Many businesses require additional capital to grow the business or to facilitate the exit of an existing shareholder or partner. Some of these businesses do not qualify to obtain funding from a bank, or the balance sheet cannot afford additional loan funding. In other instances, equity funding may be preferred for long term strategic reasons…
Making money in a business does not only depend on profit margins, growth in turnover and growing market share. The manner in which the business is financed can also have a substantial impact on the shareholder returns generated by the business. It will serve any business to have a strategic look at its balance sheet…
By Ankur Prakash, Vice President, New Growth and Emerging Markets, Wipro Limited 30 October 2017 As we race towards an uncertain future, one thing’s for sure: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is here to stay. We cannot know exactly how it will reshape our work, our businesses, and our lives in general, but there are some fascinating and…
Psychological distress in working South Africa Mental health is a challenge that some 30% of people struggle with at some stage in their lives. The personal, family, business, and social costs are significant. Stigma, access to care, rates of trauma, and other challenges remain. Employers can do much to help and will help themselves in…
In the past few years, Mercedes-Benz have been losing out on a section of the SUV market. That has all changed with the launch of the GLC: a midsized SUV that competes with vehicles like the BMW X3, Audi Q5 and Volvo XC60. But Mercedes did not stop there – they also went ahead and…
As the demand for analytical skills increases, so the supply becomes a growing issue and this is bound to continue into the foreseeable future. South Africa, for several reasons, is simply not training enough people to perform advanced analytics Small and medium-sized businesses have been the most impacted by this issue – but they need…
Unpacking technology imperatives for chartered accountants How will the maturation of data science combined with advancements in artificial intelligence revolutionise the role of the CA(SA)? Last month we ventured into the future by touching on disruptive technologies and how they are helping to shape (or in many cases reshape) our profession. In this, the second…
Many South Africans are faced with the situation of having to financially support not only their own children but their parents or other family members too. While it is always done with good intentions, this group of people can make the mistake of neglecting their own financial well-being by prioritising their family’s needs. In these…
Why is now the time to implement B-BBEE in your business? For quite a number of reasons. In these articles, this year we have discussed some important technical issues to keep in mind when deciding on a B-BBEE strategy. We said that although B-BBEE inherently remains a ‘grudge purchase’ for most, if the intent is…
We recently binged the Netflix show 13 Reasons Why. The series is about a teenager committing suicide after suffering demoralising circumstances and the 13 reasons she gives for ending her life is getting a lot of attention. 2017 Estimates by the World Health Organisation show 800 000 people die as a result of suicide every…