0 Today’s workforce is more dynamic than ever before; new-generation employees will change jobs and even careers a number of times throughout their working lives. This does not have to be a bad thing, however: business owners need to look at longevity in a new way – it may not be about keeping someone in…
0 The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) is delighted with the excellent results of the Initial Test of Competence Exam (ITC) released on Friday 28 March 2014 The ITC (previously known as Part I of the Qualifying Examination, QE) is one of the prerequisites for registration as a prospective chartered accountant [CA(SA)]. The…
0 As a young student, Alex van der Watt had dreamt of becoming a captain of industry after he graduated. But a weekend away with friends changed all that. He had completed his articles at PricewaterhouseCoopers two years previously and was enjoying some time out with friends when someone who would later become a colleague…
0 Proposed amendments to the Value-Added Tax Act of 1991 were announced by the Minister of Finance during the budget speech. As anticipated, the Minister of Finance did not announce an increase in the standard 14 per cent rate of VAT in the latest budget speech. The following amendments have been proposed, however: Section 11(1)(e)…
0 This month’s column examines a recent NASA-backed study that states that the fall of the Roman Empire and the equally (if not more) advanced Han, Mauryan, and Gupta empires, as well as so many advanced Mesopotamian empires, all bears testimony to the fact that advanced, sophisticated, complex, and creative civilisations can be both fragile…
0 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…
0 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.…
0 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…
0 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…
0 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…