In This Issue

Being able to speak the truth, without the fear of being intimidated or being politically incorrect is a liberty that sets a person free, both physically and psychologically. However, this attribute is increasingly more difficult to find in the leadership and structures of the ‘new’ democratic South Africa.

The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) introduced digital financial reporting via XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) on July 1, 2018.

Read our exclusive cover story entitled ETHICS | HAVE WE LOST HOPE? by Terrance Booysen, Chief Executive Officer, CGF Research Institute, as well a host of other topical management articles written by professionals, consultants and academics in the August/September 2018 edition of BusinessBrief.

The 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) has become a buzz word in many forums discussing global economic trends. The revolution is presented as the next inevitable event that will sweep the entire world.

As with any other profession, artificial intelligence (AI) has lawyers wondering how it will disrupt theirs. Unlike the lift operator, AI is not set to replace lawyers (just yet), but rather to increase performance and enhance client service. 

As any business grows, data sharing increases in both volume and frequency. Every one of these digital relationships presents an expanding set of cyber risks. Cyber security has become a major priority for every organisation. The right controls and procedures must be put in place to detect potential attacks and protect against them. However, with the ever increasing risk of a cyber-attack businesses are finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with the rapidly evolving cyber threats?

What are the practicalities in implementation when trying to apply and decode the draft Bill? I have spent considerable time recently evaluating the practicalities of implementing the Bill on the NMW at numerous clients’ requests. I find it lacking clarity as there are no practical methods for calculating wages and it doesn’t adhere to ‘plain language principle’.

Cloud Technology is a critical enabler of the 4th Industrial Revolution. Particularly when data intensive processes are involved, ‘platform as a service’ allows for innovative new ways for traditional problems to be solved, bringing agility, speed and scalability.

Have you ever sat in a meeting where the person who threw around the most jargon, who managed to build in the most buzzwords into every conversation, was perceived as the hottest property, the flavour of the month! To help you navigate through this minefield of buzzwords, to keep you at the top of your game, we offer some insights into some new and some not so new uses of jargon which continue to populate our many conversations at the office, extending after hours into our social lives.

Technological advancement is a main driver of economic growth, productivity, and operational efficiencies. Today, these technological advancements are largely in the fields of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning (a subset of AI) – the ability of machines, through the use of algorithms, to interpret data, predict outcomes and learn from successes and failures. This technological development, known as the 4th Industrial Revolution, is going to bring enormous change to how we live and work.