Ubank (previously Teba Bank) appointed Jo-Ann Pohl to its Board as Chief Financial Officer in June 2007. Prior to her appointment, Jo – as she prefers to be called – who is a qualified chartered accountant was at Barclays Africa where she began as a Corporate Merchant Banking and Treasury Performance Consultant for Africa and the Middle East and then moved back into finance as a Regional Financial Controller before being promoted to Head of Finance for the Pan-African business. Ubank is the 9th largest Bank by assets with deposits of over R3bn and has become a well-recognised banking brand in the country.

The REL Working Capital Performance Study is open until February 1, 2012 at no cost to participants (late entries can be allowed if requested). Obtain critical insights to achieve success in 2012 by completing the Working Capital Performance Study today. http://www.relconsultancy.com/studies/2012/relwc12q1-hpn/

Starting 2012 with a job as Financial Director? Well done! Since you only get one chance to make a good impression and given the fact that a CFO on average lasts only five years, there really is no time to waste. CFO South Africa provides you with 5 golden tips for a perfect start of your new career.

As the CEO or CFO, you need to keep your fingers on the driving pulse of your business. There are for simplicity sake, we believe, 5 important questions you need to ask yourself on a regular basis. More importantly you need to get the right answers every time.

Information technology will form an important part of the future role of the CFO in South Africa. That is what Wayne van Houten, CFO of Esorfranki, replies when asked how the role of the CFO of the future will change over the next decade. “Use of information technology for financial reporting, compliance and market intelligence will also play a greater role and will bring enhanced efficiency into our business environment.”

In accordance with paragraph 3.59 of the JSE Listings Requirements, shareholders are advised that Mr Ivan Dittrich (BComm Accting Honours, CTA, CA(SA)) has been appointed as Chief Financial Officer and executive director of Vodacom Group. He is expected to join the Group on or about 1 July 2012. Ivan joins the Group from Datatec where he has been the chief financial officer since May 2008 and executive director on the board of Datatec since March 2008. Prior to that Ivan held a number of senior executive positions for the past 12 years at Datatec including that of group corporate director, corporate finance manager and company secretary. He successfully managed Datatec`s dual listing in London in 2006. Prior to joining Datatec, Ivan worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers in London and Deloitte in South Africa. Mr Peter Moyo, Chairman of Vodacom Group, stated that he welcomed the appointment and was looking forward to Ivan`s contribution on the Board.

Few CFOs think their company is effective at managing investments across markets with significantly different growth rates according to a new Ernst & Young report launched this week. Most also lack confidence in communicating this investment balance across divergent markets to the investor community. In a survey of over 750 CFOs world-wide, two thirds replied that they do not believe their organization is good at balancing resource allocation between developed and rapid-growth markets. A similar number find it difficult to convey an over-arching narrative to investors when balancing investments across these markets.

“Africa is full of opportunities and although South African companies are best located to do so, we are not seizing those opportunities.” Van Zyl Botha (31) is one of the youngest CFOs we had the pleasure of interviewing. Despite his young age, he has a great vision on how a modern CFO should ensure the long term financial sustainability of an enterprise.

“Bob Skinstad is a fantastic role model for South Africans as he has such a refreshing attitude and positive outlook to life.” We are listening to Trevor Scott, CFO of Chrometco, a JSE-listed company Trevor joined in 2005.

JD Group wants to “to be world-class in our fields of expertise”. It is strategically positioned in Southern Africa as a leading diversified mass consumer financier and a differentiated furniture, appliance, electronic goods, home entertainment and office automation retailer. The Group primarily targets the mass middle market with a secondary focus on the top and bottom end market segments. The Group operates 1138 stores across Southern Africa and Poland. JD Group was listed on Johannesburg Stock Exchange in 1986 and has a yearly turnover of R15.7bn, made possible by over 25.000 staff members.

Supplement your qualifications with solid practical experience and ensure continuous professional development to stay relevant in a fast changing global economy. That is the vital advice given to you by Tyrone Soondarjee, CFO of Sasfin Bank, when asked what vital piece of advice he would give ambitious finance professionals who 'want to make it big' in the industry. Like himself, in a way.

1time Holdings - a diversified aviation group - was listed on the Johannesburg Altex Stock Exchange on the 14th of August 2007. The company has evolved in leaps and bounds since its inception in 2004 and is the 100% shareholder in 1time Airline, 1time Charters, Aeronexus Technical and Aeronexus Corporate. Many people wonder what the name of the company reflects – well, here it is. The name 1time, is a reflection of the South African soul of the company. In South Africa, the phrase "one time!" is a colloquialism meaning "for real!" Within six years of existence, 1time grew from a 4-man company to a JSE-listed one, staffing over 600 employees and a yearly turnover of R1,2 billion.

One of the measures of a good business book is how much you remember years after reading it. By that measure, Mark McCormack book on Negotiating rates highly. The founder of the world’s dominant sports agency IMG shared many of his experiences, all of which led to the conclusion that the best deal was one where everyone walks away with a smile on their faces. Never screw over the other side, he advised. It will always come back to bite you. The best deals are those when everyone feels they have given up a little more than they were able to take.

Next in our interviews with CFOs of leading South African companies is Frederick Kotzee, CFO of Industrial gas and welding products group African Oxygen (Afrox). A company with a long history; it was founded as early as in 1927. In 1963, Afrox was listed on the JSE. The company has a yearly turnover of R5bn and staffs nearly 4000 employees.

Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban are listed as ‘green above average’ according to the Africa Green City Index, which was published last week. Along with South Africa's major cities, some cities from the North Africa region were also considered the 'greenest' urban areas on the continent. Ghana’s capital Accra, is the only sub-Saharan African city (excluding South Africa) in the “above average” category.

CFO South Africa had the pleasure of interviewing a large number of CFOs of leading South African companies. Today we meet Garth Saunders, CFO of SAB Miller, South Africa’s premier brewer and leading distributor of beer and soft drinks. The company operates seven breweries and 40 depots in South Africa with an annual brewing capacity of 3.1 billion liters. The company has a yearly turnover of R40bn, including a R7bn profit.

Vodacom was today recognised as a Best Performer company on the JSE's Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Index. This accolade was achieved in the low environmental impact category, and Vodacom was the only ICT company to be awarded this status. Best Performers are companies that meet their relevant environmental threshold, their core indicators for societal, governance and related sustainability concerns as well all climate change indicators. The Index philosophy is founded on the principals of the triple bottom line, namely environmental, social and economic sustainability, underpinned by robust corporate governance.

The role of the CFO has changed from scorekeeper, care talker and treasurer to strategic business partner, communicator, financier, finance operator, compliance steward, run rate monitor, talent manager, financial envoy. These are the words of wisdome spoken by Paul Prinsloo, CFO of PwC South Africa, South Africa’s office of the world's largest professional services firm. PwC South Africa staffs over 4,200 people nationwide, of which 100 employees in the financial department. The firm locally has a turnover of more than R3 billion per annum.

New York Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum has always been interested in what makes successful leaders tick. While still a young trainee and lower-level employee in sports management, he started calling leaders he admired to get their thoughts on which qualities were the most important. "When I became general manager of the Jets (in 2006), people suddenly started answering my phone calls," Tannenbaum noted.

The SA Institute of Chartered Accountants (Saica) has decided not to comment on European moves to curb the dominance of the big-four auditing firms but standards boss Ewald Muller says EU commissioner Michel Barnier is “smoking his socks”. Spokesperson Bontle Sikwe said Saica has nothing to say. The accounting institute is in the invidious position of having the Big Four and thousands of smaller members. The Big Four pay by far the biggest subscriptions and contribute the lion’s share of Saica’s vital Thuthuka educational project. But while Saica won’t comment Ewald Müller, senior executive, standards, told me Barnier was on “a one-man crusade” and “over the top”.

CFO South Africa interviewed a large number of CFOs and CEOs of leading South African companies. This time we get to talk to Lawrence Weitzman, CFO of Business Connexion, Africa’s leading ICT Solutions provider. Business Connexion is a JSE-listed company employing about 6500 people. Lawrence is responsible for the finance and commercial departments, staffing about 200 people. BCX will have revenue of R6bn in 2012 at a 6% operating margin.

Stanlib is the largest unit trust manager in the country and one of the leading asset and wealth managers in South Africa and emerging markets. The company is based in Johannesburg and has a footprint in seven African countries. The company was formed in 2002 when Liberty and Standard Bank’s asset management and wealth businesses merged. It is the biggest unit trust company in South Africa, managing assets for over 350,000 clients and employing almost 550 employees directly. We had the honor of enjoying a one-on-one with Iain Bennie, CFO of Stanlib.

Foreign investors are confused by conflicting messages from the government on the Walmart deal, says Gauteng economic development MEC Qedani Mahlangu. In May, the Competition Tribunal authorised Walmart to buy a 51% holding in Massmart , subject to the companies setting up a fund to assist local suppliers and manufacturers. Three Cabinet ministers are appealing against the approval, while Ms Mahlangu is in talks to access the companies’ enterprise fund. "We are saying different things at different times. We are not clear about what we want to do," Ms Mahlangu said yesterday. She was in talks with Walmart about how the Gauteng government would use some of the R100m enterprise development fund to boost young entrepreneurs and small business. Walmart spokesman Brian Leroni yesterday confirmed discussions with "MECs and government officials. I cannot say I know the details of the talks." Ms Mahlangu said it was "extremely unfortunate" that Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel, Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies and Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson were challenging the Walmart deal, because "we are sending confusing messages to investors". "In talking to investors, the interests of SA should not be compromised because as much as we seek to see the country growing, we should not compromise issues of jobs and economic growth." President Jacob Zuma this year announced that almost R20bn had been allocated for job creation, matched by a similar amount in tax breaks for new business projects and the expansion of the manufacturing sector. Ms Mahlangu said government departments should make those incentives "practical" and ensure that they benefited investors. They could not be referee and player at the same time. "SA needs the world to believe that the country is open for business." Neren Rau, CEO of the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said yesterday the chamber was pleased with the acknowledgement of messages being mixed — a concern for local investors too. This article was previously published on BusinessDay and written by Setumo Stone Category: guest article

"I see right through you." If only we could... Today’s financial world is – to say the least – a tumultuous place. Can we still trust it, really? If we are to believe critics, all is to blame on finance professionals lacking integrity. Clearly, we would never claim that finance professionals in fact lack certain ethics, but let’s face it – you need a bit more than just being a good boy or girl to cut it in today’s corporate world. It is a thin line between being sincere and being a snake. Thin, yet crucial. Tmes have changed and with it also the importance of being sincere more than a snake. Whether it is just a temporary thing or a panic reaction to numb the critics, in practice this means that ethics and integrity are increasingly more important for companies and institutions when reviewing new employees. The financial world needs to get rid of the stigma of its current imago, in which only money and power reign.

CFO South Africa interviewed a large number of CFOs and CEOs of leading South African companies. Meet Mr. Chris Beukman, CFO of Deloitte, one of South Africa’s leading professional services firms staffing over 3700 employees. Chris matriculated in 1968 in Pretoria and completed BCom (Acc) (Hons) at University of Pretoria in 1973. He joined Pretoria based accounting practise Van Geusau, Coetzee & De Wit as a trainee accountant in 1973 and was qualified as Chartered Accountant (CA(SA)) in 1975. In 1978 he was appointed as a partner in the above practise, which was eventually incorporated into Deloitte & Touche through a series of mergers.

WITH investor demand being hampered by enduring economic challenges and stalled global growth, Auction Alliance is predicting a gradual and patchy recovery for the local commercial property sector over coming months, with certain segments expected to perform better than others. The values of both residential and commercial real estate assets in SA are expected to fall by a further 10% over the next 12 months according to Auction Alliance.

Shoprite yesterday told holders of shares on its Zambian register that dividends will not be paid because of litigation over missing shares worth R70m. Executive director Carel Goosen confirmed that an extraordinary meeting of shareholders in Lusaka was told all Zambian dividends would be put into an escrow account until it could be established which shares were legitimate and which were not.

Is SA’s public debt too big, or is there another problem? Moneyweb jurnalist Felicity Duncan elaborates on South Africa's position in what seems to be a trend in today's global economy.

CFO South Africa interviewed a large number of CFOs and CEOs of leading South African companies. Meet Norman Thomson, CFO of Woolworths, one of South Africa’s largest chain of retail stores. Woolworths staffs 18000 people, of which 240 at the financial department of the Johannesburg based head office. Woolworths currently has a yearly turnover of R25.8bn and makes R2.3bn profit before tax (pbt). After having completed a B Com at Rhodes University, Norman pursued a Certificate in the Theory of Accounting (CTA) at the University of the Witwatersrand. After serving in one or two roles as Finance Manager and Finance Director of a Woolworths group subsidiary, Norman moved into the world of Logistics and Supply Chain Management. It was in this capacity that he joined Woolworths 20 years ago, to make a comeback into the world of finance only a decade later, when he was appointed Finance Director of Woolworths ten years ago.

Today’s CFOs are under more pressure than ever. Economic uncertainty, increased regulatory requirements, financial restatements and increased investor scrutiny have forced them into the spotlight. At the same time, they face never-ending pressure to cut costs, grow revenue, ensure controls, and are even put at personal risk for the company’s mistakes. Given these pressures, it’s no wonder that CFO turnover is on the rise and the role is under greater scrutiny, internally and externally.

Guest writer Susheila Moodley writes about the urgency and the need for the compliance industry in South African business, along with how a qualification in the industry creates stability and opportunities in business.

CFO South Africa has interviewed a large number of CFOs and CEOs of leading South African companies. Meet Alex Smith, CFO of Altron, a large South African investment holding company. Altron currently staffs around 13.000 people, and has a turnover of R23 billion. Alex joined Altron in 2006 and appointed to the CFO role in August 2008. Scottish Alex was trained as a CA in Edinburgh, Scotland with Price Waterhouse, after having done a law degree at Edinburgh University. He came out to South Africa on a two year secondment in 1995 and “never looked back!” He worked for PwC in South Africa through to 2005, spending eight years in their transaction services department doing a wide range of financial due diligences, before moving to Altron at the beginning of 2006 as Group Financial Manager.

Are you an accountant, recruiter, consultant, coach, student, journalist, CFO or CEO and do you have an interesting, innovative or surprising view on finance, the industry or the economy? CFO South Africa is looking for guest writers who are interested in sharing their vision with the members of the community.

Vodacom today announced changes to its Group Board of Directors. Tom Boardman has stepped down from the Board with effect from 30 October 2011, in the light of his other commitments. Vodafone Group Commercial Director Morten Lundal has stepped down from the Board with effect from 3 November 2011 and has been replaced by Ms Karen Witts (MA, ACA (UK)) with effect from 4 November 2011. Karen is the Regional Chief Financial Officer of Vodafone: Africa, Middle East, Asia and Asia Pacific. Karen joined Vodafone on 1 June 2010 and was the former Chief Financial Officer of BT Retail and Managing Director: Enterprises at British Telecom.

CFO South Africa has interviewed a large number of CFOs and CEOs of leading South African companies. Next in our series is Bruce Sneddon, CFO of Auction Alliance, one of South Africa’s leading auction services groups, staffing 175 people and a turnover of R300m. Bruce joined Auction Alliance in his capacity as Chief Financial Officer in December 2009. As a qualified Chartered Accountant, Mr. Sneddon completed both his under- and post-graduate studies at UCT, followed by his articles at Deloitte. Prior to his position at Alliance Group, Bruce acted as CFO at Integer, Finance Executive at Truworths, CEO and former Group Financial Director at Appleton, as well as being Group Accountant for Norwich Holdings. 1. What do you enjoy most about your job?

Ever heard of the book ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ by Stephen Covey? You should! We think it is one of the best, well, at least one of the best selling management books ever – an impressive 22 million copies were sold so far. Here’s the first vital lesson; the difference between being effective and being efficient. Being effective means doing the right things, whereas being efficient implies doing things right. What do you find important? Which are your personal values? Those are the typical questions you need to be able to answer in order to do things effectively, to be effective. The closer you are to your personal values, the easier you will find it to master Covey’s 7 habits of high effectiveness.

CFO South Africa is interviewing a large number of CFOs and CEOs of leading South African companies. From now on, we will publish them on our site regularly. Next in our series is Mr. Paul O’Flaherty, CFO of Eskom, a company staffing 42,000 people, which he joined in January 2010. He was appointed to the Board as executive director responsible for the finance function overseeing nearly 3.000 employers in the finance and shared services departments.

Some people simply seem gifted with the ability to speak in public. While others struggle through nerves and stutters when giving a presentation, others just come up, entertain and inform their audience in an admirable way, seemingly effortless. And on top of it – the audience ends up doing exactly what the speaker intended. Mission accomplished. Why can’t we all be like that?

There has been a sharp decline in confidence in the local economic situation. This is according to the Graduate Professionals Confidence Index compiled by insurance and investment company PPS.

CFO South Africa is interviewing a large number of CFOs and CEOs of leading South African companies. From now on, we will publish them on our site regularly. The second in our series is Cullen Penny, CFO of STBB (Smith Tabata Buchanan Boyes). Cullen Penny is the financial director of the law firm STBB, a company he joined in 2007.

A survey released by Ernst & Young today, indicates that confidence in the asset management industry fell yet again in the third quarter of 2011. The fall in confidence levels was once again moderate, with confidence somewhat below long-term average levels (84 index points).

During the last couple of years, many of South Africa’s companies changed their strategy. Unfortunately, not all of them have proven to be successful. Which skills are essential for an advocate of change within an organisation to change their strategy or direction?

Black South Africans own at least 17 per cent of the 100 top companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, according to an initial study, the head of the exchange said Tuesday.

We came across this very interesting read on www.leader.co.za. The feature is written by Gary Hamel: Professor of Strategic & International Management at London Business School, and co-founder of the Management Lab.

Although the crisis in Europe and the United States might seem far away, they are very, very close. South African CFOs are very aware of that, proves the 2011 Deloitte CFO Survey. “South African CFOs are cautious about the future, perhaps wisely so.” The survey reveals that while the 2009 recession may be over, CFOs are only dipping their toes into the growth pool, while keeping a careful eye on costs and margins. The aftermath of the financial crisis has brought with it an additional regulatory burden which is at risk of stifling growth.

Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) are the fastest growing percentage of corporate fraudsters, according to a survey by forensic audit firm KPMG.

For the first time ever two companies, Nedbank Group and Gold Fields, have been declared the joint overall winners in the annual Ernst & Young Excellence in Corporate Reporting Survey.

CFO.co.za aims to increase the knowledge of CFOs in South Africa as well as exchange ideas and information. As an example of useful topics to be discussed within this online community, we showcase a Top 5: Necessary (soft) Skills for finance professionals - according to the finance professionals themselves.

Soon this section will feature various Q&A’s with leading CFOs and Managing Directors of South African Industry. In the mean time, let us take the opportunity to introduce one of our editors by means of a similar Q&A, allowing her to introduce both herself and this brand new website.

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. “Xerox products range from efficient desktop devices right up to large, sophisticated multi-million Rand production print equipment,” explains Richard Attwell (pictured), founder and managing director. This se