Tag: finance

In many organisations, the monthly reporting cycle still follows a familiar pattern. Finance teams close the books, extract data from multiple systems, reconcile discrepancies and consolidate figures across entities. They then check reports, make adjustments and eventually compile a board pack.

Investors often turn to alternative investments. They seek something that listed markets cannot always provide. For instance, they want a different return profile. They also want less exposure to daily market sentiment. In addition, they want better portfolio risk management when conditions become more volatile.

Payroll regulations keep pace with a fast-moving and complex world. This keeps payroll professionals on their toes. PwC's Payroll Complexity Survey highlighted this trend last year. It wrote that "payroll regulations are evolving more rapidly and payroll compliance is coming under increasing scrutiny by government and tax authorities".

As South Africa prepares for the National Budget Speech later this month, attention is turning to whether government commitments to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will receive fiscal support and implementation details. These elements are required to unlock real economic impact.

Imagine a world where finance and accounting professionals could process vast amounts of data in seconds, quickly identify patterns and anomalies and provide real-time insights into their companies’ performance. Wouldn’t that be great? Well, that future is not as far off as you might expect.

New research shows that sustainability and technology are driving changes in the accounting and finance profession. A significant part of the work we do is about looking at trends within the profession and using them to discern what the future of accounting looks like, to best prepare our members to thrive within it.

The rise in finance and accounting cybercrime through phishing and Business Email Compromise (BEC) has made headlines with massive implications for South African companies with gaps in their payment systems. However, robust financial controls together with strong server, IT, and email monitoring processes aren’t enough if staff aren’t savvy to the psychological tricks scammers use to manipulate people, making them more vulnerable to tricker and deception.

It’s incredible how many people make resolutions about getting themselves in shape when a new year begins. Very few of us, it seems, think about the ‘financial hangover’ that we are dragging into a new year and how much getting personal finances back in shape could benefit our lives. 

Read our exclusive cover story titled CFO’s & CX! - IS FINANCE EVOLVING FROM HINDSIGHT TO FORESIGHT & INSIGHT? by Dzingira Matenga, Managing Director, CFO & Enterprise Value, Accenture in Africa, as well a host of other topical management articles written by professionals, consultants and academics in the December/January 2021/22 edition of BusinessBrief.

It often happens that a start-up business is unable to raise start-up capital in the conventional financial market. Banks and other conventional lenders often find the risk profile of a new business with no reliable track record unattractive. Not only is the viability of the new business unproven, but the new enterprise often faces regulatory hurdles that may inhibit its entry into the market.