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19 July 2016 "To lead you need to know yourself and why you’re doing things,” opines Groeneveld South Africa CFO, Lewis Kangausaru. Lewis has been a part of the Groeneveld team since October 2013, and is responsible for the full financial governance of the company. He says reflectiveness is a core of the leadership principle: “To be forward-thinking you need to be reflective, to take time to think about what has occurred in a given space of time, the decisions you’ve made, why you’ve made them and the current outcomes.” 18 July 2016 18 July 2016 18 July 2016 CFOs need to actively manage IT risk, says John Mc Loughlin, Managing Director of software company J2: “It is vital that the CFO take an active role in managing this risk – as it appears IT may not have the executive drive to get it done themselves.” In this article, John shares some of the top questions CFOs must ask themselves when dealing with risk management and threats, and before declaring their IT policy as sound. 17 July 2016 A recently released report by the African Corporate Governance Network (ACGN)has revealed that Kenya ranks 14th in Africa with regards to corporate governance, and is one of the top five improving nations in this regard. 16 July 2016 Nigeria’s Central Bank has dismissed fears of a banking crisis despite several alarming happenings, including the recent resignation of the CEO, chairman and 10 board members of Nigeria’s eighth-biggest lender, Skye Bank, following the biggest drop in the bank’s share price in over six months. The Central Bank was quoted by AFP as having said in an email statement: 15 July 2016 According to the latest Robert Walters South Africa Job Index, the last quarter saw a 6% overall decrease in job advertising volumes compared to Q2 2015 in SA across all finance functions; with a 15% annual decline in job advertisements in accounting and finance overall. Robert Walters, a leading specialist professional recruitment consultancy, attributes this decline to the compounding effects of consistent political uncertainty, a British and European economy which has been paralysed by Brexit, and challenging currency exchange rates for South African importers. 15 July 2016 Roy Clark, MD of Clarkhouse Human Capital, recently moderated a thought leadership session where 20 CFOs were invited to discuss the role of transformation and diversity in the workplace, and what the role of a CFO is in fostering this. In this self-penned piece, Clark delves into why transformation and diversity are such misunderstood notions, and looks at how corporate South Africa can make these ideas work within their organisations. 14 July 2016 Dark Fibre Africa (DFA) has appointed Cilliers Steyn as its new CFO. Steyn previously held the position of CEO of Community Investment Ventures Holdings (CIVH), of which DFA is a subsidiary. Steyn takes over from Thinus Mulder, who has accepted the position of permanent CEO, following Gustav Smit stepping down. Mulder said of Steyn's appointment: 14 July 2016 "We offer clients an integrated, full-service offering for all their marketing needs – a real one-stop solution which delivers benefits in terms of value, consistency, confidentiality and sheer ease of doing business,” says Alban Atkinson, MD of integrated corporate communications agency INCE, a PLATINUM partner at the Finance Indaba Africa 2016 on 13 and 14 October 2016 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg. 13 July 2016 The Reserve Bank has granted authorisation to the South African Post Office (Sapo) for the latter to establish its own bank. The Postbank will now be re-registered as a new company in order for it to operate as a fully-fledged bank and to allow it to lend money. 13 July 2016 "When people receive a below-par standard of service from Sars, our office offers a free channel to air complaints," says Advocate Eric Mkhawane, CEO in the Office of the Tax Ombud, a silver partner at the Finance Indaba Africa 2016 on 13 and 14 October 2016 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg. 13 July 2016 To be ready for the future, CFOs need to embrace imagination, make bold choices and be intimately connected to customers and employees. Those were some of the main takeaways at a lively CFO breakfast debate in Cape Town's Westin Hotel on Tuesday 12 July 2016. Preceded by a thought-provoking and often humorous presentation by futurist Morne Mostert, the high-level intimate gathering of about 35 people was treated to insights by Woolworths CFO Reeza Isaacs (3rd photo) and retired Remgro CFO Leon Crouse (bottom photo), who played a pivotal role in the success story of Vodacom. 12 July 2016 Capital equipment, fleet management and contract mining group Eqstra has concluded an all-share deal with JSE-listed industrial energy group enX which will see enX acquire its fleet management and industrial equipment divisions in exchange for 52.7 million shares, valued at R21 per share, and raise R1.5 billion of which R1.4 billion will be used to recapitalise the contract mining business. 12 July 2016 Never underestimate the value of relationships, says Waseem Carrim, CFO of the NYDA. 11 July 2016 11 July 2016 Some 3,300 votes have already been received for the African FinTech Awards since the launch of the voting competition two weeks ago. At present, top-scoring companies include Wala (508 votes), Sureswipe (255), Wealthmigrate (217), Simplepay (204), Mobicred (178). 11 July 2016 As a youngster, Peter Christie was enormously fond of Western movies, particularly those which featured North American Indians giving cowboys what he calls “a good klapping”. One movie in particular made a big impression on the youngster: The Great Sioux Massacre, where, at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, shaman Big Chief Sitting Bull led the defeat of General Custer and other troops of the US Army. Peter can still recall a gift he received from his parents at this time: a colourful North American Indian costume that included feathered headdress, leather-tasselled vest, moccasins and tomahawk. Needless to say it immediately became a firm favourite of the energetic six-year-old who, when asked what he wanted to be when he grew up, answered without hesitation, “Big Chief Sitting Bull”. Peter being quite the chatterbox, his dad adapted this to “Big Chief Talking Bull”, and the name stuck. Peter has always had a liking for stories – reading them, telling them, watching them, and writing them. As an adult, he turned this talent into a career, establishing a successful consultancy that teaches business people how to unlock their storytelling potential in order to become better, more influential leaders. 10 July 2016 Eskom has received an almost R20 billion loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to fund its infrastructure expansion programme, which includes the Medupi and Kusile new build initiatives. Eskom said in a statement: 09 July 2016 Swiss-based insurer Zurich has announced that its South Africa and Botswana operations will be acquired by Canada-based Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited. The announcement ended speculation that Zurich’s parent has been planning to exit South Africa. Zurich said in a statement: 08 July 2016 Telesure Investment Holdings (TIH) has announced that it has appointed Tom Creamer (pictured) as its new CEO. Creamer’s appointment follows the very recent resignation of Manny Rios, who left TIH due to differences in perspective on the strategic direction of the business. 08 July 2016 "We have always believed passionately in the role accountants play in creating a better world by helping to make businesses more successful, creating jobs and generating wealth," says Coenraad 'Coenie' Middel, whose firm Middel & Partners has been named as one of the most inspiring accountancy practices in the world and has been included in the recently published ‘The World’s Most Inspiring Accountants’ by author Steve Pipe. 07 July 2016 Naspers, Africa’s largest company by market value, has named Akash Bhatia as the new CFO of its Showmax video streaming business. Bhatia is currently vice president of finance at Naspers’s classifieds business. He previously held positions at Time Warner’s HBO and Comcast’s NBCUniversal. Bhatia has been quoted in the media as saying: 07 July 2016 CFO South Africa chose to honour Simon Ridley (pictured), recently retired FD of Standard Bank and CFO of the Year 2014, as well as esteemed member of this year’s judging panel, by presenting him with a Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s CFO Awards. Unfortunately, Simon was unable to accept the award in person and spend the evening celebrating with his peers, as he was touring Namibia on a motorbike at the time of the event. Simon’s colleague, Luvuyo Masinda, CFO Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB), accepted the award on his behalf. Masinda said: 06 July 2016 MTN has appointed Stephen van Coller (pictured) as vice president of strategy and mergers & acquisitions, effective 1 October 2016. Van Coller’s appointment comes amid various executive changes at MTN, including the recent appointment of Rob Shuter as CEO and the resignation of Brett Goschen as CFO. 06 July 2016 "We will ensure that attendees leave with a more nuanced understanding of SAIPA so that they can become our partner in our goal of growing and transforming the accounting profession," says Zobuzwe Ngobese, marketing and communications executive at the South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA), a gold partner at the Finance Indaba Africa 2016 on 13 and 14 October 2016 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg. 05 July 2016 Brett Goschen (pictured), MTN Group CFO, will be leaving the company effective 30 September 2016 to “pursue other interests”. Goschen will simultaneously be stepping down from the MTN board of directors. 05 July 2016 Most CFOs dream of saving a company with sheer accounting brilliance, fantasise about lining shareholders’ pockets through a spectacular M&A deal, and secretly yearn for fame. Cobus Grove achieved all that before he turned 34 years old. In a series of interviews with CFO South Africa, Cobus shares how he saved JSE-listed company DigiCore and sold it to US firm Novatel Wireless. He talks about his compulsion to keep succeeding and gives candid insight into the personal toll of managing such high-stake corporate manoeuvres. 04 July 2016 04 July 2016 Peter Matlare (pictured) has been appointed deputy CEO of Barclays Africa, effective 1 August 2016. 04 July 2016 South African export businesses in the machinery, vehicle manufacturing and platinum industries could be heavily impacted by the British withdrawal from the European Union (Brexit). So writes Lullu Krugel*, Chief Economist at KPMG South Africa, in an exclusive analysis for CFO.co.za. South African businesses also might have to consider moving their European offices from London to elsewhere in Europe to keep access to the EU Single Market. Ireland anyone? 03 July 2016 A recently released KPMG survey has revealed that 56% of CEOs believe that the next three years will be more critical for their industries than the previous 50; with South African CEOs among those surveyed. Trevor Hoole (pictured), KPMG CEO in Southern Africa, said: 02 July 2016 The top six teams have been selected to advance to the next stage of The CFO Case Study Competition. To recap just how far these six teams have come, 320 teams representing 1,278 aspirants from 53 universities in 25 countries across five continents entered to take part in this maiden edition of the competition, so achieving a place in the top six is no mean feat. 01 July 2016 Govinder Sateesh Kamath has been appointed the new Safaricom CFO, effective 1 August, following the recalling of CFO John Tombleson earlier this week. 01 July 2016 Successful venture capitalist, celebrated businessman and popular international speaker, Vusi Thembekwayo’s impressive CV would make any professional proud. It’s hard to believe that Vusi, who grew up in Wattville township near Benoni, is only 31 years old. 30 June 2016 MTN has appointed Adekunle Awobodu (pictured) as its new MTN Nigeria (MTNN) CFO. Awobodu, the first Nigerian to occupy this position, takes over from Ferdi Moolman, who became CEO of the company in December last year. Moolman was quoted in the media as saying: 30 June 2016 Do you have what it takes to be the new chief financial officer at The University of Witwatersrand (Wits)? CFO South Africa helps companies and organisations find the right finance executive! See the full advert below. 30 June 2016 The ink is dry. The deal is done. You have just successfully completed an M&A transaction. The question is: what now? At our CFO event on 21 July 2016 at the African Pride Melrose Arch Hotel we will unpack how to go about integration or separation after a deal under the theme ‘Where the rubber meets the road’. An incredible lineup of top five CFOs will help us unpack what needs to happen after a merger, acquisition or sale. 30 June 2016 “I was not prepared to make a speech but thank you for the kind words and thank you for the award. I retired [from Remgro] at the end of March so it’s also for me a cherry on the cake at the end of my career,” said Leon Crouse, on receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award at the CFO Awards 2016, held on 12 May at the beautiful Summer Place. Professor Wiseman Nkuhlu, chancellor of the University of Pretoria, South Africa’s first black chartered accountant and role model for many finance professionals, presented Leon with his award. 29 June 2016 Following the unexpected resignation of Jimi Matthews on 28 June, the SABC has appointed its CFO, Ugandan accountant and auditor James Aguma (pictured), as acting CEO. 29 June 2016 "We want to show the accounting world and finance professionals is that QuickBooks as a brand and a product has the range available to satisfy the financial needs of start-ups, SMEs and growing businesses," says Nick Braxton, national sales manager of QuickBooks SA, a silver partner at the Finance Indaba Africa 2016 on 13 and 14 October 2016 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg. 28 June 2016 The British withdrawal from the European Union (Brexit) would very possibly have an effect on South African businesses, although some industries will be harder hit than others – and some might see opportunities. “Personally I don’t think Brexit is a good thing,” says Robert Katz, CFO of wealth and asset management firm Peregrine Group. “South Africa is a risk-on economy. That means that when there are global jitters, South African stocks get sold off and the rand comes under pressure.” 28 June 2016 Acting CEO Jimi Matthews (pictured) has resigned from the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), calling recent changes at the broadcaster “wrong” and saying that he has compromised his values under the current leadership. Matthews posted a picture of his resignation letter on Twitter yesterday morning (below). It read in part: 28 June 2016 “For me, being a successful CFO is not even technical; it’s about being humble. The role can go to your head and that creates drama,” says Lauren Van Zyl, Divisional CFO of Eqstra Fleet Management and Logistics. “Being humble makes you approachable, and the more approachable you are the more likely staff will be to come to you if there’s a problem, and that’s important.” Lauren, who pursued a career in finance after convincing herself she would never be interested in the industry, heads up a team of 45 staff members, and says the people aspect of the job is as rewarding as it is challenging. “That’s what nobody prepares you for. As a finance person, you’re very comfortable with the numbers, with the technical, but you aren’t comfortable with having so many people report to you, trust you and rely on you.” How did you first get into finance and how did you come to be a CFO? “At school, one of my main subjects was speech and drama. I was convinced I was never going to go into finance. When choosing my studies, I first registered for industrial psychology, but I didn’t even make it through one lecture and realised that wasn’t going to work. I changed my degree and went into Informatics. I was doing really well but realised I didn’t have a passion for it – it didn’t gel with me. I found my way to finance and thought I’d pursue general finance, believing there was no chance I’d do a CA. But at that moment I realised I would be stopping just before the finish line, so I decided to go the whole hog and completed my B.Com (Accounting) Honours, and then my articles through Deloitte. After my articles I stayed on for a short period, but I decided I wasn’t audit manager material. I was battling with the concept of siting across the table from a CFO and telling him how to run his business when I didn’t know what it was like to be in his position. I wanted to be able to give a CFO advice based on my own experiences. I felt like I needed that foundation.” 27 June 2016 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. 27 June 2016 Naspers has reported in its recently release full-year results that its core headline earnings were up 21% to $1.2 billion. The company said that it regards core headline earnings as its best indicator of sustainable earnings. Interestingly, some 77% of its revenues were generated outside South Africa. 27 June 2016 “Taking advantage of opportunities requires more creative thinking than simple analysis of data,” says risk actuary Stefan Swanepoel, the principal consultant for Directrix Risk Services, an actuarial and corporate risk management consultancy specialising in the pricing, financing and control of risks. Swanepoel has more than 13 years of experience in this field and currently consults to many of the largest South African companies, as well as many large international corporates. A fellow of the Institute of Risk Management and the Actuarial Society of South Africa, Swanepoel followed his father, a state actuary, into the profession after serving time in the military. He spoke to us about the impact of Big Data, risk management, the changing climate in South Africa and how it compares to foreign nations. 26 June 2016 It is becoming increasingly common for shareholders, employees, customers and members of the public to want to know that an entity’s tax affairs are compliant and that they meet a standard which is beyond reproach. As such, boards of companies are having to think harder about how they can discharge their responsibilities to govern their entities’ tax affairs. 25 June 2016 John Tombleson (pictured), Kenyan operator Safaricom's CFO, is due to exit the company after a five-year stint. 24 June 2016 The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), will be joining forces to create a new association which will represent the breadth of the accounting profession and 600,000 current and next-generation professionals. Andrew Miskin (pictured), CIMA’s President said: 24 June 2016 How can FinTech companies help millions of Africans get access to financial services? And what should FinTech entrepreneurs do to build viable, money-making businesses out of this? Those were some of the key questions during a spectacular FinTech Africa event at 23 June 2016, hosted at the beautiful Woodmead offices of Deloitte South Africa and co-sponsored by WeChat, the company that invented the increasingly popular social communications app. 23 June 2016 What is your favourite FinTech company? Head to www.fintech-africa.com and cast your vote for the African FinTech Awards 2016! Help Africa prosper and support the development of new and innovative financial services and boost financial inclusion. This is your chance to be part of the process and determine which company is the hottest prospect in the FinTech scene in 2016. 23 June 2016 CFO South Africa MD Graham Fehrsen was recently invited to sit in on a monthly meeting of the senior finance leaders from one of South Africa’s largest financial services providers. In this monthly meeting, arranged by the CFO, the senior team gets insight from an expert or leader from outside the business - on this occasion Zaf Mahomed (pictured), CFO of McDonald’s South Africa, who shared some of his experience and insights from his time as the CFO of Ellerines. 23 June 2016 “It is important to understand that the wellness component and the health component are not the same thing and it’s not just a tick the box exercise,” said Jo Pohl, chief financial officer at Telesure Group. Jo was speaking at the event on 22 June 2016, where CFOs discussed effective workforce health and wellness strategies to drive the bottom line. 23 June 2016 “Just being recognised as CFOs is great, along with the fact that we are making an impact in the business community. I would like to thank CFO South Africa and the sponsors for this event," said Christine Ramon, CFO of AngloGold Ashanti, on receiving this year’s Finance and Technology Award at the CFO Awards 2016, held on 12 May at the stunning Summer Place. Pictured right: Christine Ramon with Kholiwe Makhohliso (Oracle) Christine was joined at the awards by her three CA siblings: Justine Mazzocco (exco member Deloitte), Veran Kathan (CFO Vodacom Business Africa) and Mark Kathan (CFO AECI), the latter a nominee of the CFO Awards in both 2015 and 2016. 22 June 2016 “Businesses and specifically financial professionals need to understand their own business processes enough to evaluate systems and their ability replace or integrate with existing processes, and we are able to assist them with this,” says Marius Fabian, the CEO of SAP ERP solutions provider 4most, a gold partner at the Finance Indaba Africa 2016 on 13 and 14 October 2016 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg. 22 June 2016 “Sometimes we change just for the sake of changing, without understanding the drivers bringing about that change. But in order to deal with any change situation, you need to understand the reasons behind the change,” said Dumisani Ntombela, Academic Director at Worldsview Academy and an independent organisational development and strategic human resources management professional. 21 June 2016 MTN has announced that Rob Shuter (pictured), headhunted from Vodacom’s UK parent, Vodafone, has been appointed new CEO. Shuter will also be MTN’s group president. 21 June 2016 CFOs are business partners across multiple business functions – an attribute of the role that has evolved the most in the last decade or so, opines Udayan Sen, CFO of BP Southern Africa. He says: “The once maligned bean counters are now businessmen and women, who by the way also happen to be the head of the finance function. Almost to say, if there was a tag line to describe CFOs, it would say: ‘We also have Finance accountability’. In BP, the CFO is the co-pilot, and supports the CEO to run the business." 20 June 2016 20 June 2016 Allianz Risk Transfer AG (ART) and Nephila Capital Limited (Nephila) have successfully piloted the use of blockchain smart contract technology for transacting a natural catastrophe swap. The test demonstrates that transactional processing and settlement between insurers and investors can be significantly accelerated and simplified by blockchain-based contracts. It also points to other benefits such as increased tradability of cat bonds and wider opportunities to apply this technology in other insurance transactions. Richard Boyd, Bermuda-based Chief Underwriting Officer of ART, said: 20 June 2016 How do you really view your employees, asks Derek Brown of Abaco Consulting? As a problematic high and fixed cost to the business or as the business’s biggest and most competitive asset? The dichotomy, he says, is that they are of course both at the same time. By Derek Brown, Abaco Consulting On the one hand, your employees represent one of your single largest fixed costs, and there is continual pressure to reduce that cost by reducing head counts, increasing productivity, the deployment of automation, robotising, process re-engineering, Lean, Six Sigma and Agile initiatives, and if all else fails, the outsourcing of operating functions. Yet, we often proclaim that our people are the differentiator for our company in the marketplace and that they are the company’s greatest single asset in our competition for business. So how do we reconcile these two potentially conflicting viewpoints? 19 June 2016 Vodacom, SA’s largest mobile services provider, recently published its annual report. And in that report were details of its executives’ remuneration. According to the document, CEO Shameel Joosub (pictured) earned just shy of R21.8 million in the 12 months through March 2016. His base salary was listed as R7.82 million, with the balance of R13.98 million attributed to a short-term incentive bonus, itself linked to revenue, cash flows, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation. This is double what the CEO was paid in the last financial year (R10.9 million, comprised of a base salary of R7.2 million and a bonus of R3.7 million), and also excludes benefits and long-term incentives. 18 June 2016 Kenya's privately owned Plum LLP has announced plans to buy a 23.34% stake in Britam, a diversified financial group listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange. The transaction will raise Plum's shareholding in the company to 38.54%. According to Plum, the acquisition is aimed at driving Britam's future growth. Britam currently has operations in Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Sudan Tanzania, and Uganda, and offers a wide range of financial products and services in insurance, asset management, banking and property. According to Reuters, the government of Mauritius seized Britam from a disgraced businessman, Dawood Rawat, in April last year, after accusing him of running a Ponzi-like scheme through a Mauritian insurer. Rawat has since filed a case against the government of Mauritius, before the International Court of Arbitration, asking for $1 billion in compensation. His claim is on the basis of illegal appropriation of Britam by the state. 17 June 2016 What started as a simple idea to extend the learning and networking of the CFO South Africa community has reached a real tipping point with the recent addition of Oracle and SAP to the list of exceptional exhibitors that will be present at the Finance Indaba Africa, which will be held on 13 and 14 October 2016 at the Sandton Convention Centre, Gauteng. 17 June 2016 17 June 2016 No matter what the question is, in Sneha Shah’s world, the answer always starts with the same two words: the customer. In an exclusive interview with CFO South Africa, the charismatic Africa MD of Thomson Reuters speaks about her time in New York, the challenges facing modern CFOs and about her drive to help transform Africa’s aid-based economies into knowledge-based economies. Most of the successful projects Sneha has run, delivered because of a firm focus on customers. “For me, the customer is a passion,” Kenyan-born Sneha Sanghrajka Shah reflects. “Too many companies start with their products and ideas, risking irrelevance when the customer needs change. You cannot afford to lose sight of the customer, so my team starts with the customer every day. Even HR, which many organisations would see as a back-office role, has customer-facing targets to meet.” The same rules apply for CFOs, says Sneha, as “they have had to become more customer focused in order to be able to manage the increasing burden of regulation and risk. But overall, there is a trend globally where CFOs are becoming much more market-aware and client-facing. CEOs are becoming less of the singular face to the market and more like coaches to a strong business focused leadership team, and this has led to CFOs and other C-Level roles evolving accordingly.” Reuters has had news reporters in South Africa since the 1860s, and the finance business here started in the 1980s. The name has become synonymous with FX trading across the continent, but Thomson Reuters actually does much more, across a variety of industries and customer segments. “For a global information company with strong roots on the continent, we definitely need to do a better job of sharing who we are and what we do,” says Sneha, as she lists the range of Thomson Reuters services that can benefit businesses and their CFOs. The firm brands itself as ‘the answer company’ and combines news, broad and deep content and industry expertise with innovative technology to provide information to decision-makers in the financial and risk, legal, tax and accounting, intellectual property and science and media markets. 16 June 2016 According to the World Bank, investment and capital inflows into Sub-Saharan Africa will continue to slow down as European banks begin looking to Asia for lending activities.This will be further compounded by low commodity prices and worsening economic conditions, as well as currency depreciation in key markets and increasing political tension. The World Bank, in its Global Economic Prospects: Divergences and Risks June 2016 report, said: 16 June 2016 “I’m speechless,” said Olam International CFO Bikash Prasad when presented with the award for Moving into Africa at this year’s CFO Awards 2016, held on 12 May at the beautifully bedecked Summer Place. 15 June 2016 The 14th of June 2016 marked a first for CFO South Africa as MD Graham Fehrsen hosted a lively dinner with finance leaders in Durban at the impeccable Oyster Box Hotel in Umhlanga. Although the bright lights of KwaZulu-Natal may not be quite those of Gauteng, the province is home to a number of significant multinationals and leading corporates. This dinner attracted finance professionals from Olam, Tiger Brands, Mondi, Illovo Sugar and ARB Holdings. 15 June 2016 Nico Bezuidenhout (pictured), currently CEO of Mango, South African Airways' low-cost subsidiary, has been appointed CEO and executive director of fastjet, effective 1 August 2016. Colin Child, fastjet chair, welcomes Bezuidenhout’s appointment. He was quoted in the media as saying: 15 June 2016 "Clients will need to be preparing for increased tax reporting obligations as well as gathering information to be able to comply with new and revised accounting standards in 2016,” says Gary Kartsounis, a partner at financial services firm Crowe Horwath, a silver partner at the Finance Indaba Africa 2016 on 13 and 14 October 2016 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg. 14 June 2016 Graham Fehrsen, CFO South Africa MD, has spent the last few weeks visiting several of this year’s CFO Awards winners to deliver personalised CFO Awards. He shares the experience with us. 14 June 2016 “I ask a lot of questions; even those I feel I don’t need to understand. We have all travelled different journeys, so everyone I meet, I try to understand what helped them get to where they are and, given the opportunity hypothetically, how I could help them,” says Thabiso Hermanus, CFO of the LSC Group, a subsidiary of Imperial Logistics. 13 June 2016 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. 13 June 2016 Nigeria's budget minister Udoma Udo Udoma has said that the government will soon be pumping much of the $1.76 billion earmarked for capital projects this quarter into Africa's biggest economy in a bid to encourage growth. 13 June 2016 "What has Integrated Business Management delivered for Lamb Weston / Meijer (LWM)?" asks CFO Peter van Wouwe - LWM being one of the world's largest companies in frozen potato products, appetizers and dehydrated potato flakes. "Peace of mind, that’s what." In this article, Marco van Alfen, business planning and control expert at consultancy firm EyeOn, unpacks and demonstrates the concept of Integrated Business Management. Integrated Business Management, Integrated Business Planning (IBP), Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP), Sales Inventory & Operations Planning (SIOP): these are all terms used to indicate the multidisciplinary process by which demand and supply are tuned in an organisation. This is the most basic point at which they agree. During the eighties, the term S&OP marked this reconciliation process. TF Wallace had the key elements of a good S&OP process as: “… a set of decision-making processes to balance demand and supply, to integrate financial planning and operational planning, and to link high-level strategic plans with day-to-day operations.” In many organisations, however, S&OP became a short-term planning process where the past was more often looked at than the future, and the link with strategy was often missing. 12 June 2016 South Africa’s GDP growth rate was -1.2% in the first quarter of 2016, according to Statistics SA. Furthermore, expenditure on real GDP fell by 0.7% in the first quarter of 2016. The main contributors to the negative growth rate included the mining and quarrying industry (down 18.1%) and the transport, storage and communication industry (down 2.7%). Moreover, the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector, and the electricity, gas and water sector also contracted significantly (-6.5% for the former and -2.8% for the latter). Conversely, finance, real estate and business services was the strongest performer in value added in the first quarter, increasing by 1.9%, primarily due to growth in finance and real estate services. 11 June 2016 Tiger Brands recently announced that it has sold its 51-percent stake in an Ethiopian business, EATBI, to the other shareholder in the venture, East Afric Group (EAG). The sum of the transaction has not yet been disclosed. 10 June 2016 Richard Farber (pictured), current CFO and group FD of Discovery Limited, will be stepping down as of 31 December 2016. 10 June 2016 “If you are not active and reasonably fit, you cannot perform to the level that is expected of you as a top executive” says KPMG partner Gavin Maile. In this exclusive interview, Gavin reveals why he become an accountant, the challenges KPMG South Africa faced with the acquisition of the assets of Arthur Andersen in 2001, and what qualities a good CFO should have. Gavin heads the teams that services the automotive and construction industries in South Africa and candidly discussed the challenges they face in 2016. It might be an exaggeration to say that Gavin eats Comrades marathons for breakfast, but it is not far off the truth. He gets up at 5:15am most mornings to run or cycle, and has, over the years, completed 27 Two Oceans Ultra marathons, 11 Comrades marathons and 15 Cape Town cycle tours – among many other sporting exploits. 09 June 2016 CFO South Africa Newsletter | Thursday 9 June Dear CFO South Africa Member, Read Exclusive CFO South Africa Articles Kuben Naidoo new registrar of banks The Reserve Bank recently appointed Kuben Naidoo (pictured), one of its three deputy governors, as registrar of banks. Naidoo will fill both the deputy governor and registrar roles, effective 1 June, following Rene van Wyk’s recent retirement at end May. Finance is the backbone of business says Fabian Cazares, Philips He... A CFO should have a clear view of the potential risk areas and their mitigation actions, says Fabian Cazares, CFO/Head of Finance Southern Africa for Philips Healthtech. "Risk management is a key area, especially in volatile and emerging markets. The CFO needs to ensure that there is a proper risk management strategy in place and closely drive this, as well as to develop both short and long-term mitigation actions to guarantee business continuity." Fabian sees change as a journey, and believes that communication and transparency are important in effecting change, as they allow all stakeholders to see both the impact and benefits of such undertakings. SA equity market moves to 3-day settlement cycle The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) has announced that the final market testing phase of the project which will see its equity market move to a shorter, T+3 settlement cycle has been successfully completed. Read more exclusive articles on CFO.co.za - Finance Indaba 2016: Purple Group opens markets up for everyone - Local bank notes for Zimbabwe - Finance flash: the TOP-10 articles of week 22 Out now. CFO Magazine issue 1 - 2016 The 3rd CFO Magazine CFO South Africa is out now. With 84 pages packed full of need-to-know information delivered in sharp, insightful articles. Read the latest insights from Reeza Isaacs, CFO Woolworths, Vusi Thembekwayo, Mary Vilakazi, CFO MMI Holdings and Lindani Dhlamini, CEO SekelaXabiso and more. As our online member we would like to give you the opportunity to read the CFO Magazine South Africa online and free of charge HERE. (please make sure that you are logged in with your CFO.co.za account). Would you like to also share your story in the next issue? Please contact Shay van Huyssteen at [email protected] or at +27 11 083 7515. Visit Finance Indaba Africa Visit the Finance Indaba 13 & 14 October at the Sandton Convention Centre and boost your profits by 100%. Finance Indaba Africa is the biggest annual expo and conference for finance professionals. It brings together peers technology suppliers, platforms, banks, tools, specialists, CFOs and thought leaders. Over 5,000 visitors tap into a wealth of resources, knowhow and inspiration. Gain unparalleled insights. Cut costs dramatically, send sales & productivity through the roof and boost your company's profits by 100 percent. RSVP now here. Become a partner Are you enabling businesses to cut costs, boost sales, productivity and company profits? Don't miss out the chance to connect with new prospects, to brand your company and to become more successful. Share your ideas at the Finance Indaba and help the country grow. Please contact Graham Fehrsen at [email protected] or at +27 11 083 7515. Diamond Partners http://static.financieel-management.nl/img/pictures/110412.jpg" width="500" /> Join the ultimate peer to peer advisory network Various CFOs and finance directors from Eskom, Nedbank, Transnet, Alexander Forbes, Standard Chartered Bank, Hollard, Absa, Servest, Business Connexion and Super Group are members of CFO South Africa. Your peers understand best the issues you face and the challenges that impact your business. Together you will share your experiences at CFO South Africa’s events and help you advance in your career, company and knowledge. Get introduced to experienced colleagues that are happy to share their knowledge with you. Peer-to-peer consulting is by far the best and most cost effective way to help you solve problems. Are you interested? Please see our membership page for more information here. Upcoming CFO South Africa Events Join the CFO Events with inspiring hosts and experts who will share their insights and experiences with you. Register now for these events and boost your company, network, career and knowledge. Private sector events in 2016 June 22 Johannesburg | The CFO as business partner July 21 Johannesburg | M&A Series part 2 Public sector events in 2016 June 21 Johannesburg | Are you an Inspiration? July 27 Johannesburg | Are you a Stakeholder Manager? Register now for one of the upcoming CFO South Africa Events. Please note that all our CFO South Africa events are for senior financial executives. CFO South Africa offers Platinum memberships to CFOs and finance directors. For more information please have a look here and contact Shay van Huyssteen at [email protected] Stay connected with CFO South Africa Follow CFO South Africa on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook Stay up to date on what is happening in the world of finance by following us on Twitter @CFOSouthAfrica, LinkedIn and Facebook. Next to that you can keep track of newly published interviews with CFOs and CEOs. Feel free to contact us Any suggestions or comments are welcome. Kind Regards, Graham Fehrsen Managing Director CFO South Africa | [email protected] To control which emails you receive from CFO South Africa, please change your email preferences at cfo.co.za by selecting under settings "I do not want to receive emails from CFO South Africa | Finance Professionals South Africa" 09 June 2016 Dineo Molefe became the new CFO of T-Systems, effective 1 May, taking over from Aneshree Naidoo. We caught up with Dineo for a few minutes to talk about her new role, for which she expressed great excitement. She said: 09 June 2016 “Yeehaw!” said a clearly elated Walter Leonhardt, financial director of ABI, when accepting the Compliance & Governance Award from SizweNtsalubaGobodo CEO, Victor Sekese. Becoming serious again, Walter continued: “Thank you very much for the recognition. The words Prof Nkuhlu said earlier about how seriously we all need to take governance and compliance got me thinking. I work for an organisation where fast and furious is sometimes quite sexy. There’s lots of things happening all the time and we take compliance and governance seriously. I thank you very much for this recognition.” 08 June 2016 The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) has announced that the final market testing phase of the project which will see its equity market move to a shorter, T+3 settlement cycle has been successfully completed. The JSE currently settles on a five day (T+5) settlement cycle. The transition, scheduled to take place on 11 July this year, will align South Africa to international best practice settlement standards. Dr Leila Fourie (pictured), JSE Executive Director, said: 08 June 2016 “It’s time for financial services firms to realise that they need to provide opportunities for all South Africans to access the stock market,” says Charles Savage, the CEO of Purple Group, a gold partner at the Finance Indaba Africa 2016 on 13 and 14 October 2016 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg. 07 June 2016 In October this year, Zimbabwe’s central bank will start circulating local bank notes, although the country will not be returning to a domestic currency abandoned in 2009, and will continue to use the dollar and other foreign currencies. John Mangudya, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor, described the local notes as vouchers intended to boost exports and generate foreign exchange. Mangudya said in a statement: 07 June 2016 A CFO should have a clear view of the potential risk areas and their mitigation actions, says Fabian Cazares, CFO/Head of Finance Southern Africa for Philips Healthtech. "Risk management is a key area, especially in volatile and emerging markets. The CFO needs to ensure that there is a proper risk management strategy in place and closely drive this, as well as to develop both short and long-term mitigation actions to guarantee business continuity." Fabian sees change as a journey, and believes that communication and transparency are important in effecting change, as they allow all stakeholders to see both the impact and benefits of such undertakings. The majority of your career seems to have been with Philips, albeit in different capacities and divisions. What keeps you here? "Something I really like about Philips as a company is that they take seriously the development of their employees. Philips use to be well known in electronics, but its focus in the healthcare arena is making a greater impact in people lives. This echoes the vision, mission and values of the company, and that motivates me to stay here." In which post that you've held over the years did you learn the most? "I've been with Philips for 10 years, seven of which I've worked in emerging markets. I would say that in this position I've learnt the most because I've had the opportunity to build the business all across the African continent, for example." What key learnings have you taken away from your assignments in emerging markets? "I'm originally from Mexico, so I feel familiar with emerging markets. My main takeaways, especially in South Africa and Africa, are about the passion, entrepreneurship and desire of people to improve their lives. These values are reflected in both the social and the business environments." You've been in your current role since July 2015. What have you achieved during this time and what more do you still want to achieve? "As Philips Healthtech focuses on the development of new business in the healthcare arena, I have been setting the roadmap for the enablers required. But this isn't enough just yet. I want to keep achieving; keep making a difference and ensure I am the agile business partner required for this market and my organisation." 06 June 2016 06 June 2016 The Reserve Bank recently appointed Kuben Naidoo (pictured), one of its three deputy governors, as registrar of banks. Naidoo will fill both the deputy governor and registrar roles, effective 1 June, following Rene van Wyk’s recent retirement at end May. This comes ahead of the establishment of a new Prudential Authority that will regulate banks and insurers in terms of the new Twin Peaks model of regulation. The Twin Peaks legislation, which requires that the CE of the Prudential Authority be a deputy governor of the Reserve Bank, is in line with developments in financial sector regulation globally. It will see responsibility for banks, insurers and others in the sector split between a Prudential regulator, in the Reserve Bank, and a Market Conduct regulator, which will sit in the Financial Services Board. According to Naidoo, the Bank hopes the legislation, currently still with parliament, will be passed later this year so that it can come into effect on 1 January 2017. 06 June 2016 CFO South Africa Newsletter | Monday 6 June Dear CFO South Africa Member, Read Exclusive CFO South Africa Articles SA avoids ratings downgrade Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has given South Africa a stay of execution regarding a ratings downgrade, to the collective relief of many. It did, however, express concern over the country’s low growth and increasing political instability. It also revised its growth forecast for this year to 0.6%, down from 0.8%. Reserve Bank fines Capitec and Deutsche Bank R25 million The Reserve Bank said in its recently released Bank Supervision Department annual report that it fined Capitec and the local branch of Deutsche Bank a combined R25 million in 2015 for shortcomings in the systems they have in place to combat money laundering. Brimstone sells its stake in Taste Holdings 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. Read more exclusive articles on CFO.co.za - 5 things you should know about the future of insurance - Compleo Business Solutions and Compleo Print choose SAP Business One - Absa enables customers to transact over Twitter - CFO Case Study Competition announces top 12 teams - Finance Indaba 2016: Futuresense aids future-focused CFOs Out now. CFO Magazine issue 1 - 2016 The 3rd CFO Magazine CFO South Africa is out now. With 84 pages packed full of need-to-know information delivered in sharp, insightful articles. Read the latest insights from Reeza Isaacs, CFO Woolworths, Vusi Thembekwayo, Mary Vilakazi, CFO MMI Holdings and Lindani Dhlamini, CEO SekelaXabiso and more. As our online member we would like to give you the opportunity to read the CFO Magazine South Africa online and free of charge HERE. (please make sure that you are logged in with your CFO.co.za account). Would you like to also share your story in the next issue? Please contact Shay van Huyssteen at [email protected] or at +27 11 083 7515. Visit Finance Indaba Africa Visit the Finance Indaba 13 & 14 October at the Sandton Convention Centre and boost your profits by 100%. Finance Indaba Africa is the biggest annual expo and conference for finance professionals. It brings together peers technology suppliers, platforms, banks, tools, specialists, CFOs and thought leaders. Over 5,000 visitors tap into a wealth of resources, knowhow and inspiration. Gain unparalleled insights. Cut costs dramatically, send sales & productivity through the roof and boost your company's profits by 100 percent. RSVP now here. Become a partner Are you enabling businesses to cut costs, boost sales, productivity and company profits? Don't miss out the chance to connect with new prospects, to brand your company and to become more successful. Share your ideas at the Finance Indaba and help the country grow. Please contact Graham Fehrsen at [email protected] or at +27 11 083 7515. Diamond Partners http://static.financieel-management.nl/img/pictures/110412.jpg" width="500" /> Join the ultimate peer to peer advisory network Various CFOs and finance directors from Eskom, Nedbank, Transnet, Alexander Forbes, Standard Chartered Bank, Hollard, Absa, Servest, Business Connexion and Super Group are members of CFO South Africa. Your peers understand best the issues you face and the challenges that impact your business. Together you will share your experiences at CFO South Africa’s events and help you advance in your career, company and knowledge. Get introduced to experienced colleagues that are happy to share their knowledge with you. Peer-to-peer consulting is by far the best and most cost effective way to help you solve problems. Are you interested? Please see our membership page for more information here. Upcoming CFO South Africa Events Join the CFO Events with inspiring hosts and experts who will share their insights and experiences with you. Register now for these events and boost your company, network, career and knowledge. Private sector events in 2016 June 22 Johannesburg | The CFO as business partner July 21 Johannesburg | M&A Series part 2 Public sector events in 2016 June 21 Johannesburg | Are you an Inspiration? July 27 Johannesburg | Are you a Stakeholder Manager? Register now for one of the upcoming CFO South Africa Events. Please note that all our CFO South Africa events are for senior financial executives. CFO South Africa offers Platinum memberships to CFOs and finance directors. For more information please have a look here and contact Shay van Huyssteen at [email protected] Stay connected with CFO South Africa Follow CFO South Africa on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook Stay up to date on what is happening in the world of finance by following us on Twitter @CFOSouthAfrica, LinkedIn and Facebook. Next to that you can keep track of newly published interviews with CFOs and CEOs. Feel free to contact us Any suggestions or comments are welcome. Kind Regards, Graham Fehrsen Managing Director CFO South Africa | [email protected] To control which emails you receive from CFO South Africa, please change your email preferences at cfo.co.za by selecting under settings "I do not want to receive emails from CFO South Africa | Finance Professionals South Africa" 06 June 2016 Fintech has become a big buzzword lately, although the inter-linkage of finance and technology is not a new concept. We exist in a world where mobile phones are used more than physical branches for banking, and where you can get a loan from a stranger through a peer-to-peer lending model, such as Lendico or RocMyPeer in South Africa. You can even authenticate mobile payments by scanning your face with a smartphone, using the ‘Smile to pay’ service launched by Chinese e-commerce giant, Alibaba. 05 June 2016 Brimstone Investment Corporation, an empowerment investment company which has its biggest investments in Life Healthcare and fishing conglomerate, Oceana, has sold its 15% stake in Taste Holdings, a franchise specialist which holds the local rights for Domino’s Pizza and Starbucks. The value of Brimstone’s stake in Taste was about R150 million. Brimstone bought 12.4% of Taste in 2012 at 154c per share. It is unclear whether Brimstone exited with a meaningful profit. 04 June 2016 Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has given South Africa a stay of execution regarding a ratings downgrade, to the collective relief of many. It did, however, express concern over the country’s low growth and increasing political instability. It also revised its growth forecast for this year to 0.6%, down from 0.8%. The Treasury welcomed S&P’s decision, saying: 03 June 2016 The Reserve Bank said in its recently released Bank Supervision Department annual report that it fined Capitec and the local branch of Deutsche Bank a combined R25 million in 2015 for shortcomings in the systems they have in place to combat money laundering. Capitec was fined R5 million for failing to report cash transactions above R24,999 to the Financial Intelligence Centre in line with legislation, and was advised to take remedial action. 03 June 2016 Having originally implemented SAP Business One in 2006 within Compleo Print, it became clear that the remaining businesses in the group were not enjoying as rich a functionality, which led to concerns over data integrity and reporting capability, as well as a distinct lack of integration. An almost fatal server crash in 2011 prompted the business as a whole to review its ERP technology infrastructure in order to ensure business continuity long into the future. Founded in 1999 as a strategic Xerox partner, Prodoc Business Solutions, recently renamed Compleo Business Solutions, has played a key role in positioning Xerox as a leading brand and supplier of quality printing equipment and related consumables in South Africa. A growing market, together with the opportunity to expand to a more holistic offering, saw the launch of Prodoc Business Systems, embracing a more service focused approach. In 2006, Compleo Print, a digital print company, was also launched. Operating in a B2B environment, the group works with a wide range of companies across multiple business sectors including agriculture, healthcare and government, to name but a few. 02 June 2016 Absa Bank recently launched its innovative Absa ChatBanking option, allowing social media-savvy customers to conduct certain banking transactions via Twitter. 02 June 2016 “Sometimes you feel unloved in the accounting profession. You cover the backside of the CEO and no one says thank you. It’s nice to be acknowledged,” said Osman Arbee, CFO of Imperial Holdings, when accepting the Strategy Execution Award, presented to him by Colin Brown of Supergroup – ironically his biggest competitor (pictured). 01 June 2016 Out of the 320 teams representing 1,278 aspirants from 53 universities in 25 countries across five continents, the Project Board of the CFO Case Study Competition has announced the top 12 teams. Valentine Nti (pictured), the CFO Case Study Competition project executive director, said: 01 June 2016 “We help CFOs make better decisions that create a better future for their companies,” says Simon Jackson, a director of enterprise performance management system provider Futuresense, a gold partner at the Finance Indaba Africa 2016 on 13 and 14 October 2016 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg. 31 May 2016 The latest economic update from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revealed that South Africa is now the third biggest economy in Africa, with Nigeria taking first place and Egypt second. According to the IMF, the weak rand, which worked against South Africa in the conversion to dollars in the IMF report, is the reason for the country’s drop to third place. 31 May 2016 “Transformation won’t happen by osmosis or natural selection because at its core and at its foundation, it is a people thing. It comes down to behaviour and is a decision that people make,” says Seithati Bolipombo, CFO of Chancellor House Holdings (CHH), a privately held investment holding company founded in 2003. Seithati is extremely passionate about the subject of transformation and opines that while we’ve made good strides, there is still plenty of room for improvement. She also thinks we need to be prouder of our African heritage: “We need to elevate the pride of the African identity. The more globalised and Westernised we become, the more anything that was founded or established in Africa seems to have less of a reputation than the equivalent founded outside the continent. In business and in civil society, the African identity has to be prioritised and celebrated.” How did you get into finance? “This wasn’t always the plan! When I was in high school I actually wanted to work with young people. I had a chat to one of my teachers, who was like a mentor to me at the time. She said to me, ‘The world needs more people with strong values in critical pillars of society than it does within social services. You need people with the right heart and mind to be making those decisions in terms of where resources go’. She encouraged me to look into finance.” What do you most enjoy about the industry? “You get to shape the economy. Your area of financial excellence contributes to a bigger economic landscape, which really determines the growth of the country and therefore how it benefits its people.” In your opinion, what are the most important elements or considerations when devising a business strategy? "Every business exists for its customers or its clients. That’s first and foremost the thing you’ve got to preoccupy yourself with; being obsessed about understanding the people for whom you exist as a business, their needs, their demographics, and what keeps them awake at night. Then you have to consider what solution you are providing and how you meet their needs. My philosophy is that business concepts don’t fail due to a lack of either resources or the right people or staff. I believe that business concepts fail due to an inability to bring value to the table of exchange. I believe that people are willing to spend money as long as the solution that is being provided is a valid and valuable one. That’s the biggest element of business strategy for me.” What role do you think the CFO plays in the strategic vision of a company? “As CFO you may be the ’bean counter’ but you should also able to add value to strategy and decision-making based on numbers, so that business decisions are not made on gut feel or emotion. The strategy has to be based on strong strategic and financial fundamentals.” “In formulating strategy, management undertakes a critical assessment of the industry the business is in, as well as its competitors. It is crucial that this assessment is also based on financial evidence too. If it comes down to a choice of two paths the company could take, it’s a question of what do the numbers say. I’m particular about the numbers because I feel they’re objective to a certain extent – as long as we’re not cooking them.” 30 May 2016 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. 30 May 2016 According to its audited results for the year ending 31 March 2016, Tongaat Hulett Ltd saw a rise of 3.2% in revenue, to R16,676 billion (compared to R16,155 billion for the previous year), with operating profit down 13.5% to R1,808 billion (compared to R2,089 billion the previous year.) Furthermore, headline earnings are down 17.1% to R783 million, and headline earnings per share are down 17.9% to 678,1 cents. The company said in its SENS announcement: 30 May 2016 The prevalence of cyber threats is forcing companies to make tough decisions and quickly, otherwise they stand to lose direct control of data security, says Nathan Desfontaines, a Cyber Security Manager at KPMG South Africa. From coherent mobile information security policies to comprehensive cyber security strategies, the list of what is required from businesses to adequately protect ever-increasing volumes of data is growing. This is because the number of threats, including mobile malware and hacking, is also increasing. Mobile attacks, custom-designed malware and the threat of wearable technology, such as smartwatches, are examples of what businesses need to be aware of these days. Why do organisations need to treat cyber security as a key IT element rather than ‘another’ business risk? Businesses need to move away from believing that cyber security is a point-in-time exercise – a fad that is “hyped up”, or that the threats of cyber-attacks will go away. Once businesses can do this, then we can start to embrace the benefits technology has enabled within the business while dealing effectively with the very real threat of cyber-crime. When it comes to protecting businesses’ information from potential cyber-attacks, businesses need to understand what their “Crown Jewels” are. By knowing what the business has and what it is worth – both to the business and to outsiders – only then will the business gain a better understanding of what information needs to be protected. Trying to achieve 100% security across all facets of the IT estate is a challenge and is bound to dilute the focus on where it really should be – the critical information assets of the business. What are the toughest security challenges for businesses today? A constant challenge that businesses face is having an effective threat intelligence capability assessment, plan and response in place. Most companies would not know if they were being attacked and in most cases, for those who do, they are unable to detect and effectively respond to a breach. The reality is that technology in isolation is not going to ensure a business’s readiness to respond to a breach. Businesses need to have a balanced model of full business IT security including skilled people, embedded practical processes and, a “fit-for-purpose” technology that enhances the ability to detect and respond to a possible breach. What is considered a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy? A comprehensive cybersecurity strategy should start with a detailed classification of the business’s data – as you can’t protect what you don’t know you have. This classification should be followed by an all-inclusive threat intelligence capability assessment so that an effective post-breach response plan can be developed – and continuously updated, as necessary – as without these, the business is essentially “flying blind in an invisible war”. What could be the consequences to not defending your company from threat intelligence processes? Aside from a possible legislative or regulatory financial impact on a business as a result of a cyber-attack, businesses are becoming increasingly concerned around both the financial and reputational impact to their operations and their environment. 29 May 2016 Anglo American has appointed Bruce Cleaver (pictured) as CEO of De Beers Group, with effect from 1 July. Cleaver replaces Philippe Mellier, who will be stepping down after a five-year tenure. Mark Cutifani, CEO of Anglo American and chairperson of De Beers, said in a statement: 28 May 2016 Moody’s Investors Service announced yesterday in a report that it has revised its outlook for the South African banking system from stable to negative. It believes that the creditworthiness of these institutions will take strain over the next year to 18 months. 27 May 2016 Following the great success of this year’s CFO Awards, held on 12 May at Summer Place, where Woolworths’ Reeza Isaacs walked away with the coveted CFO of the Year Award, we are calling for nominations for the CFO Awards 2017. 27 May 2016 With personal computers and the internet mere precursors to the real digital revolution, CFOs need to change gears and get ready for radically different roles, says Xero executive Gary Turner. Few firms are riding the waves of digital change so confidently as Xero, the accounting software cloud-solution for small- and medium-sized enterprises. After swooping the UK market, Gary has now set his sights on South Africa. 26 May 2016 CFO South Africa Newsletter | Thursday 26 May Dear CFO South Africa Member, Read Exclusive CFO South Africa Articles Shoprite to invest $572 million in Angola Shoprite International, Africa’s largest food retailer, intends to invest $572 million in Angola, opening up new supermarkets and business units. It will also upgrade its existing chain of Angolan stores. This according to a recent statement published in the government gazette. Nigeria suspends talks on MTN fine According to reports, Nigeria has indefinitely suspended talks with the MTN Group regarding the $3.9 billion fine the telecoms company received in October last year, while the country’s House of Representatives undertakes an investigation into the size and delivery of the penalty. http://static.financieel-management.nl/img_simple.php?src=img/pictu..." /> AAT graduates easily turn theory into practice “Our local government and public sector qualifications are based on competency frameworks of municipalities and the National Treasury. They are designed to fit the purpose exactly,” says Nadine Kater, GM of the South African chapter of the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT), a silver partner at the Finance Indaba Africa 2016 on 13 and 14 October 2016 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg. Read more exclusive articles on CFO.co.za - Nomanini records massive growth in transactions as platform scales - Understand how the economic puzzle fits together, says Allianz CFO ... - Finance flash: the TOP-10 articles of week 20 - Prof Wiseman Nkuhlu joins panel of judges for 2017 CFO Awards - INOVO's Thinus Janse van Rensburg: Four ways customers should drive... Out now. CFO Magazine issue 1 - 2016 The 3rd CFO Magazine CFO South Africa is out now. With 84 pages packed full of need-to-know information delivered in sharp, insightful articles. Read the latest insights from Reeza Isaacs, CFO Woolworths, Vusi Thembekwayo, Mary Vilakazi, CFO MMI Holdings and Lindani Dhlamini, CEO SekelaXabiso and more. As our online member we would like to give you the opportunity to read the CFO Magazine South Africa online and free of charge HERE. (please make sure that you are logged in with your CFO.co.za account). Would you like to also share your story in the next issue? Please contact Shay van Huyssteen at [email protected] or at +27 11 083 7515. Visit Finance Indaba Africa Visit the Finance Indaba 13 & 14 October at the Sandton Convention Centre and boost your profits by 100%. Finance Indaba Africa is the biggest annual expo and conference for finance professionals. It brings together peers technology suppliers, platforms, banks, tools, specialists, CFOs and thought leaders. Over 5,000 visitors tap into a wealth of resources, knowhow and inspiration. Gain unparalleled insights. Cut costs dramatically, send sales & productivity through the roof and boost your company's profits by 100 percent. RSVP now here. Become a partner Are you enabling businesses to cut costs, boost sales, productivity and company profits? Don't miss out the chance to connect with new prospects, to brand your company and to become more successful. Share your ideas at the Finance Indaba and help the country grow. Please contact Graham Fehrsen at [email protected] or at +27 11 083 7515. Diamond Partners http://static.financieel-management.nl/img/pictures/110412.jpg" width="500" /> Join the ultimate peer to peer advisory network Various CFOs and finance directors from Eskom, Nedbank, Transnet, Alexander Forbes, Standard Chartered Bank, Hollard, Absa, Servest, Business Connexion and Super Group are members of CFO South Africa. Your peers understand best the issues you face and the challenges that impact your business. Together you will share your experiences at CFO South Africa’s events and help you advance in your career, company and knowledge. Get introduced to experienced colleagues that are happy to share their knowledge with you. Peer-to-peer consulting is by far the best and most cost effective way to help you solve problems. Are you interested? Please see our membership page for more information here. Upcoming CFO South Africa Events Join the CFO Events with inspiring hosts and experts who will share their insights and experiences with you. Register now for these events and boost your company, network, career and knowledge. Private sector events in 2016 June 22 Johannesburg | The CFO as business partner July 21 Johannesburg | M&A Series part 2 Public sector events in 2016 June 21 Johannesburg | Are you an Inspiration? July 27 Johannesburg | Are you a Stakeholder Manager? Register now for one of the upcoming CFO South Africa Events. Please note that all our CFO South Africa events are for senior financial executives. CFO South Africa offers Platinum memberships to CFOs and finance directors. For more information please have a look here and contact Shay van Huyssteen at [email protected] Stay connected with CFO South Africa Follow CFO South Africa on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook Stay up to date on what is happening in the world of finance by following us on Twitter @CFOSouthAfrica, LinkedIn and Facebook. Next to that you can keep track of newly published interviews with CFOs and CEOs. Feel free to contact us Any suggestions or comments are welcome. Kind Regards, Graham Fehrsen Managing Director CFO South Africa | [email protected] To control which emails you receive from CFO South Africa, please change your email preferences at cfo.co.za by selecting under settings "I do not want to receive emails from CFO South Africa | Finance Professionals South Africa" 26 May 2016 Hedge fund manager Nautilus, a subsidiary of the JSE, has received approval from the Financial Services Board (FSB) to offer a set of hedge fund products to the public. Nautilus is one of only a few managers to have received approval to date, in terms of the revised legislations published last year. Alexia Kobusch (pictured), MD of Nautilus, said: 26 May 2016 “To god be the glory. I don’t even have a speech, this is so unexpected,” said Dumisani Dlamini, CFO of the National Arts Council (NAC) of South Africa, and winner of two awards at the recent CFO Awards 2016, Young CFO of the Year (for finance leaders aged 40 or below) and Public Sector CFO of the Year. “This is to say to every black child, girl or boy, you can make it! This goes to all CFOS in government who are under political pressure or who are in a difficult environment – this is for you!" 25 May 2016 Payments platform provider Nomanini has achieved a 1,500-percent growth in transactions as the company successfully scaled its mobile point-of-sale (PoS) platform for informal markets. 25 May 2016 “Our local government and public sector qualifications are based on competency frameworks of municipalities and the National Treasury. They are designed to fit the purpose exactly,” says Nadine Kater, GM of the South African chapter of the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT), a silver partner at the Finance Indaba Africa 2016 on 13 and 14 October 2016 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg. 24 May 2016 According to reports, Nigeria has indefinitely suspended talks with the MTN Group regarding the $3.9 billion fine the telecoms company received in October last year, while the country’s House of Representatives undertakes an investigation into the size and delivery of the penalty. 23 May 2016 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. 23 May 2016 Prof Wiseman Nkuhlu (pictured), South Africa’s first black chartered accountant, current chancellor of the University of Pretoria and an often-cited inspiration for members of the CFO community, has accepted CFO South Africa’s invitation to join the panel of judges for the 2017 CFO Awards. 23 May 2016 CFOs have traditionally not had to engage with IT. The CIO or other IT execs would simply recommend that the company adopt certain technologies without explaining how those technologies benefit the company. Buzzwords about technology and business processes can be impressive or baffling, depending on the level of communication between departments. It has become increasingly apparent that CFOs can benefit from engaging with IT, and that this engagement has a direct impact on profitability. 22 May 2016 Lesetja Kganyago (pictured), South African Reserve Bank (Sarb) governor, has announced that there will be no change in the interest rate. Thus, the repo rate will remains at 7%, while the cost of borrowing will stay at 10.5%. A statement of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), issued by Kganyago, said that although headline CIP inflation has moderated since February, the respite is expected to be temporary, as petrol and food price pressures continue to intensify. The statement said: 21 May 2016 Shoprite International, Africa’s largest food retailer, intends to invest $572 million in Angola, opening up new supermarkets and business units. It will also upgrade its existing chain of Angolan stores. This according to a recent statement published in the government gazette.Successful CFOs must be able to self-reflect, says Lewis Kangausaru, CFO of Groeneveld South Africa
Finance flash: the TOP-10 articles of week 28
SAA halts R15 billion debt restructuring deal
Insider threats: 10 questions CFOs need to ask - by J2's John Mc Loughlin
Kenya ranks in top five improving nations in corporate governance
No banking crisis in Nigeria, says Central Bank
Brexit affects availability of finance jobs in SA
Clarkhouse Human Capital's Roy Clark talks diversity and transformation
Cilliers Steyn new Dark Fibre Africa CFO
Finance Indaba 2016: INCE goes from printer to ground-breaker
Post Office to launch own bank
Finance Indaba 2016: Tax Ombud offers taxpayers a resolution avenue
Are you future ready? Great insights at CFO breakfast in Cape Town
Eqstra announces mammoth deal with enX, sees shares jump 11.33%
Take every opportunity available to you, says Waseem Carrim, NYDA CFO
Finance flash: the TOP-10 articles of week 27
Thousands vote in African FinTech Awards
Peter Christie on the power of storytelling for effective leaders
Eskom secures R20 billion loan from AfDB
Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited acquires Zurich Insurance
Tom Creamer new Telesure CEO
How to become the world's most inspiring accountant: a chat to Coenie Middel
Akash Bhatia new Showmax CFO
Meet Simon Ridley (Standard Bank), recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award at the CFO Awards 2016
MTN appoints Stephen van Coller as VP of strategy and M&A
Finance Indaba 2016: SAIPA looks to transform accounting
MTN CFO Brett Goschen to step down
DigiCore CFO Cobus Grove: The Good, the Bid & the Ugly
Finance flash: the TOP-10 articles of week 26
Peter Matlare new Barclays Africa deputy CEO
What #Brexit means for SA businesses - KPMG Chief Economist Lullu Krugel
KPMG CEO Outlook: It's now or never
CFO Case Study top six teams chosen
Govinder Sateesh Kamath new Safaricom CFO
Finance Indaba interview: the rise & rise of Vusi Thembekwayo
Adekunle Awobodu new CFO of MTN Nigeria
Are YOU the new CFO of Wits University?
Incredible lineup at CFO M&A event 21 July: post-deal integration
Meet Leon Crouse (Remgro), recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award at the CFO Awards 2016
SABC CFO James Aguma to act as CEO
Finance Indaba 2016: QuickBooks has businesses running more efficiently
Fear and uncertainty after #Brexit - Peregrine Group CFO Robert Katz
SABC Acting CEO Jimi Matthews resigns
A humble CFO is a successful CFO, says Lauren Van Zyl, Divisional CFO of Eqstra Fleet Management and Logistics
Finance flash: the TOP-10 articles of week 25
Naspers sees significant profit increase
Creativity needed for big data to drive revenue, says risk actuary Stefan Swanepoel
King IV recognises the importance of tax governance
Vodafone recalls Safaricom CFO John Tombleson from Kenya
CIMA and AICPA to form new association
Financial inclusion and money-making: FinTech Africa event massive success
Vote NOW for the African FinTech Awards 2016
Zaf Mahomed, McDonald's: Demand more - real leaders are listening
CFOs discuss effective workforce health strategies to drive the bottom line
Meet Christine Ramon (AngloGold Ashanti), winner of the Finance & Technology Award at the CFO Awards 2016
Finance Indaba 2016: Solve your ERP challenges with 4most
Debating the 'why' - public sector CFOs discuss change management
MTN names Rob Shuter new CEO
BP Southern Africa CFO Udayan Sen: The CFO as co-pilot
Finance flash: the TOP-10 articles of week 24
Allianz Risk Transfer and Nephila successfully pilot blockchain tech
Abaco Consulting's Derek Brown: Employees as operating costs vs balance sheet assets
Vodacom annual report reveals details of execs' remuneration
Plum LLP to buy a 23% stake in Britam investments
Finance Indaba Africa offering grows
Newsletter: Nigeria injects $1.7B into capital projects | Nico Bezuidenhout new CEO of Fastjet |LSC Group CFO, Thabiso Hermanus
MD Sneha Shah reveals Thomson Reuters plans for Africa
Capital inflows into Sub-Saharan Africa to slow down, says World Bank
Meet Bikash Prasad, winner of the Moving into Africa Award at the CFO Awards 2016
Celebrating success with future-ready finance professionals
Nico Bezuidenhout new CEO of fastjet
Finance Indaba 2016: Crowe Horwath keeps clients abreast of changing regulations
CFO Awards winners share their recognition with teams, CFO SA MD Graham Fehrsen reports
The ability to learn quickly is critical, says Thabiso Hermanus, LSC Group CFO
Finance flash: the TOP-10 articles of week 23
Nigeria to inject $1.7 billion into capital projects
Peace of mind: Integrated Business Management at Lamb Weston / Meijer
SA's GDP loses 1.2% in Q1 of 2016
Tiger Brands sells its Ethiopian shares
Richard Farber, Discovery CFO, to step down
KPMG's Gavin Maile: Fit to function
Newsletter: Kuben Naidoo new registrar of banks | Finance is the backbone of business | SA equity market moves to 3-day settlement cycle
Dineo Molefe new CFO of T-Systems
Meet Walter Leonhardt (ABI), winner of two awards at the CFO Awards 2016
SA equity market moves to 3-day settlement cycle
Finance Indaba 2016: Purple Group opens markets up for everyone
Local bank notes for Zimbabwe
Finance is the backbone of business says Fabian Cazares, Philips Healthtech CFO Southern Africa
Finance flash: the TOP-10 articles of week 22
Kuben Naidoo new registrar of banks
Newsletter: SA avoids ratings downgrade | Reserve Bank fines Capitec and Deutsche Bank R25 million | Brimstone sells its stake in Taste Holdings
5 things you should know about the future of insurance
Brimstone sells its stake in Taste Holdings
SA avoids ratings downgrade
Reserve Bank fines Capitec and Deutsche Bank R25 million
Compleo Business Solutions and Compleo Print choose SAP Business One
Absa enables customers to transact over Twitter
Meet Osman Arbee (Imperial), winner of two awards at the CFO Awards 2016
CFO Case Study Competition announces top 12 teams
Finance Indaba 2016: Futuresense aids future-focused CFOs
IMF: SA is Africa's third biggest economy
Africa's potential is exponential, says CHH CFO, Seithati Bolipombo
Finance flash: the TOP-10 articles of week 21
Tongaat Hulett FY HEPS down 17.9%, revenue up 3.2%
Beware the cyber threat, says KPMG's Nathan Desfontaines
Bruce Cleaver new CEO of De Beers Group
SA banks get negative outlook from Moody's
Wanted: nominations for the CFO Awards 2017
Accounting in the cloud - Xero's Gary Turner on conquering SA
Newsletter: Shoprite to invest $572 million in Angola | Nigeria suspends talks on MTN fine | AAT graduates easily turn theory into practice
Nautilus receives approval for retail hedge fund offering
Meet Dumisani Dlamini (NAC), Young CFO of the Year 2016
Nomanini records massive growth in transactions as platform scales
Finance Indaba 2016: AAT graduates easily turn theory into practice
Nigeria suspends talks on MTN fine
Finance flash: the TOP-10 articles of week 20
Prof Wiseman Nkuhlu joins panel of judges for 2017 CFO Awards
INOVO's Thinus Janse van Rensburg: Four ways customers should drive a CFO's IT spend
Sarb: Interest rates to remain unchanged
Shoprite to invest $572 million in Angola
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