TECHNICAL: ACCOUNTING

ASSESSMENT OF EMBEDDED DERIVATIVES ON RECLASSIFIED FINANCIAL ASSETS The Accounting Practices Board (APB) approved Embedded Derivatives – Amendments to IFRIC 9(AC 442) – Reassessment of Embedded Derivatives and IAS 39(AC 133) – Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement, as amendments to Statements of Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (GAAP) on 23 April 2009. These amendments clarify the…

SPECIAL REPORT QE1

Pass rate of prospective chartered accountants rises dramatically South Africa’s all-too-small pool of qualified chartered accountants [CAs(SA)] is poised for a welcome boost following the release of a set of vital examination results on 26 June 2009. The pass statistics are especially encouraging in view of the quest to increase the population of the relatively…

ETHICS: Value-added

I am a hypocrite. In their first-ever lecture in Accounts 1, I ask students to tell me the objective of business, a key question in introducing concepts such as net asset value and profit. The answer I am looking for is, of course: “to make the owners wealthier”. I usually make fun of anyone that…

ACCOUNTANCY IN MOTION: The BMW X5 35D

“Awesome!” is the first word that came to my kids when they saw the Black X5 in the driveway. The test vehicle I had , had a sleek cream interior and silver trimmings together with the sports package, which just enhanced it’s brute 4×4 presence. The sports package adds sportier bumper treatment front and rear,…

WIK EN WEEG Die Zuma Groeisiklus Skop Af

Die globale bankkrisis, wat gebeure die afgelope twee jaar gedomineer het en die wêreldekonomie laasjaar in ressessie gedompel het, staan einde se kant toe.Net so die globale resessie, met groei wat waarskynlik alreeds vanaf 2H2009 herstel sal wys, aangehelp deur aansienlik afgeskaalde voorraadvermindering en die stabilisasie van verbruiksbesteding. Ons ekonomie sal waarskynlik ook in die…

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION

REGULATORY REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR RETIREMENT FUNDS IN SOUTH AFRICA – “FRAMEWORK” With all the award seasons happening at this moment, it is perhaps appropriate for this article to take on a bit of movie magic. All movies have some sort of a structure, so with this in mind and using one movie metaphor after the…

HAS BEE WORKED FROM GOVERNMENT’S PERSPECTIVE?

Has B-bBEE worked from government’s position? This year marks the second anniversary of the broad-based black economic empowerment (B-bBEE) framework. Over 24 months, the framework has far exceeded the objective of redefining BEE in practical terms. There is general consensus that substantial progress has been made to advance empowerment in the country. However, as government,…

BEE AND PRIVATE EQUITY POWERING ON TOGETHER

While 2008 saw the rest of the world go into a financial tailspin, it appears that the South African private equity industry remained in a relatively healthy position. Even though both deal value and flow during the past few months were lower than the previous year, the industry still reported over R20 billion of investment…

A SEASON OF UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES – A TIME TO HARVEST?

Recent developments in the area of Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-bBEE) suggest that corporate South Africa is currently facing a season of unintended consequences in terms of compliance and adaptability with respect to existing regulations. The ensuing complexities impacting business range across a number of areas covering the global economic landscape to the local obligations…