There can be few more mournful sounds than that of a church bell tolling to summon congregants to church for a funeral. In some very old parishes, the bell is tolled for each year of the deceased’s life. Tolling involves pulling the rope so that the bell swings through a short arc, in contrast to…
Last month we introduced the “NEW GEN” column that is specifically for all our young generation CAs(SA) in the workplace. This month we talk about an area that has been a hot topic in businesses over the last few years – Emotional Intelligence. Why all the fuss? Human beings have always believed that cognitive intelligence…
CA CHARTER: ACCOUNTANCY PROFFESSION UNVEILS EMPOWERMENT CHARTER CA Charter insists chartered accountants have a duty to support broad based empowerment The Chartered Accountancy [CA(SA)] profession’s Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Charter was signed in Johannesburg towards the end of 2007. The CA Charter, some four years in the making, promises to play a pivotal role…
Introduction: In August 2007, the revised international standard IAS 23 Borrowing Costs become a reality for South African GAAP (the international standard was issued in March 2007). We’ve known the previous statement as one to which not many people paid much attention other than to review it briefly to cover the risk of being asked…
PRACTICAL PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED IN THE ACCOUNTING FOR PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT (PPE) During 2007, in presenting the SAICA workshops on PPE, it became apparent that although IAS 16(AC 123) – Property, Plant and Equipment, was effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2005, there were still difficulties being encountered in implementing the…
The appointment of fund auditors is one of the key governance tasks that a board of trustees will need to undertake. In many instances (in fact, most) this process is handed over to the fund’s administrator or consultant to manage, who tend to favour certain firms and the reasons for this are not always clear.…
In the past 10 years, interest in Corporate Governance has grown tremendously. Corporate scandals, environmental concerns and globalisation have played their part (Adbo & Fischer 2007). These explicit or noticeable events have focused attention on Corporate Governance. Business is changing, methods of conducting business are changing, businesses are increasingly relying on information technology (IT) and…
During the past decade, accounting and auditing firms have experienced a significant change. During better times, business was easier to acquire and maintain as clients deemed accountants and auditors to be authorities that dare not be questioned. Client fee sensitivity, competition, increased legislation, specialisation, and poor public image have made the practice of accounting and…
SUMMARY OF STATEMENT OF GAAP FOR SMEs SAICA, with the permission of ACCA, has loaded a brief and ‘easy-to-use’ summary of the Statement of GAAP for SMEs on its website. This summary is endorsed by Paul Pacter, the Director of Standards for SMEs at the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and is based on the…
At its meeting on 26 October 2007, the Professional Conduct Committee considered the following matters: An Associate General Accountant (AGA(SA)) had been charged with holding himself out as a Registered Auditor when not so registered. The associate did not respond to the charge sheet and the matter has been referred to the Disciplinary Committee, with…