In January, Finweek published an opinion piece written by Johan Fourie, an Economics lecturer at Stellenbosch University, titled ‘Why you should think twice before going for that accounting degree’ In summary, he stated the following. Reasons why an accounting degree should not be the default option for South Africa’s brightest kids: Academic freedom in the…
Subaru has always been different in its design and styling. The Forester has been a huge success with families around the world. In its latest guise, Subaru has bowed to the pressure and made the latest Forester look more like the usual soft roaders on the road. Gone is the high-roof station-wagon look and in…
Prospect Theory shows us that we measure gains and losses relative to a set reference point or status quo (see my previous article). This particular reference point is subjective and can be different for different people in different scenarios. In 1974, Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman performed an experiment where they asked participants: “What is…
Budgeting and forecasting are major tasks for the ‘office of finance’ in any organisation and the collection and collation of financial data can take months of preparation. However, in today’s fast-paced world, these time-consuming manual processes can prove to be a major hindrance. More than often, by the time budgets have been set, market influences…
While Doris Lessing, British novelist, poet and playwright, had the luxury of believing that “borrowing is not much better than begging and lending with interest is not much better than stealing”, South African taxpayers in multinational groups have to contend with the reality of intra-group financial assistance. Since 2011, there have been some significant developments…
We live in testing and uncertain times, with global and local economies struggling to come to grips with slow growth, high unemployment and rising living costs. This phenomenon is often associated with entities embarking on cost cutting and cost containment, with employees bearing the brunt of low salary increases and decreased disposable income. The implication…
Maintaining good stakeholder relations is ‘the right thing’ for companies to do, but how many pay lip service and don’t grasp its vital feedback role? What is a stakeholder? Traditionally, shareholders and clients were the stakeholders, with the workforce also usually acknowledged. Nowadays the definition has broadened to include all those parties who will be…
HP HP Officejet Pro X Series Businesses can save time and money with the next generation of inkjet printing. HP Officejet Pro X printers produce professional-quality colour documents at up to twice the speed and half the cost per page of laser printers. The Officejet Pro X is the world’s fastest desktop printer as recognised…
ECONOMIC CRIME REMAINS A SERIOUS ISSUE Economic crime remains a serious challenge to business leaders, government officials and private individuals in South Africa with 69 per cent experiencing some form of economic crime in the last 24 months compared to 37 per cent of global respondents. This is the first time since 2005 that the…
Bitcoin is a decentralised digital or virtual currency typically traded on a bitcoin exchange. South Africa’s first rand-to-bitcoin exchange platform, BitX, was founded at the beginning of 2013. Similar to shares traded on a stock exchange, a limit order (to buy or sell at a certain price or better) or an express order (to buy…