An unexpectedly shrewd observation I heard from Lord Sebastian Coe at the Discovery Leadership Summit held recently in Sandton really got me thinking. Considered one of the best middle-distance runners of all time, the British Olympic champion set 12 world records over four distances, achieving four gold and three silver medals in the Olympics and…
Offshore equities are looking increasingly attractive: the MSCI World Index returned 39,7 per cent in rand terms during 2013. However, with the rand’s recent depreciation, emotions are once again running high, with fear and greed rampant and herd behaviour becoming evident. And to compound the excitement, it’s election time again. At the start of 2014,…
The Chartered Accountancy profession is both locally and internationally well recognised as providing attractive career opportunities in various industries, highlighting the flexibility of the Chartered Accountancy, CA(SA) designation. Thinking back why I decided to study Accountancy, I chose the CA(SA) route as a bullet-proof qualification that would provide me with job security and a diverse…
Prospect Theory shows us that we measure gains and losses relative to a set reference point or status quo (see my previous article). This particular reference point is subjective and can be different for different people in different scenarios. In 1974, Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman performed an experiment where they asked participants: “What is…
While Doris Lessing, British novelist, poet and playwright, had the luxury of believing that “borrowing is not much better than begging and lending with interest is not much better than stealing”, South African taxpayers in multinational groups have to contend with the reality of intra-group financial assistance. Since 2011, there have been some significant developments…
Maintaining good stakeholder relations is ‘the right thing’ for companies to do, but how many pay lip service and don’t grasp its vital feedback role? What is a stakeholder? Traditionally, shareholders and clients were the stakeholders, with the workforce also usually acknowledged. Nowadays the definition has broadened to include all those parties who will be…
ECONOMIC CRIME REMAINS A SERIOUS ISSUE Economic crime remains a serious challenge to business leaders, government officials and private individuals in South Africa with 69 per cent experiencing some form of economic crime in the last 24 months compared to 37 per cent of global respondents. This is the first time since 2005 that the…
“The development of people, especially young women, is something that drives me. It is like watching a flower blossom,” says Tantaswa. She is involved in the mentoring and coaching of different people and at varying levels. “I do this formally and informally, and I must admit, it’s difficult for me to say no to anyone!”…
Is it becoming common practice in South Africa to disclose non-GAAP financial measures? This is certainly happening at an increasing level. There is a possibility that non-GAAP financial measures may be used incorrectly by users as these do not reflect the true financial position of a company. If investors rely on non-standardised financial measures without…
There are two types of people in the world – thinkers and doers. Which one are you?” Thinkers are open to new ideas and concepts and are constantly thinking outside the box trying to improve or change the way things are done. On the other hand, to be blunt, they don’t always have balls. Fear…