Finance functions face important choices about where to place focus. At a time when businesses want their CFOs to become actively engaged in the strategic direction of the business – participating in strategy development, leading M&A activity and providing leading indicators for predicting business performance – CFOs themselves believe that they are still far too distracted…
The Companies Bill is extremely topical and once you delve into it you realise that you cannot deal with all the interesting stuff but rather focus on one bit at a time. In this article, the author discusses the Bill and the different roles of some of the stakeholders. On 27 June 2008 the Companies…
Tax havens are countries where minimal or no taxes are levied on non-residents. The Economist defined a tax haven as having “a composite tax structure established deliberately to take advantage of, and exploit, a worldwide demand for opportunities to engage in tax avoidance”1. A key feature of a tax haven is a lack of transparency…
APB APPROVAL OF AMENDMENTS AND REMOVAL OF AN ED Accounting Pronouncement Approved At a meeting held on 16 May 2008, the Accounting Practices Board (APB) approved the Amendments to IAS 32(AC 125) – Financial Instruments: Presentation and IAS 1 (AC 101) – Presentation of Financial Statements: Puttable Financial Instruments and Obligations Arising on Liquidation for…
The Zimbabwean economy is characterised by high inflation and diminishing productivity. Most manufacturing companies have significantly curtailed their operations due to various factors, and accountants are ‘at the centre of things’ in trying to cope with the environment in which their companies operate. With annual inflation rate in February 2008 at 164900.3%, decision makers in…
Grant Thornton’s Employment Growth Index (EGI) has reflected a 6% year-on-year growth in employment amongst medium to large privately held businesses in South Africa. The EGI, which is part of Grant Thornton’s International Business Report measures the absolute increases and decreases in employment, as reported by the privately held businesses surveyed. This signifies a one…
We all like to think of ourselves as individuals – unique, one of a kind. With identity fraud on the increase, however, unless you safeguard your company’s financial information religiously, you’re bound to discover a whole new team of invisible employees that love using the company credit card. Worse still, give an identity fraudster access…
We continue to grapple with the pervasive shortage of qualified professionals and sound accounting skills across the country. The emigration of skilled professionals, coupled with an inadequate pipeline of qualifying Chartered Accountants are two of the pressing issues that the profession faces today. Dealing with both challenges is complex and is often beyond the reach…
CA(SA) qualification results give stunning boost to transformation in accountancy profession The ongoing quest to grow the number of South Africa’s chartered accountants – and, in particular, the relatively small number of black CAs(SA) – continues to bear fruit. The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) qualifying examination results reflect 3 902 candidates who…
We all know that tax evasion is criminal and that tax avoidance, if it is not a shame, is lawful. But what of tax avoidance? This is an expression coined by Mickey van der Walt, a former Commissioner for Inland Revenue. In principle, tax avoision does not exist. A transaction is either lawful or unlawful…