Finance & Equity

As South Africa enters an election year, the issue of black ownership continues to be a dominant aspect within the country’s transformation landscape. This was clearly articulated in the ANC 2019 election manifesto address by president Cyril Ramaphosa when he reaffirmed government’s commitment to working with the financial sector to increase industrial and enterprise financing for black industrialists as well as small businesses and cooperatives.

When faced with legislation that requires parties to take certain steps or prevents them from implementing a particular course of action, the questions often asked include 'what are the consequences and who will be liable to pay?' For a long time been uncertainty about the penalty firms would face if they fail to notify a merger and/or implement a merger without the requisite approval of the competition authorities.

While small to medium enterprise (SME) owners may not have a great deal of control over South Africa’s broader economic issues, they do have control over how they plan and manage their finances.

Every successful business reaches a stage where it has to choose its growth path. Either you grow organically, using operational capital as and when it’s available or you use growth capital in order to scale up faster. If you are considering the fundraising route, there are a number of things you need to nail in order to be funding ready.

Future shifts in demands and activities are unavoidable for all professions. The future of the accounting profession as one that remains relevant and vital to the prosperity of the societies in which it operates, depends on its ability to focus on what is required to sustain its relevance in an evolving, changing, and technologically-dominated future.

A lack of consequences to civil servants involved in auditing the public finances has necessitated wide-ranging legislative changes to the Public Audit Act (PAA). This is according to the Auditor-General, Kimi Makwetu. In addition, Makwetu has said that the Public Audit Amendment Bill, which is soon to be debated in parliament, proposes 11 changes to the PAA.

Dr Ivor Blumenthal | CEO | ArkKonsult | ivorblumenthal@gmail.com | It is doubtful whether organised business, who began participating in activities at the National Economic Development and...

Fraud is not new or unusual. But with the evolution of technology, its definition has changed. Fraud is no longer just about misappropriated money. It now includes HR fraud, IP and data theft, and a new category defined by PwC as ‘business misconduct’ – when companies intentionally deceive the market or the general public.

One of the respects in which the National Credit Act (the NCA) has created confusion relates to the obligation to register as a credit provider. Section 40(1) of the NCA provides that a person must apply to be registered as a credit provider if the total principal debt owed to that credit provider under all outstanding credit agreements exceeds the prescribed threshold - which has been nil since 11 May 2016, and prior to that was R500,000. 

Executive remuneration has become a symbol of inequality in today’s global economic order. Shareholders are becoming more active in demanding that executive pay is more closely linked to results and stakeholders want a broader focus on the context in which the organisation operates.