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The SABC has appointed an interim CEO and an interim CFO: Nomsa Philiso and Thabile Dlamini have been appointed acting CEO and CFO respectively. This, following the recent resignation of James Aguma (pictured), who had served in both these executive roles.

“I would encourage every incoming CFO to find a way to do some deep thinking as to who they are and how to fill the role,” says Andrew Mackie, Deloitte’s new Head of Audit & Assurance for Africa, comprising 15 countries and 185 partners. In this interview, Andrew talks to CFO South Africa about his passion for audit and transformation, the balancing act that finance executives have to go through every day, and how clarity of purpose and priority is what really matters for a leader.

Decision Inc. has joined Finance Indaba 2017 as a silver partner and will make its debut at the event at the Sandton Convention Centre in October.

Anglo American Platinum (Amplats), the world's leading producer of the precious metal, reported a loss during the first half of 2017 due to a stronger local currency, impairments and lower sales, it said in its interim results statement on Monday.

According to a recently released report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), CEOs of the top 10 JSE-listed companies take home an average pay of R24.6 million. CFOs, it said, earn around R13.8 million, and executive directors R7.7 million.

Network Recruitment has joined Finance Indaba 2017 as a silver partner and will make its debut at the event at the Sandton Convention Centre in October.

Global payments technology company Visa has partnered with Kenyan online payment gateway JamboPay to enable its merchants to facilitate mVisa Payments.

“It has been tricky to get politicians, our people and other stakeholders to understand that we can’t keep throwing capital at our problems. We need to focus on operational efficiencies,” says Transnet CFO, Garry Pita, winner of the Transformation & Empowerment Award at this year’s CFO Awards. Garry took over as Group CFO in February last year, replacing Anoj Singh, who was seconded to Eskom.

Hansal International recently launched its expansion into South Africa, Ghana and Kenya, simultaneously announcing that it has appointed Jo-Ann Pohl (pictured) as the company’s Chairperson for Africa. Jo is currently a consultant at property investment fund, Texton, a role she took up in May this year.

Do you want to keep up to date with the latest developments in finance, but you are short of time? Don’t worry. CFO South Africa weekly collects 10 of the most important articles from international media for your convenience.

ACS-Embrace has joined Finance Indaba 2017 as a silver partner and will make its debut at the event at the Sandton Convention Centre in October.

A thorough, smart and stealthy due diligence process is among the top ingredients for successful mergers and acquisitions. We spoke to finance executives and dealmakers about the homework a growth-hungry company needs to do. “Do two rounds of due diligence, put your very best finance team members on the deal and make sure you do your homework,” says Telkom Group CFO Deon Fredericks.

Following a call for nominations and elections for the first Africa regional board under the Association, Badibanga Promesse (pictured), regional VP Africa for CIMA, has announced that the following people have accepted their election and appointment to the new Africa regional board:

Ned Segal (pictured), who spent 17 years at Goldman Sachs Group, has been named the new chief financial officer of Twitter. The 43-year-old former banker, currently a senior vice president of finance at Intuit Inc., will take over the CFO role from Anthony Noto (who will remain chief operating officer) from September.

“There has to be a pretty compelling case as to why a company should list. You have to know why you're doing it because it's a costly endeavour both from a time perspective as well as economically,” said Richard Stout, Head of Equity Capital Markets Standard Bank. Stout was speaking at the recent CFO summit about sentiment in capital markets and whether initial public offerings (IPOs) are a useful avenue for raising cash in the current economic environment. “You're moving to an environment where you have a responsibility to a bunch of institutions that are going to expect you to execute a strategy and create value. I've done IPOs for the better part of 20 years and I think they are a great way of raising capital, but not every company should take that route.”

Nkonki has joined Finance Indaba 2017 as a gold partner and will make its second showing at the event at the Sandton Convention Centre in October.

Seven minutes. 300 million. $321 billion. Every seven minutes a new piece of regulation is introduced globally, the number of pages of regulation in existence and the number of dollars paid since the financial crisis of 2008. In an intriguing presentation at CFO Summit 4 at Summer Place in Sandton on Thursday, Thomson Reuters Africa MD Sneha Shah examined how the flood of regulation was impacting companies around the world and provided solutions for those that were struggling to cope with compliance.

In announcing its integrated financial results on Wednesday morning, Eskom declared that it was pleased to be continuing on the upward trajectory of the past few years. The power utility connected 207 189 new households to the national grid and managed to achieve a cost-saving of R20,2 billion in the financial year ended 31 March.

South African FinTech company Curve Technology Group has expanded to the UK with the opening of a new office in London.

German-based software giant SAP has appointed 25-year veteran Claas Kuehnemann (pictured) as acting managing director for Africa. This following allegations that the company's South African subsidiary paid a Gupta front R100 million in kickbacks for it to access lucrative state contracts. SAP has initiated an independent investigation into the matter, placing its SAP SA management team on administrative leave while the review is underway.

Shanduka Black Umbrellas has joined Finance Indaba 2017 as a gold partner and will make its debut at the event at the Sandton Convention Centre in October.

Agility is a word that is bandied about in boardrooms across South Africa, but how does one actually achieve it? How do you step away from your desk as a CFO and really get to grips with the business? Can you find out how the business ticks without abandoning your finance duties?

“The key to the success of the company is our people. If you have one client who is dissatisfied, you are not likely to get new business. Our people are key and we have been very lucky to get good people," says Wilfred Ngubane, CEO and founder of Ngubane & Co, a gold partner at the Finance Indaba Africa 2017 on 12 and 13 October 2017 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg.

Former CFO Awards nominee Matone Ditlhake has left his role in finance at Groupe SEB to fill the CEO role at Optic Comm Networks, a company partly owned by The Wired Corp.

Deloitte, in its recently released fourth annual South African Restructuring Outlook 2017 survey, found that restructuring professionals are more positive about the economy but that retail, agriculture and construction sectors remain at risk.

ZAR X has joined Finance Indaba 2017 as a gold partner and will make its debut at the event at the Sandton Convention Centre in October.

Technology is moving at breakneck pace, with a significant impact on business and the world around us. It is imperative that CFOs have understanding of these rapid change in order to mitigate the risks and maximise the rewards. Here are five tips that can make this process easier, according to CGMA.

"DocFox provides a single solution - endorsed by global law firm, Norton Rose Fulbright - which gives a FSP of any size the assurance that they will remain compliant with ever-changing legislation, while simultaneously creating a seamless customer experience and reducing operational costs," says Ryan Canin, CEO of DocFox, a gold partner at the Finance Indaba Africa 2017 on 12 and 13 October 2017 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg.

Sibanye Gold has announced that Robert van Niekerk (pictured) has been appointed executive vice president: SA Region. Van Niekerk's appointment follows the acquisition of Stillwater Mining Company in May 2017, and a subsequent transition of the Sibanye Group organisational structure from a divisional commodity structure to a geographical regionalised structure.

The Office of the Tax Ombud has joined Finance Indaba 2017 as a silver partner and will make its second showing at the event at the Sandton Convention Centre in October.

FinLeap, the startup platform behind Germany's solarisBank, has secured €39 million in equity capital to support its ongoing FinTech incubation programme. Next to the founding shareholder Berlin-based HitFox-Group, new institutional investors include the German insurer Signal Iduna, Japan's SBI Group and Dutch bank NIBC. Hannover Re, the third largest worldwide reinsurer, also raised its stake having participated in the platform's last €21 million raise.

Craig Sumption has been with Hatch, a global concern headquartered in Canada and supplying engineering, project and construction management services, process and business consulting and operational services to the mining, metallurgical, energy and infrastructure industries, for more than a decade. He assumed the role of Regional Director of Finance for the firm's African, European and Middle Eastern operations two years ago. A passionate finance man who knew very early on that he wanted to go into the field, the father of three's grasp of the numbers remains second to none. He shared his thoughts with us about volatility, moving into Africa and leadership.

Kumba Iron Ore has appointed Bothwell Mazarura (pictured) as chief financial officer and executive director, effective 1 September 2017. Mazarura takes over from Johan Prins, Kumba’s head of finance, who has been acting CFO since 11 May 2017.

Do you want to keep up to date with the latest developments in finance, but you are short of time? Don’t worry. CFO South Africa weekly collects 10 of the most important articles from international media for your convenience.

Karabina has joined Finance Indaba 2017 as a gold partner and will make its debut at the event at the Sandton Convention Centre in October.

Business decisions are frequently flawed. A KPMG study of corporate mergers and acquisitions – some of the highest-stakes decisions that executives make – showed that 83 percent failed to create any value for shareholders. What are the greatest cognitive and psychological pitfalls that lead to such bad decisions and how can you avoid these?

According to Thomson Reuters, the value of announced M&A transactions involving Sub-Saharan African targets reached $18.1 billion in the first half of this year – the highest since 2013. Inbound M&A reached a four-year high of $10 billion, with the US, the UK and China leading investments, while outbound M&A declined 39% to $1.8 billion for the first half of 2017.

Standard Bank has appointed Bulelwa Mdlophane as its new chief financial officer for Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) Global Market. Mdlophane says the appointment as CFO came after she had been “filling in” the role for almost 12 months.

The City of Johannesburg’s chief financial officer, Reggie Boqo, who was nominated for the 2017 CFO of the Year Awards, has resigned. Reggie has said he intends to explore new ventures outside the Metro before his contract comes to an end in December.

ClarkHouse has joined Finance Indaba 2017 as a gold partner and will make its second showing at the event at the Sandton Convention Centre in October.

Ramasela Ganda is the first-ever municipal CFO to win at the CFO Awards. In Ekurhuleni Municipality, she introduced state-of-the-art technology and convinced politicians to not only focus the budget on social grants.

The new FinTech 2017: China, Asia and Beyond Report, released by CFA argues that, while FinTech companies were usually strong at technology and applications, they are mostly inexperienced in financial sector operations and therefore unlikely to completely replace the more conventional sectors of the financial services industry.

“There was a decrease in the overall size of South Africa’s shadow economy’s share of GDP since 2011; a positive sign that efforts to curb its impact have been implemented in recent years. But that’s the end of the good news, as the future trend is profoundly opposite,” says Pat Semenya (pictured), head of ACCA South Africa.

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) has joined Finance Indaba 2017 as a gold partner and will make its debut at the event at the Sandton Convention Centre in October.

EY warns CFOs against over-committing to rapid-growth markets and letting the enthusiasm for using them as the torch-bearer for sustainable long-term growth bubble over. Here are a number of key lessons from the financial services giant that will be applicable for the just about any company and its CFO.

"With us, all clients’ foreign trade payments will be done fast, efficiently and seamlessly through our partner bank and unique online payment and trading platform," says Herman Bezuidenhout, CEO of BeztForex, a silver partner at the Finance Indaba Africa 2017 on 12 and 13 October 2017 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg.

Addressing the July 2017 graduates of the Wits University Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Stephen Koseff, CEO of Investec Bank and a Wits University Alumni, said South Africans need to work together and find a new social pact that transcends ideologies and backgrounds, and unite under a common goal to tackle the country’s current and future problems.

CFO South Africa is a proudly South African platform, even with its Dutch roots. At the recent CFO Awards, we hosted a masterclass with leading CFOs on the topic of race and transformation. What would we say if we spoke openly about these issues and how would it reflect our values and attitude? It was one of the most powerful conversations ever hosted in the CFO South Africa space and attendees have all asked that we continue this conversation.

Global beverage and snacks giant PepsiCo reported a slight increase in second-quarter revenue and profit, as its vital North American beverages division made gains, amid lower promotional spending and productivity gains.

Agile finance leaders are embracing a new operating model for finance that is responsive and change-ready and are championing digital technologies, while investing in new skillsets to provide the analytical capability for insight and strategic guidance the business requires in adopting new digital business models and ways of working.

"CFOs need to consider the role that digitalisation is going to play in business. The way business is done is going to undergo a fundamental change over the next five years. The next 12 months are going to be critical for organisations that want to digitalise. On a social level, CFOs have to consider the role they play in broader society. Gone are the days when we can sit back and say certain issues are for politicians, government or industry bodies. If you are CFO making decisions, you have a responsibility to play a deeper role in uplifting communities," says globally renowned public speaker, venture capitalist and entrepreneur Vusi Thembekwayo.

The Top 6 teams of the global edition of The CFO Case Study Competition 2017 have been selected. Some 2,300 entries were received this year, including both the CFO Case Study and the Junior National version for South African High Schools.

The rise of the FinTech industry may herald a significant upheaval to the financial services industry, and significant opportunities (and risks) await those who wish to participate.

According to the JSE, a two-year cost-cutting programme could see up to 14 percent of its staff retrenched.

Do you want to keep up to date with the latest developments in finance, but you are short of time? Don’t worry. CFO South Africa weekly collects 10 of the most important articles from international media for your convenience.

“Our platform exists to benefit finance professionals, so is designed to be usable and understandable by them. One of the most common comments we receive from CFOs and finance heads is their surprise in how easily they set up the platform and how quickly they began seeing results.” says Therese Tucker, founder and CEO of BlackLine, a silver partner at the Finance Indaba Africa 2017 on 12 and 13 October 2017 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg.

A thorough, smart and stealthy due diligence process is among the top ingredients for successful mergers and acquisitions. We spoke to finance executives and dealmakers about the homework a growth-hungry company needs to do. “Ideally, the CFO shouldn’t only focus on the financials, there needs to be a cross-over. The CFO, along with other execs, can really help to join the dots in a deal,” says Charles Douglas, head of M&A at law firm Bowmans.

The Hollard Insurance Group, South Africa’s largest independent insurance group, has cemented its place as the second-largest short-term insurer with the completion of its R1.8 billion acquisition of the Regent Insurance Group from Imperial Holdings.

Alexander Forbes has announced three key executive appointments: Naidene Ford-Hoon as Group chief financial officer (GCFO), Christian Schaub as Group chief human resources officer (GCHRO), and Thabo Mashaba, who is assuming a new role of Group chief empowerment & transformation officer (GCETO).

South African FinTech ThisIsMe has set a new African record for the Financial Intelligence Centre Amendment (Fica) process. The process used to take as long as two weeks, but can now be completed in as little as three minutes.

Peregrine Holdings has said that, following CEO Jonathan Hertz stepping down as of end June, it has appointed Rob Katz as interim CEO, effective 1 August 2017. Rob was a nominee both this year and in 2016, for the CFO of the Year Awards.

Financial models are a pre-requisite to successfully identify risks, costs, opportunities and income streams. A financial model helps you to become profitable in a continuously changing business atmosphere. 100% of all CFOs agree that working without modelling is close to impossible. A thorough understanding makes your job easier, saves you massive time and will bring prosperity to your business. Not convinced yet?

EOH has joined Finance Indaba 2017 as a gold partner and will make its debut at the event at the Sandton Convention Centre in October.

Modern CFOs is being called upon to take a more prominent role in leading their organisations, in many instances, filling in for the CEO. As such, technical competency is no longer enough to succeed at the elite level and leadership qualities become more significant. We delved into our archives to bring you leadership advice from some top executives from a variety of industries.

Umar Banda, nominated for the 2017 CFO of the Year Awards, has been permanently appointed to the position of City of Tshwane CFO – a role he has filled in an acting capacity since 2014.

In the space of just a few years, Till Streichert, CFO of Vodacom Group and this year's CFO of the Year, turned Vodacom’s finance team into a flourishing intelligence unit. He is a textbook example of a finance executive who used the first 100 days of his tenure to make a swift and decisive impact on his organisation.

Accounting is a profession that lends itself to stereotypes, but there are a few that ring true for most accountants. There are those things that will elicit a knowing smile from accounting professionals across the globe, moan as you might about unfair stereotyping. You know you're an accountant when…

CFOs are an integral part of the corporate engine room. We live in difficult times – look at the conditions in Europe, the USA and back home in South Africa. CFOs have got to understand the heartbeat of their organisations and really feel the pulse, along with being connected to the external world," said Investec CFO Nishlan Samujh.

Audit watchdog, the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (IRBA) is investigating whether KPMG defied regulation when it audited a company owned by the Gupta family. This, after reports following an investigation by AmaBhungane and Scorpio revealed that government funds intended for empowerment projects in the Free State were instead used to pay for a Gupta wedding.

ACI Worldwide, a leading global provider of real-time electronic payment and banking solutions, and Alipay announced that they are launching Alipay in South Africa, via leading regional payment service provider (PSP) Peach Payments.

Originally from Malawi, Loveness Khunou, Dow Southern Africa CFO, moved to South Africa in 1989. She has a passion for cultures and languages, and is fluent in eight different dialects. “It shows respect if you learn another’s language. It shows that you value them,” she says. “It allows you to better engage with people, and people relate to you differently if you talk to them in their Mother tongue.”

Former Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene (pictured) began his new job today as head of the Wits Business School (WBS). Nene will serve as the business school’s interim director until a new leader can be appointed ahead of the start of the next academic year.

Do you want to keep up to date with the latest developments in finance, but you are short of time? Don’t worry. CFO South Africa weekly collects 10 of the most important articles from international media for your convenience.

By focusing only on professionals and clients in these finance and accounting disciplines, we have been able to develop extended networks of talent and have built a thorough understanding of the environments and challenges facing those recruiting finance and accounting teams in a wide range of businesses, from start-ups to corporates," says Georgina Barrick, MD of Cassel&Co, a silver partner at the Finance Indaba Africa 2017 on 12 and 13 October 2017 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg.

“Allow compliance to participate in front line engagement to create a mutual understanding on key client challenges and pro-actively pick-up on key client challenges,” advises Suzette Els, Chief Compliance Officer for Standard Bank Corporate and Investment Banking. In this article, part of a series from Standard Bank specialists, Suzette talks about trends in the compliance space, how clients are being assisted with these, and what CFOs should expect.

Sibanye Gold’s Cooke Mine, located in Randfontein, Gauteng, estimates that it has lost 300 kilograms of gold production, the equivalent of R160 million, due to the recent, four-week unprotected strike.

Coca-Cola and the South African government have reached an agreement on a package of conditions as the purchase of a controlling 54.5 percent stake in its joint Africa venture with Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) nears completion.

MMI has promoted Mary Vilakazi (pictured), nominated for the 2017 CFO of the Year Awards, to the role of deputy CEO. In her new role, Mary will be responsible for driving the effective implementation of MMI’s plans.

It never ceases to surprise us that many CFOs heading up the finance departments of massive organisations equipped with the bleeding edge of technology are content to limit themselves to the equivalent of an abacus when it comes to boosting their own productivity. Here are five apps to help you get a handle on your personal productivity.

Koncart, a platform that empowers developers and techpreneurs to build their financially driven tech idea with ease, has recently been launched into the African FinTech sector. The platform enables startups to quickly create and manage virtual wallets and transactions with an in depth analysis to your data by leveraging on Koncart’s analytics dashboard.

In the three years to 2016, almost 16,000 organisations across the globe had their IT systems breached – the equivalent of 17 cases of business email compromise every day, according to the US-based Internet Crime Complaint Center. Recent cyberattacks on companies around the world have rung alarm bells over how firms protect their business from criminals. A new report , Keeping Business Clean, tells business leaders how to crack the hackers on scams such as executive impersonation, where fraudsters dupe unwitting staff into transferring money from company accounts.

“First and foremost, we have one focus: delivering value with a long-term objective of providing the best service in our industry," says Christo Jacobs, director at Intellection, a gold partner at the Finance Indaba Africa 2017 on 12 and 13 October 2017 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg.

South African diversified chemicals maker Omnia Holdings announced a drop in full-year profit of 7% in a results presentation on Tuesday, as difficult trading conditions took their toll on the company’s mining and chemicals divisions.

Despite recently saying he would be retiring, Tyrone Soondarjee, previously financial director at the Sasfin Group, has been appointed Cell C’s new chief financial officer, effective 1 July 2017. Soondarjee will take over from Robert Pasley, who will return to his original role as chief strategy officer.

Andrew Mackie, Deloitte’s newly appointed Head of Audit for Africa, believes there is great value in cultivating a strong network of CFOs and building a community of finance leaders. Mackie says he is excited about Deloitte partnering with CFO South Africa: “It is vital, particularly in these tumultuous times, that finance leaders hunker down together and find common ground.”

“Strategy, strategy, strategy. In difficult economic times, it is critical that the CFO to manage, innovate and focus the company finances not only to survive short-term challenges, but to expand and grow in the long-term as well,” says the head of the University of Johannesburg’s accounting department, Professor Ben Marx.

Consumer uptake of innovative FinTech products is set to be embraced by the mainstream as adoption levels surge among digitally-savvy consumers, according to a study by EY. The research, based on 22 000 online interviews with digitally active consumers across 20 markets, shows that the emerging markets are driving much of this adoption with China, India, South Africa, Brazil and Mexico averaging a 46% participation rate.

Four years in the making, a new type of debit order, DebiCheck, is nearing completion. Created as a result of increased concern over the number of unauthorised debit orders being processed, this new debit order system will only authorise a debit order to be processed to a consumer’s account if the mandate for such has been electronically confirmed by the consumer.

"With Treasury Cloud Technology, the benefits of an in-house bank are within reach of most medium-sized companies and not just available for the select few listed firms," says Rudolph Janse van Rensburg, CEO of Treasury Technologies, a gold partner at the Finance Indaba Africa 2017 on 12 and 13 October 2017 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg.

For his work as CFO of SANParks, Rajesh Mahabeer, now Head of Public Sector Finance and Deal Origination at Garuda Capital (Pty) Ltd, was nominated for the CFO Awards 2017. We chatted to Rajesh about his tenure at SANParks and how he turned the finance team around, setting a new strategic direction for the entity in doing so, as well as his new role in the M&A and corporate finance space.

Agricultural services company KaapAgri (KAL) this morning listed on the ‘speciality retailer’ sector of the main board of the JSE. The company, which has a history dating back more than 100 years, to 1912, is valued at around R4.1 billion.

Do you want to keep up to date with the latest developments in finance, but you are short of time? Don’t worry. CFO South Africa weekly collects 10 of the most important articles from international media for your convenience.

South African tech and media giant Naspers on Friday recorded positive results for the year to March 2017, increasing revenue by 19% year on year to $14.6 billion. Core headline earnings at Naspers rose 41% to $1,8 billion for the year. Positive results from Chinese behemoth Tencent took the edge of its stuttering pay-TV and other e-commerce ventures, with businesses outside SA contributed 80% of revenues, compared to 77% a year ago.

High-profile data breaches are regularly in the news and, seemingly, businesses and are losing the battle to protect their intellectual property (IP), corporate and customer data from professional cybercriminals. Michael Marriott, security expert at Digital Shadows, shares his insight.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have opposed the Twin Peaks Bill, officially known as the Financial Sector Regulation Bill, while the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) has accepted it, albeit with reservations.

Johnny Dladla (pictured) has been appointed acting group chief executive of Eskom, with immediate effect. This after Public Enterprises minister Lynne Brown ordered Eskom to rescind Brian Molefe’s reappointment as the power utility’s chief executive late last month.

The Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (IRBA) has said that additional measures to drive transformation will be required to address government’s concerns regarding de-concentration of the audit market and transformation. This in the face of criticism that Mandatory Audit Firm Rotation (MAFR) will not address transformation of the profession.

TechPreneur Africa, which aims to support FinTech firms and entrepreneurs that want to increase financial inclusion and opportunities for growth across Africa, has signed a memorandum of agreement with international financial hub Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).

Till Streichert (pictured), CFO of mobile communications company Vodacom Group, walked away with three awards at the 2017 CFO Awards in May. Besides claiming the coveted title of CFO of the Year, the quiet-spoken German national also scooped the Strategy Execution and Finance Transformation honours.

Lushen Pather (pictured), CFO of Sasfin Bank Limited and Sasfin Holdings Limited, who was nominated for this year's CFO Awards, has been appointed acting group financial director, effective 1 July 2017, until such time as a permanent replacement is appointed. This as Tyrone Soondarjee, existing group FD, will be retiring from the Sasfin board and subsidiary boards, effective 30 June 2017.

CFOs who are handed property portfolios or commercial challenges with a property aspect really have a great opportunity to get closer to the business. And with a closer handle on your business you become a better CFO. This was the view of guests at last night’s CFO South Africa dinner, which was filled with great insights, perspectives and relationship building.

Accountants play a crucial role in the engine room of any business, but they have long been the victims of unkind stereotyping and have somewhat unfairly earned a reputation for being boring, methodical, number-crunchers with no sense of humour and a penchant for weird green peak caps.

With more than 5 000 visitors tapping into a wealth of resources, know-how and inspiration and gaining unparalleled insights, Finance Indaba 2016 was an ambitious venture, but it was also one established on the idea that helping just a single individual would have a knock-on effect and prove fortuitous for the continent's financial services sector.

The auditor-general (AG) local government report has been released, showing the audit outcomes of 263 municipalities and 51 municipal entities. Unfortunately, there was little improvement in the local government audit outcomes for the year 2015/16, and very few municipalities achieved clean audit opinions.

Kenny Fihla was recently made CEO (he was, until then, deputy CEO) of Standard Bank’s Corporate and Investment Banking division. For him, the ideal CFO needs to be three key things: a core partner, concerned with sustainability, and a sanity check for the organisation. “If a CFO can play these three roles exceptionally well, you’ve got a winner.”

“CFOs need to be drivers of strategy. We need to look beyond financial reporting and management accounts and actually get involved in driving our businesses. At Transnet, we feel that the CFO is the the strategic enabler of the business. We feel that those in the profession from both public and private sectors should work together to drive economic growth in the country,” said Transnet CFO Garry Pita.

The South African Institute of Professional Accountants (Saipa) has joined Finance Indaba 2017 as a gold partner and will make its second showing at the event at the Sandton Convention Centre in October.

Brooks Mparutsa (pictured), executive director of Hollard’s international business, has said that the insurer has “significant acquisitions” planned on the continent in the coming years, and would be partnereing with New York Stock Exchange-listed Cigna, a global hearlth insurer, to offer health insurance to companies working in Africa. Hollard already has offices in Zambia, Namibia, Mozambique, Botswana and Ghana, as well as South Africa.

Six European cities attract 70% of all investments in European private FinTech companies.

Jason Wright, CFO of Cape Union Mart, took an unusual route to get where he is today. Having finished matric, Jason went into gainful employment in the IT space before going on to study information systems, also gaining experience in web development and project management. It was only in his mid-twenties that the commerce bug really bit.

In a deal that has sent shockwaves through both online and brick-and-mortar industries, Amazon.com has said it will acquire Whole Foods Market for $13.7 billion. According to Bloomberg, Amazon has agreed to pay $42 a share (in cash) for the organic-food chain.

Do you want to keep up to date with the latest developments in finance, but you are short of time? Don’t worry. CFO South Africa weekly collects 10 of the most important articles from international media for your convenience. 1. Apple Bank here we come Guys, it's happening. Did you miss the news? You probably did, because the announcement was tucked in between demos of the latest iMessage stickers. Millennials... sigh. At the annual developer conference WWDC, Apple announced their next move into the world of Financial Services. If you thought Apple Pay was as far as they would go, you were mistaken. Sorely mistaken! 2. Amazon, Whole Foods, and the Future of the (Old) New Economy I heard the news today, oh boy — Amazon is buying Whole Foods Market in a deal worth nearly $14 billion. The combination of these iconic companies, both of which have come of age in the last two decades, raises obvious questions. Does the transaction reflect how hard it’s been for Whole Foods to keep Wall Street satisfied with its growth and profits? (It does.) Does the deal underscore just how expansive a vision Jeff Bezos has for Amazon, his dream of it becoming the “everything store”? (No doubt.) 3. Why accountants need to get a grip on blockchain By strict definition, blockchain is a global digital ledger of economic transactions that is transparent, continually updated by countless users, and considered by many as almost impossible to corrupt or hack. But in the broader sense, blockchain is also a lightning rod for highly charged opinion, confusion, and even fear. Some argue that blockchain will completely transform finance, accounting, and auditing. Others are decidedly more circumspect regarding its impact. And a certain segment is nervous, not knowing whether blockchain will make portions of the accounting profession obsolete – perhaps large ones, specifically as it relates to the current audit and tax practices focusing on compliance. 4. CFOs Still Spurning High-Return Projects Modern finance theory says that as long as an investment earns a rate higher than the cost of capital, it creates value for a firm. Thus, when the hurdle rate exceeds the cost of capital, a firm is passing up value-creating projects, explains John Graham, professor of finance at Duke University. 5. 5 Leadership Mistakes Even the Best Bosses Make If you think your boss is some freak of nature and you're the luckiest person alive, I'll break it to you gently: He or she is human and will make mistakes. The great ones rise up from their errors by A) acknowledging they made a mistake and correcting a behavior (think humility), or B) acknowledging a blind spot that needs to be addressed, then doing something about it. Lets dive into a few prevalent leadership mistakes that even the best and smartest leaders tend to make. 6. How artificial intelligence can deliver real value to companies After decades of extravagant promises and frustrating disappointments, artificial intelligence (AI) is finally starting to deliver real-life benefits to early-adopting companies. Retailers on the digital frontier rely on AI-powered robots to run their warehouses—and even to automatically order stock when inventory runs low. Utilities use AI to forecast electricity demand. Automakers harness the technology in self-driving cars. 7. How Can You Tell Someone Has True Leadership Skills? Look for This ... Ever been in an important meeting where a topic on the agenda causes tension that you can cut with a knife? Instead of colleagues speaking up to solve an issue, you get poker faces and eyes looking down to avert what nobody wants to deal with. The same is true when it comes to having those tough conversations to call someone to the carpet. We procrastinate or avoid the confrontation, because it's never pleasant, for example, to tell someone she's not cutting it. So when people ask me, "What's the secret to great communication?" my usual response baffles some, because it can seem so counterintuitive: "Be radically transparent." 8. The benefits of thinking like an activist investor The rapid growth and influence of activist investors has many executives nervously looking over their shoulders. Even large companies are increasingly vulnerable (Exhibit 1). But there is a benefit to be had by those managers with the courage to take as hard a look at their own company’s performance as a performance-minded outsider might. The objective isn’t necessarily for managers to do what activists would do—activists’ performance is mixed, after all (Exhibit 2). Instead, the goal is for managers to examine their own strategy, governance, and operations with an eye to unearthing opportunities to improve performance. 9. How To Write A Work Email When You’re Really Pissed Off Just don’t. But if you absolutely must, do it like this. 10. Top 10 tips for great teamwork Doing great teamwork or being an inspirational team leader are terms we often hear bandied in our workplace or perhaps in the plethora of management aid books now available. Leader, player, server of teams – we all have a part to play. Yet, how well are you playing your part? In the first of a new series of articles by global job board CareersinAudit.com, Simon Wright, operations director, provides a top 10 teamwork checklist.

Treasury Technologies has joined Finance Indaba 2017 as a gold partner and will make its second showing at the event at the Sandton Convention Centre in October.

A thorough, smart and stealthy due diligence process is among the top ingredients for successful mergers and acquisitions. We spoke to finance executives and dealmakers about the homework a growth-hungry company needs to do. “You cannot over-plan,” says Arie Maree, Ansarada Managing Director for Africa and the Middle East. “Once the rubber hits the road with a deal, there are tight timelines, plenty of stress and lots of money at stake. More planning means a smoother due diligence and ultimately, a smoother transaction,”

Abigail Mukhuba (pictured), the current CFO of African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), has been appointed FD, with effect from 11 December 2017. Mukhuba replaces outgoing FD, Mike Arnold, who reaches ARM’s retirement age of 60 in July.

This year’s CEO Outlook, released by KPMG, has revealed that 68 percent of CEOs see disruptive forces as an opportunity, not a threat, for their business. The CEO Outlook is based on in-depth interviews with 50 CEOs of some of the country’s largest companies.

JSE-listed African Oxygen (Afrox) has appointed Matthias Vogt (pictured) as its new CFO and executive director. Vogt, who joined Afrox as finance GM in July 2015, will replace outgoing CFO Dorian Devers, from 1 August this year.

Durban-based investment firm Multiply Group has acquired 35% of newly formed Crossfin Technology Holdings, part of the Capital Eye Investments’ portfolio, which owns stakes in several companies in the FinTech space.

During the first roundtable session of the June CFO Summit, South Africa's leading financial executives learnt operational strategies to cut costs and optimise their businesses, so as to retain their levels of productivity and maintain their organisations’ competitiveness.

“You can use your office space to create happier and more productive staff by making sure that you're providing a space that makes them feel engaged, empowered and fulfilled,” said Craig Hean, MD of JLL Sub-Saharan Africa, who was speaking yesterday at the CFO Summit.