At a time when businesses want their CFOs to become actively engaged in the strategic direction of the business – participating in strategy development, leading M&A activity and providing leading indicators for predicting business performance – CFOs themselves believe that they are still far too distracted…
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