DIGITAL PIRACY: FILESHARING IN THE CORPORATE ENVIRONMENT Introduction With an online/digital revolution sweeping the music industry, it is not only the music industry, but companies in general, that need to adapt the way they run their businesses. Online copyright theft is no longer being allowed to run rampant on ISP networks under the guise of…
The new reportable arrangement provisions contained in sections 80M to 80T of the Income Tax Act have been activated with effect from 1 April 2008. Unfortunately for taxpayers and their advisers, this is no April Fools Day hoax. The new provisions are far wider in their ambit than those that they replace in the previous…
CONVERTING UNDERWRITTEN RETIREMENT FUNDS TO THE ACCRUAL-BASIS OF ACCOUNTING Background In 2005, the Financial Services Board (FSB) made it compulsory for all retirement funds registered with the FSB in terms of the Pension Funds Act of 1956 to submit financial statements to the FSB. Prior to this only privately administered funds submitted audited financial statements…
QUARTERLY REPORTING: GOOD CORPORATE GOVERNANCE OR AN OBLIGATION OF LITTLE VALUE? Many international listed entities operate in a business environment that demands increased transparency through corporate disclosure. Quarterly reporting has been identified as a tool that may meaningfully enhance transparency through more frequent public disclosure. However, the question as to whether quarterly reporting is beneficial…
IASB ISSUES: NEW REQUIREMENTS FOR CHANGES IN DEGREE OF CONTROL The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) completed the second phase of its business combinations project on 10 January 2008 by issuing a revised version of IFRS 3 – Business Combinations and an amended version of IAS 27 – Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements (referred to…
STATEMENT OF GAAP FOR SME’s: IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES Background It has been more than a year since the Statement of Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (GAAP) for Small and Medium-sized Entities (SMEs) has been approved by the Accounting Practices Board (APB). This document, which is an exposure draft of a proposed International Financial Reporting Standard for Small…
ACCOUNTING APB APPROVES AMENDMENTS, IMPROVEMENTS, INTERPRETATIONS At its meeting on 1 August 2008, the Accounting Practices Board (APB) approved the following for issue as amendments, improvements or interpretations of Statements of GAAP: Amendments to IFRS 1(AC 138) − First-time Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards and IAS 27(AC 132) – Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements:…
NEW TRAINING MODEL: CHANGING THE CHARTERED ACCOUNTANCY PROFESSION’S LANES A revolutionary new training model, designed to develop Chartered Accountants [CAs(SA)] armed with broad-based business skills, is being developed by The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) in consultation with our members. We have embarked on a journey to propose a new training model for…
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) has long been a requirement for most, if not all, professionals, including, for example, the medical profession. Just as it would be daunting to consult a heart surgeon with a stack of unopened medical journals on his coffee table, so too would it be daunting to place one’s faith in a…
THE CFO OF THE FUTURE : VIEWS OF JSE TOP 40 COMPANY CFO’s Over the past 50 years, the role of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) has evolved to that of a strategic business partner who focuses on the creation of shareholder wealth. Recently SAICA embarked on a research project, targeting 40 CFOs of the…