Introduction The overall governance structure of an organisation, practicing good corporate governance, includes at least an internal audit function, a risk management function and a compliance function. In our opinion, the starting point for setting a corporate governance culture in an organisation is an overall Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) framework. Such a framework facilitates the…
DetailsFINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS WITH CHARACTERISTICS OF EQUITY A discussion paper on the distinction between equity financial instruments and other financial instruments (non-equity instruments) has been published for public comment by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). This has been issued in South Africa as ED236 – Financial Instruments with Characteristics of Equity and can be downloaded…
DetailsFebruary 12 this year heralded a new era for the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) in the Eastern Region with the opening of an independent office in Durban. The launch was aptly entitled “Opening New Doors”, reflecting the glimpse of a bright future dedicated to serving SAICA members in the Eastern Region. The…
DetailsCentennial We celebrate our centennial year in 2008. There will be a number of events throughout the year, and we will be looking to the next 100 years in a major international conference, to be held in Auckland, New Zealand in August. Admissions review We’ve begun a review of policies for admission to the College…
DetailsOne of my pet hates is the consistent pessimism I see across this beautiful country of ours. Whether it is inflation, interest rates, crime or load shedding, many in this country choose to take every opportunity to sit back and complain rather than rise to the challenge and assist in tackling the many issues we…
DetailsFROM THE PEN The Prada Issue In a scene from that now infamous movie, ‘The Devil wears Prada’, Miranda Priestly (the Editor portrayed) tells Andy, the budding ‘serious journalist’, that her disdain of fashion is really just her ignorance of the business of fashion. She says to Andy (who sniggers because she thinks the blue…
DetailsAccounting for customer contributions has until recently been an area that has been subject to varying accounting treatments. The term ‘customer contribution’ generally refers to a situation where an entity receives contributions, in the form of cash or other assets, from a customer or prospective customer or another third party entity, for example: “A property…
DetailsACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS APPROVED At a meeting held on 8 February 2008, the Accounting Practices Board (APB) approved the following for issue: Revised IAS 1(AC 101) – Presentation of Financial Statements The changes made are to require information in financial statements to be aggregated on the basis of shared characteristics and to introduce a statement of…
DetailsXBRL has evolved. See it in action today. See real companies using real XBRL tools today to develop and publish business information, streamline reporting processes, enhance profitability and increase transparency. SEE XBRL IN ACTION IN MAY 2008 WHERE 17th XBRL International Conference entitled “Evolution in Business Reporting – XBRL in Action” Eindhoven, Netherlands (near Amsterdam,…
DetailsContinuing Professional Development An interesting debate I often have with Chartered Accountants (CA(SA)) and other professionals, from a variety of constituencies and, across geographical boundaries, is on the topic of Continuing Professional Development (CPD). Invariably, the discussion leads to the definition of a professional and what constitutes a professional, be they CAs(SA) or any other…
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