Tag: COVID-19

Over the years in the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, we have learnt about the effectiveness of purpose-led partnerships. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic provided us with a sense of urgency in supporting individuals and households to take full advantage of the digital economy.

South Africa continues to produce skilled professionals equipped with the means to drive the South African economy. However, in the older age groups, the number of graduate professionals committed to a career in South Africa is diminishing.

As governments urge employers to get their people back in the workplace and so maximise office space and boost ‘post-pandemic’ service/retail economies, the focus should not just be on ‘getting bums on seats’. We have called for managers to meet the challenges of a new world of work with flexibility and creativity.

What is the value of one’s heart beat? What is the meaning of life? Do I matter? These are existential questions that people increasingly reflect on in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rising number of existential threats facing humanity.

Two years ago, the global COVID-19 pandemic changed the world. Riddled with an uncertainty of what tomorrow might bring, many who were able to, saw their homes turning into their offices, as they moved to remote working.

Should budgeting and planning be considered an outdated discipline? Given the rapid rate of change and high levels of unpredictability in the world today, should accountants press reset on the corporate performance management landscape? And, is it possible to plan, forecast and budget when once-in-a-lifetime events seem to take place every other week?

The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken our society to its core. Many family members, colleagues, friends or acquaintances have either lost their lives or been infected. As devastating as the virus has been to livelihoods and communities, there have also been several silver linings.

We take great pleasure in presenting the eighth edition of the VAT in Africa Guide – Africa re-emerging. This backdrop of renewal informs our theme and purpose of focusing on the re-emergence of African economies and societies which have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

During the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, medical claims looked very different to the usual patterns. Now, however, the COVID-19-bubble has burst, and we are beginning to get back to greater levels of normalcy. One thing that COVID-19 highlighted was the need to have adequate healthcare in place.

Change, like death and taxes, is inevitable, and the last couple of years of the COVID-19 pandemic have brought global changes inconceivable before. Meeting clients, friends and family online for a quick Zoom catch-up (I don’t think I’d ever attended a virtual meeting before COVID-19), working remotely (previously, that was almost unheard of, and only for the lucky few), and having to, if you’ll excuse the cliché, pivot to make yourself and your business relevant in this new world are just a few examples of change many of us have had to cope with.