“It breaks my heart when I see talented young females and they are just sitting on boards as non-executive directors,” says Nonkululeko Gobodo, the country’s first-ever female chartered accountant. “If women are quitting, we are not going to produce the leaders we need,” she says. Nonkululeko sat down with CFO South Africa to talk about being a role model for female CAs, her deliberate but painful departure from SizweNtsalubaGobodo, and the new chapter in her professional life as a leadership consultant.

Africa’s largest retailer with a customer base of more than 35 million people across the continent, Shoprite Group announced an investor-pleasing set of annual results on Tuesday, adding thousands of jobs, increasing sales and profit, and staving off food inflation, despite having to deal with a pressurised consumer environment.

Sage, the market and technology leader for integrated accounting, payroll & HR, and payment systems, today announced that Sage Live, its cloud-based, integrated accounting solution is now available in South Africa. Tailored to the needs of growing companies, Sage Live supports ambitious organisations that are scaling up for growth.

Mobile operator Cell C has appointed two new board members: Larry Nestadt (pictured) and Kuben Pillay. Nestadt, a co-founder and former director of Investec Bank, will serve as non-executive deputy chairman, while Pillay will replace Mohammed Hariri as non-executive chairman.

“Technology, shared resources and digital collaboration provide businesses with a global view of business,” says Christopher Jones, CEO of Digiterra, a silver partner at the Finance Indaba Africa 2017 on 12 and 13 October 2017 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg.

“Today we want to talk about energy – how you create it and how you work with it – not just for you, but for the people around you,” said Graham Fehrsen, MD of CFO South Africa. Graham was speaking at a sumptuous breakfast for executive assistants (EAs) of CFOs, held recently at the Saxon Hotel in Sandton. “You spend time picking up the pieces for the people who may be going through challenging times at work and are extremely busy, and help them through their days, not only through your work but through your attitude, because you are also there for them personally.”

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.

The University of Cape Town, one of the leading educational institutions on the continent, has become the first university in Africa to offer a specialised FinTech degree. It follows the University of Oxford and a host of Ivy League institutions in offering such a programme.

It has been 17 years since the inception of the South African Competition Act, and competition law enforcement continues to be vigorous and successful. Some now argue that competition law and its associated institutions are becoming a victim of their own success. Where other regulators have mostly proven toothless, the Competition Commission and the Competition Tribunal have been able to pry open cartels and punish offenders. Where broader economic policy has failed to force companies to change tack, competition policy clearly has not disappointed. In this article, competition experts Minette Smit and Marylla Govender explore the most recent trends in competition law, along with the rise of ‘the Patel factor’.

A recent Reuters poll of 27 economists has revealed a strong belief that the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) could cut interest rates again this year.

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) latest Economic Survey of South Africa 2017, the country’s public debt has risen to just under 50 percent of GDP.

The annual Guardian of Governance award has been bestowed upon the eight SABC journalists (dubbed the SABC 8) fired for speaking out against the broadcaster's decision to censor protest coverage.

How can women be more effective in the workplace? And in life? On 17 August 2017, CFO South Africa hosted this year's Women’s Dinner at the Saxon Hotel in Sandton to provide a networking opportunity and panel of inspirational speakers for women CFOs. The delegates had been encouraged to bring their mentees to the event, to share in the insights.

The Nigerian FinTech market has grown by 90% in the past 3-4 years and startups in the populous West African nation are radically transforming the banking and financial sectors, according to Kantar TNS Nigeria CEO Aggrey Maposa.

The Institute of Internal Auditors SA (IIA SA) 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.

Comair has said that its earnings per share are expected to be between 49 and 68 percent higher for the year ending 30 June 2017, than those reported for the previous year.

"We will be talking about how to build your future with the Blueprint for Continuous Accounting. This revolutionary new concept is changing the way accounting and finance are performing and creating a paradigm shift across Modern Finance Organisations," says Bridgette Ward, Sales Manager of AdvanceNet, a gold partner at the Finance Indaba Africa 2017 on 12 and 13 October 2017 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg.

JSE-listed financial services provider Purple Group has sold a 30% stake valued at R100 million in its Easy Equities business to Sanlam Investment Holdings in a cash deal. Sanlam will receive a seat on the board as part of the investment.

4 Africa Exchange (4AX) has announced two new executive appointments to its management team, namely Lindiwe Ndlela (pictured) as chief financial officer and Anthony van Eden as chief operating officer.

“Growing into a well-balanced CFO is a journey which requires identifying role models and learning from them. And learning from your own mistakes,” says Nonkululeko Dlamini, the CFO of the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), a public development finance institution with the mandate to promote economic growth and industrial development. Nonkululeko and her mentee, Nozibele Tshobeni, a Senior Financial Manager, attended the CFO South Africa Women’s Dinner on 17 August 2017 at the prestigious Saxon Boutique Hotel. We sat down with Nonkululeko and Nozibele to chat.

Private education provider Curro announced on Tuesday that it had broken the R1 billion interim revenue barrier in the six months to end-June. However, despite maintaining the 24% revenue growth pace set in the matching period, losses in its lower-fee school and tertiary divisions dragged profit growth down from 67% to 31%.

On Thursday this week, President Zuma will oversee the launch in Sandton of the African Regional Centre of the New Development Bank (NDB).

“The time has come for the CFO to become an important executive member who pushes for value creation other than the normal traditional financial role,” says Musa Magongo, CFO of the Swaziland Civil Aviation Authority (SWACAA). “The CFO is expected to have a better understanding of the impact of each process, whether commercial or operational, and be able to provide the necessary advice and guidance to the technical team.” In his role, Musa oversees all of the financial management issues of SWACAA, from budget preparation and implementation to monitoring, treasury and reporting. While this includes a focus on both finance and strategy, he says the nature of the role means he spends a greater proportion of his time on strategy, and ensuring that the organisation’s overall strategy is implemented.

"Decision Inc was created with the vision of offering these organisations a single purpose information management business to allow them to make better decisions across multiple divisions and sectors," says Nick Bell, CEO of Decision Inc, a silver partner at the Finance Indaba Africa 2017 on 12 and 13 October 2017 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg.

The South African office of KPMG has suspended its lead audit-engagement partner, also relieving two others, while it awaits the results of its ongoing investigation into work it undertook for companies linked to the Guptas.

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.

During the last year, the public became painfully aware of what cybersecurity experts have long been warning us about: That cybercrime is on the rise and that everyone is a potential target. The recent WannaCry and Petya attacks have revealed that hackers have adopted an increasingly financial focus, as they demand ransom (usually in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin) in exchange for unlocking the affected users’ data. Companies throughout the globe have been affected in the latest attack this June, with South African companies being no exception.

Abu Dhabi is looking to strengthen its FinTech position with a flurry of initiatives, including a tie-up with Switzerland and an innovation challenge for startups.

Nishant Saxena won two Awards at this year’s CFO of the Year Awards – High Performance Team and Young CFO of the Year. He received this recognition because he took Cipla’s struggling, low-margin, sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) unit and turned it into one of the most profitable pharma players in South Africa. In so doing, he completely transformed the finance department, creating a high performance team in the process. Nishant shares his top tips for creating an efficient team.

Westcon-Comstor Southern Africa has announced that it has appointed Rakesh Parbhoo as the new CEO of WestconGroup SA. Parbhoo joins the company after an almost two-decades-long tenure at Dimension Data, most recently holding the role of chief information officer for Dimension Data Middle East & Africa.

Financial services firm Old Mutual has said that it intends to list two units in London and Johannesburg in 2018: Old Mutual Wealth (OMW) and Old Mutual Limited (OML).

Bidvest’s recent acquisition of First Data Resources South Africa (FDRSA) will catapult it into South Africa’s world of business banking – a market currently dominated by FNB, Nedbank and Standard Bank.

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

Barclays Africa Group will collaborate with nine FinTech companies to explore promising new technology-based solutions that could prompt significant improvements for consumers and in bank services.

Thomson Reuters has launched a dedicated Decision Africa app that provides financial professionals with comprehensive market and data leading up to and after the elections in Kenya (8th August), Angola (23rd August), Liberia (10th October), and Mali (29th October).

"As one of the leading ESD organisations in SA we can support finance professionals with entrepreneurial dreams and capabilities in their journey to develop sustainable businesses. The support we provide encompasses training, physical infrastructure in our incubators, and mentorship," says Nyasha Dzumbunu, CFO of Shanduka Black Umbrellas, a gold partner at the Finance Indaba Africa 2017 on 12 and 13 October 2017 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg.

Martijn Aslander is a thought leader, public speaker and executive sparring partner with a unique ability to challenge business leaders and help them to think outside of the box.

“The biggest ambition that I have is to always leave a better legacy than the one I found when I took on a responsibility,” says Kenny Fihla, who took over from David Munro as chief executive of Standard Bank Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) in May this year. “What will the next generation of people or leaders in my role think when they assume the responsibility that I’m currently fulfilling that forces me to think about my actions? I get obsessed thinking about that – the creation of a lasting legacy.”

Lonmin has said that it will cut costs and sell some assets in a bid to overcome a weak market and to preserve jobs. The cost-cutting measures include selling processing capacity of up to 500,000 ounces per year, the South African platinum miner has said.

Oxford University, one of the world’s most prestigious educational institutions, has launched an online programme to meet the growing demand for a formal FinTech course.

"We believe that the user is the true source of value in any business, and if you service them well you can grow them and they in turn will grow your business," says Kevin Mutiso, CEO and co-founder of Alternative Circle, a silver partner at the Finance Indaba Africa 2017 on 12 and 13 October 2017 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg. Finance professionals and accountants register for the Finance Indaba for free with code FB2017! In the coming weeks and months, we will be chatting to all the Indaba partners, asking them why they are joining the event and what their most important message for finance professionals is. Do you want to hear how Alternative Circle can help with your KYC processes? Do you want to be informed about the latest and greatest in finance? Then don't miss the Finance Indaba Africa 2017. The Finance Indaba is the biggest annual event on the continent for financial managers and specialists who are seeking partnerships to drive progress. Thousands of delegates will gain valuable insights into realising financial performance and growth, becoming more efficient and accessing funding, among a host of other opportunities from leading players in financial services.

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

Anton van Heerden is leaving his role at Sage Africa and Middle East, to be replaced by Pieter Bensch (pictured), who will be taking over as MD and executive VP of the region.

Airlines are a notoriously difficult business, with narrow profit margins and stiff competition. They are also prey to the volatility of oil prices, as well as fickle exchange rates. But for Kirsten King, a self-proclaimed Benoni girl who entered the “grey-suited” world of accountancy, this is a place not only for the day-to-day administration of finance but also for networking, learning, and a few strong cups of tea.

Blue Label Telecoms, a listed telco group, has finalised its recapitalisation of mobile operator, Cell C.

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.

Telecommunications giant MTN announced a return to profit in first-half interim results at a presentation on Friday, with total group revenue in constant currency increasing by 6,7% to R64,3 billion and headline earnings per share improving to 217 cents, compared to a 271 cent headline loss per share in the comparable period last year. MTN maintained its interim dividend at R2,50‚ the same as in 2016’s interim period.

Many CFOs worry that machines and robots may affect their jobs in the near future. Futurist Graeme Codrington, strategy consultant at TomorrowToday Global, believes they’re right to have this concern. Thus, CFOs need to partner with machines to make the most of the new world of work – and become more human to keep adding value, he says.

As at June 2017, Capitec bank hit nine million retail customers – a number which makes it SA’s second-largest bank (using this metric - customer numbers).

MTN has delivered improved results for South Africa, for the six months ending June 2017, returning to profit and increasing subscriber growth.

South African Airways (SAA) has appointed Vuyani Jarana, Vodacom Business CEO, as its new CEO. Jarana has been with Vodacom since 2012 and will join the airline as soon as Vodacom releases him from his duties. Jurana is the airline’s first permanent CEO since November 2015.

ThisIsMe 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.

Nigerian FinTech Flutterwave announced it has secured $10 million in Series B financing. Four investors contributed to the round: Greycroft Partners, Green Visor Capital, Y Combinator, and Glynn Capital Management. Flutterwave, founded by Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, provides technology, infrastructure, and services to enable global merchants, payment service providers, and pan-African banks to accept and process payments via any channel, including web, mobile, ATMs and POS. The company helps businesses in Africa go global by smoothening the exchange of funds in more than 150 currencies. The company revealed that it intends to use the funds to hire talent, build out its global operations, and accelerate its expansion across Africa.

“Every calamity is to be overcome by endurance,” wrote the great Roman poet Virgil. These are volatile times that require resilience to see them through. With this in mind, CFO SA is hosting a CFO Endurance Breakfast on 5 September 2017 at the Inanda Club in Sandton.

American International Group Inc (AIG), a leading global insurance organisation, has promoted Senele Mbatha to the role of chief financial officer.

Pulling off big projects is exhilarating, exponentially growing your profits is awesome, but are you achieving the GREAT thing? Are you building a better future? We spoke with Stan Slap, the world’s foremost thought leader on culture and leadership, who will be opening the Finance Indaba Africa on 12 October 2017, made possible by Clarkhouse Human Capital.

QuickBooks 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.

Nedbank, the fourth-biggest bank in South Africa by market value, posted a 3,7% fall in mid-year profit in a results presentation on Wednesday, with a sharp fall in its Ecobank holding muffling an otherwise impressive set of results.

A large merger between EOH Industrial Technologies and certain business of Powertech System Integrators has been approved by the Competition Tribunal, without conditions.

A recently released Deloitte report found that annual cash bonuses paid to the CEO and CFO over the last six years are considerable in relation to guaranteed pay, with only 12 percent of instances where a bonus was not awarded to either executive over the last six years. The report also found that increases to CEO guaranteed pay over the last five increase periods exceeded inflation by a considerable margin on a compound annual growth rate basis.

Investors should be wary of companies that dismiss their auditors as the fiscal year draws to a close, according to a new study by University of Notre Dame and Ohio University researchers.

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

Brian Egan (pictured), Dangote Cement Group chief financial officer, has been appointed as the executive director, finance. According to the company, his promotion follows the “significant contribution he has made to the group”.

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

Nishant Saxena successfully took Cipla’s sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) entity from a struggling, low-margin organisation to one of the most profitable pharma players in South Africa. The success yielded double success at the CFO Awards in May 2017 for the Indian expat, who played a key role in shifting the strategy and improving the finance team. “Finance is like an internal venture capitalist responsible for ensuring the right returns on investment, and as Cipla’s largest acquisition ever, all eyes were on South Africa’s performance.”

Cisco has appointed David Meads (pictured) as the new Vice President of its Middle East and Africa operations. Meads, in this newly created role, will oversee the execution of the company’s strategy in these two regions, ensuring the technology leader maintains its momentum at the forefront of digital transformation efforts.

Alternative Circle 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.

FinTech start-ups are set to break funding records in 2017, as record as insurance, wealth management, lending and blockchain-related companies attract unprecedented investment.

Vodacom’s Till Streichert, CFO of the Year 2017, talks us through six of the biggest issues he has faced while being a CFO. “I love my job and the profession.”

Convergence Partners Investments announced this week that it has exited its investment in Dimension Data, a specialist IT services and solutions company.

Telkom has announced its plans for the recently spun out subsidiary, Gyro, which was made responsible for managing the company’s masts and towers, as well as its property development and property management services, from 1 April this year.

Eskom’s board of directors yesterday suspended CFO Anoj Singh (pictured) after the state-owned entity received threats from lenders saying that they would recall their loans if no action was taken. Allegations of corruption at the power utility recently implicated the CFO as the ongoing ‘Gupta leaks’ scandal plays out.

Qlik Master Reseller 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.

Total and Worldline have signed binding technological, commercial and financing agreements with African FinTech InTouch.

The CFO Summit Series is an initiative from CFO South Africa to encourage networking and knowledge-sharing among finance professionals. Having only having been launched this year, with four instalments thus far, the series has taken off, with amazing feedback from guests.

PPC has announced that its CEO, Darryll Castle (pictured), has "agreed to part ways", with immediate effect. According to a statement, Johan Claassen, MD of the cement maker’s South African operations, will take over as interim CEO until a permanent appointment can be made.

Futuresense 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.

Assuming the mantle of CFO can be a nerve-wracking experience. The first 100 days can be among the most challenging and stressful of your career. All too often, organisations expect new hires to sink or swim and use their own initiative to get by. At the same time, this period represents an enormous opportunity to deliver quick wins and position yourself as a rising star.

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.