These articles were the Top Five trending articles on www.cfo.co.za this year.
Comair CEO cancels is SAICA membership
On 7 November, news dropped on CFO that Comair CEO Erik Venter (pictured) and biscuit factory owner Simon Mantell were cancelling their membership until the accountancy institute “gets its house in order”.
Following “a societal shift … where rampant consumerism influenced day-to-day thinking to such a point that even in corporate life, executives attempted to outdo one another by developing ever more gauche head offices matched only by executive remuneration packages so excessive in nature that it should have made shareholders weep” audit firms have “forgotten their places as low-risk and low-reward businesses”.
Read more: Comair CEO cancels SAICA membership from January 2019
How to get sh!t done with a sense of purpose
Jessica Yellin sat down with FedGroup CEO Grant Field to chat about his business and how he bring purpose to life. She found that, apart from being full of infectious energy, he has to be one of the most likeable CEOs she has ever met.
No airs and graces, generous with his time and insights, and a man who clearly understands that people and planet have to come before profit if we want to have a thriving and sustainable economy.
Read more: How to get sh!t done with a sense of purpose - Jessica Yellin
Young Women in Business Network to launch a women-owned bank
The announcement of Young Women in Business Network (YWBN) Cooperative Financial Institution joining South Africa’s banking sector also received a lot of attention as they are looking to become the country’s first bank to be owned by women.
Nthabeleng Likotsi, the company’s MD, says the bank will target informal traders and black business owners who have been shunned by traditional lenders.
Read more: Another new bank for SA
Five accountants who went on to do anything but number crunch
On a more casual note, these five accountants (or would-be number-crunchers) who disregarded the call of the financial calculator to take centre stage in an entirely unrelated field also received a lot of attention – and this time not for their already established fame.
Accounting is a profession prone to stereotypes – of green peak caps, introversion and unhealthy obsessions with “the numbers”. If they are to be believed, you’d expect these “bean-counters” to only emerge from the back-room when there was a major emergency, such as the office burning down, or on International Accounting Day (yes, it does exist).
John Grisham, Chuck Liddell, Mick Jagger, Phil Knight and Janet Jackson all chose a different path to the corporate world.
Read more: 5 unlikely celebrity accountants
And closer to home, another accountant with a quirky career…
This CA also received recognition for not following a career path in finance and instead becoming a cook.
After matric, Avhaathu Ntsho signed up for a three-year diploma called Financial Information Systems at Pretoria Tech. She completed the course but realised in the process that her interest lay in finance, not computers, so she applied to UJ (then RAU) to convert her diploma into an undergraduate degree.
After having children, she found her new calling in the kitchen, and retrained as a chef. She has big plans for the future.
Read more: CA turns to a career in the kitchen - but doesn't cook the books
