Artificial Intelligence: Evolution or existential threat? While the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) was already underway, Covid-19 dramatically accelerated its use and adoption in workplaces globally. Whether AI proves to be a tool for human learning and advancement, promoting broader economic access and inclusion, or a technology that replaces and excludes them is up…
Is it really all doom and gloom? What are the lessons, if any, that we can take from nearly a full year of restrictions on trade? As I write this, we are in the midst of a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Businesses that needed a busy festive season or, alternatively, those that needed…
COVID-19 has been a catalyst for the global adoption of cashless payments, with the disruption expected to effect lasting changes in the way people spend. While consumers had already begun to embrace digital payment options prior to the pandemic, the health crisis has rapidly accelerated the adoption rate with more consumers seeking safer, contact-free payment…
Join the COVID ALERT SA community. Slow the spread of COVID-19. Stay Safe, protect loved ones, your community and all of South Africa. Let’s work together to save lives. The COVID ALERT SA app gives you the power to slow the spread of COVID-19 in South Africa and to keep yourself, your loved ones and…
As South African corporates gradually return to the boardroom, road warriors are longing to take back to the skies and resume business negotiations, build relationships, and discuss new business opportunities. Although business travel is permitted in South Africa, the pandemic has kept everyone on their toes with regulations changing frequently. As consulting firm McKinsey put…
Technology is taking over some routine tax and accounting tasks. This means accountants now need to make the move to trusted business advisors. William Reeb and Dominic Cingoranelli asked an important question in their book Becoming a trusted business advisor: how to add value, improve client loyalty, and increase profits, namely if accountants can name…
Kevin Phillips CA(SA) is CEO of IDU Group As the first wave of the COVID-19 crisis begins to recede and lockdown measures ease, it’s becoming clear that we can no longer expect to “go back to normal”. Just as a flood sometimes permanently changes the course of a river, so the pandemic has shifted the…
Ignatius Sehoole KPMG CEO calls for strengthening of South Africa’s CA pipeline KPMG South Africa CEO Ignatius Sehoole has called for more vigilance than ever in South Africa’s accounting sector, as the Covid-19 crisis poses a unique challenge to the business environment. He calls on the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (Saica) to aid…
The new normal is redefining the new investment landscape, but is it really that bleak for Africa? There is plenty of cynicism and negativity when it comes to South Africa and investment in its future. The recent downgrade by Moody’s was felt particularly keenly in light of the COVID-19 national lockdown and the inevitable economic…
We are living in unprecedented times, and the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting everyone differently: we are in the same storm but not in the same boa. The lockdown following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic is resulting in significant financial strain. Many employers are unable to pay salaries or have been forced into a position…