After successfully reincarnating the A-Class from a mum’s taxi into a hot hatch, Mercedes have gone further by creating a hot four-door coupé sedan. The CLA looks like it is built off the same platform as the A-Class but, in actual fact, the two are very different. The test car had the optional Edition package,…
One of the most common behavioural biases is the tendency to be overoptimistic. Like the children in Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegon who are all above average, we tend to overestimate our own skills and chances of success. This overestimation, in turn, leads to overly positive self-evaluations, which are often unrealistic – resulting in overconfidence. Confidence…
Senior finance executives are taking increased responsibility for analysing big data in ways that produce actionable insights into the customer base. Their involvement marks a shift from a traditional focus on reporting what happened in the past, to forecasting what needs to happen in the future. The motivation to do this is simple: to boost…
Do you balance, and report on, your books and accounts daily and monthly, as relevant? Most professionals will see this question as trivial, as we would have no option but to do that. The professional practice of accounting dictates that we do that, even though one is unlikely to find an accounting standard that prescribes…
An unexpectedly shrewd observation I heard from Lord Sebastian Coe at the Discovery Leadership Summit held recently in Sandton really got me thinking. Considered one of the best middle-distance runners of all time, the British Olympic champion set 12 world records over four distances, achieving four gold and three silver medals in the Olympics and…
Offshore equities are looking increasingly attractive: the MSCI World Index returned 39,7 per cent in rand terms during 2013. However, with the rand’s recent depreciation, emotions are once again running high, with fear and greed rampant and herd behaviour becoming evident. And to compound the excitement, it’s election time again. At the start of 2014,…
The Chartered Accountancy profession is both locally and internationally well recognised as providing attractive career opportunities in various industries, highlighting the flexibility of the Chartered Accountancy, CA(SA) designation. Thinking back why I decided to study Accountancy, I chose the CA(SA) route as a bullet-proof qualification that would provide me with job security and a diverse…
The world’s population reached 7 billion in October 2011 and this inspired a US organisation called 100 People Foundation to do some research and frame the global population as 100 people based on the statistics gathered. The statistics make for interesting reading. Of the 100 people representing the world’s population 83 would be able to…
Education is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as “the process of receiving or giving systematic instruction, especially at a school or university”.1 Former president Nelson Mandela put it more simply by declaring that education is “the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”. At the moment South Africa is definitely not…
As a developing economy, South Africa has a pressing need for individuals who are equipped with sound financial skills and an ability to think laterally. Our Wits accountancy graduates will possess a strong problem-solving ability; critical thinking and a qualification from a world-leading educational institution which will provide for a distinct competitive career advantage. The…