The cream of the QEII 2012 crop Keren Swanson, Allan Gray, trainee. Why you chose the CA(SA) route? I always wanted to be in the corporate sphere. There are few other degrees that come close to the opportunities that present themselves once you obtain your CA(SA) designation. Many business leaders are CAs(SA) and one immediately…
Jaguar track day There are many people who believe they can drive a car, but how many “drivers” can control a car when things go wrong? I was recently invited by a group of accountants to participate in a track day at Gerotek testing facilities. This was going to be a fun day involving aquaplaning…
Sustainability website It is indeed true that with time comes maturity. For instance, take a look at financial reporting by companies. It started out as simple book-keeping and has progressed to financial accounting using globally accepted standards that enable users to comfortably compare one company to another. Sustainability reporting was the next big move, with…
The emerging economies are set to grow much faster than the G7 countries (France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, the US and Canada) over the next four decades, according to a report released by PwC. Figures for average growth in GDP in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP) show Nigeria leading the way over the…
The world’s fastest growing companies Although the world is going through some tough economic times, there are still companies that post astonishing growth. Fortune magazine has published its list of the fastest growing companies in the world. We take a look at the top 20 companies’ profit growth.
I find the logic in some of the valuations I get to see in practice staggering. The value of an entity or business is what you can get out of it. You cannot take revenue of a business and leave the costs of generating the revenue in the business. You cannot take earnings out of…
Richard Gray Cottrell Auditing and Accounting Stalwart passes on. It is with deep sadness that I came to learn of the passing of Rick Cottrell on 5 November 2012. He was 76. My memories of Rick are many and varied. I first met him during my Coopers & Lybrand days and it was during his…
Business rationalisation, realignment, recovery, rescues… the intention is the same, but the degree of intensity and urgency may change. This article discusses the situation where a company has been given a lifeline of an approved Business Rescue Plan but has to balance the need for speed by having to engage in negotiation for reducing employment.…
Free cash flows are not colourless as they tend to be defined depending on the type of free cash flow valuation being performed. I once posed this question to students in an equity valuation lecture. The response to this question tentacle to a number of issues: 1. Is there a single valid starting point for…
Governing IT through Strategic Alignment Many businesses find themselves stuck in the technology gap: what company boards expect from IT governance is often far removed from what IT departments comprehend as the business’s needs. Boards cannot rely on IT to understand their business needs and to bridge the technology gap, but must use business strategy…