Tag: scenario planning

Holding onto spreadsheets and resisting digital transformation creates a barrier to growth. Businesses in every sector share one critical trait - their finance teams sit at the heart of the organisation. However, despite rapid global evolution and increasingly dynamic industries, most finance teams still rely on manual processes and spreadsheet-driven decision-making.

There is a definite shift happening in the world order, says leading scenario planner and futurist Chantell Ilbury. But she emphasises that it's not just about the fact that it's shifting. What matters is what it’s going to shift to. Ilbury examined the topic of "Trump, South Africa and Your Business: Navigating Uncertainty with Scenario Planning" at a recent event we co-hosted with auditors Nolands and JSE Private Placements.

South Africa’s major banks registered resilient growth against difficult operating conditions and a complex macroeconomic environment. Combined headline earnings growth of 13.8% against FY22 to R113.2 billion, combined ROE of 17.6% (FY22: 17.1%), net interest margin of 458 bps (FY22: 430 bps), credit loss ratio of 102 bps (FY22: 82 bps), cost-to-income ratio of 52.2% (FY22: 53%), common equity tier ratio of 13.2% (FY22: 13.5%).

With South Africa reaching an agreement to launch $1 billion blended finance fund to accelerate the development of the green hydrogen sector, the country is well on its way to pursue and harness this energy resource.

The prolonged Russia-Ukraine war is ushering in a new era of volatility and possible recession for South Africa and the world. When Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana delivered his maiden budget speech in February 2022, little did he know that Russia would invade Ukraine the very next day, immediately changing both the world and South Africa’s economic outlook for 2022 and beyond.

It can be a challenge to get your technology infrastructure transformation on the agenda in the boardroom. Often there are other, higher profile transformations or issues that demand focus, for example adapting to new ways of working. So how can you compete for attention?

As South Africa navigates the COVID-19 third wave and businesses do all they can to mitigate the health and economic effects on their workforce and businesses, the country needs strong leaders who acknowledge the unprecedented uncertainty but step up and prepare their organisations for a season of growth.

As the health and humanitarian impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic evolve, so do the business and economic challenges. Organisations looking to balance their immediate needs with longer-term opportunities will see the trade-offs play out across three waves of impact – the Now, the Next, and the Never Normal.

After months of managing the COVID-19 crisis, people and businesses are depending on the public sector to guide them through the next several months and possibly years of uncertainty. It’s time to capitalise on what’s been achieved via the new policies and service delivery models that were developed in response to the crisis.

If there is one thing 2020 has shown, it’s that the late Romantic poet Robert Burns was right, when in the 1700s he wrote, 'The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry'. COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on our ability to predict the 'what’s next' factor in our business environments and this year has seen businesses scramble from Plan A to Plan B, before working their way through the rest of the alphabet.