Insight

UCT GSB's Timothy London shares key points leaders can use to manage the Covid-19 crisis and recover from it.

Investec for Business's Marc Rosen discusses strategies to utilise when making business investments.

Neil Buckley, Apex BI: something CFOs should know about but all too frequently don't.

Organisations are under pressure to become more innovative and adaptable, says Obsidian's Muggie van Staden.

UCT GSB's Dr Tim London reveals the challenges André de Ruyter faces, and what all leaders can learn from this.

Stretch Global's John Stretch gives an insight to the questions CFOs need to ask when looking to the future.

Herman Singh took a roadtrip around South Africa this December. Here is what he learnt.

Experts dived into finance trends from disruptive technology, to customer focus, to job "tax", and boards.

INOVO director Jan Kühn says tactical debt collection is important to business survival and sustainability.

Emma Hitzke and Shagun: How to help your organisation thrive in the digital age of finance.

The Cell C CFO recently participated in a Finance Indaba panel on real transformation in the workplace.

Recruitment specialist Chantelle Smith explains how to make sure your finance function will support your goals.

UCT GSB's Dr Tim London: Maximise staff engagement by understanding the tasks they love and hate.

Herman Singh answers the question: Will EPMS dashboards dash your plans or delivering dashing results?

South Africans appear more divided than ever. To become a great, and united, nation we urgently need to reimagine a way to build our people - and this must be about more than jobs and GDP.

AgileIT CEO Nick Truran highlights three IT areas to focus on to achieve significant savings.

Altron Karabina's Dave Ives explains the benefits of migrating ERP systems to the cloud.

Considering starting in-house training to save on costs? UCT GSB's Tim London has some food for thought.

If you're not putting your cash to work, you're wasting an asset, says Investec's Sean Jackson.

Retail Capital CEO Karl Westvig: The digital revolution will profoundly change how small businesses operate.

Herman Singh says that the silent middle class needs to stick around and make a change in South Africa.

OK was once the country's largest retailer and the first-shop for thousands of South African shoppers. This giant retail business with twelve thousand employees was given away to its rival, Shoprite, for a token amount of one rand.

Dr Tim London explains that to maximise learning in your organisation, you have to let your people lead.

Earlier this year, Nedbank received a letter from the JSE acknowledging the banking group's high standards of financial reporting for the year ended 31 December 2018, and in particular, it's IFRS disclosures. CFO South Africa invited Raisibe Morathi, Nedbank Group CFO, to share her insights into achieving such recognition for reporting at this level.

Bizmod's Sandi Hager explains what change management challenges you need to overcome to ensure success.

Herman Singh explains how nearly $2.5 million in equity was crowdfunded on the Intergreatme platform.

Dr Tim London reveals three mistakes you might be making that are hampering creative thinking.

John Stretch explains why proper forecasting could have saved Tongaat from the challenges it now faces.

Lifelong learning will power accountants' prosperity now and in the future, says Intuit's Jolawn Victor.

Rather than emigrating, South Africans should stay and help build SA's future, says Herman.

Data analytics can be used to make more forward-looking, proactive decisions and to foster more collaborative relationships.

Accountant and entrepreneur Liezl Berry conducted an audit into whether accounting really is the most boring profession.

Herman Singh says, disrupt your industry simply by focusing on the needs of the customer.

Dr Tim London reveals the one crucial element necessary to get SOEs back on track.

John Stretch explains what measurements you can put in place when return on equity fails.

Thandeka Zondi explains that late payments to SMEs by big business must be addressed.

Herman Singh: "It doesn't matter who wins - if they follow these 12 steps, SA will prosper."

Dr Tim London explains that training will help you to attract and keep the right employees.

Switch Innovation CEO Brett Terespolsky explains why you need human intelligence on your front line.

John Stretch explains how to bring your monthly management accounts presentation to life.

Liezl Berry considers: If you knew then what you know now, would you become a CA?

Herman Singh says there's a lot to be learnt from how the online marketplace conquered Africa.

These are the crucial questions to ask when appointing leaders, says UCT GSB's Dr Tim London.

Danie Ferreira gave it all up to scuba dive. Here's what he learnt about work-life balance.

Stretch Global owner and founder John Stretch reveals that intellectual capital and intangible assets can and should be accounted for.

Herman Singh speaks from personal experience when he says: "Directing is only for the brave".

Tim London: "Your vision statement is probably useless. Here's how to make it better."

Keeping an anxiety disorder from your coworkers? CA and entrepreneur Liezl Berry believes it makes you a better accountant.

Brett Terespolsky explains why financial services providers are over-investing in technology, and under-investing in people.

How to win at this next, big, bright, brilliant thing that is digital transformation.

Beware staff who say, "But we don't do it that way."

These three business leaders had the best-read Expert Insights on CFO South Africa in 2018.

MTN group executive Herman Singh says these four attributes take time but are worth developing.

Not getting the talent you want? Engage the universities, says UCT Graduate School of Business's Tim London.

Afrimat CFO Pieter de Wit says finance professionals must embrace technology to free up their time.

JLL and Tetris CFO Peter Harris: "Your revamped office space will support staff productivity."

Multinational CFOs take heed: Country-by-Country Reporting will deliver challenges, but also some advantages.

Meetings are a waste of time, and other learnings from MTN group executive Herman Singh.

Switch's Brett Terespolsky says new banks are targeting specific market segments - a strategy for success.

PwC's Lullu Krugel shares the etiquette she has developed for professional and personal WhatsApp use.

Having a clear narrative for your organisation will make negative events less threatening.

The time is ripe for FinTech companies in Africa, says Wirecard South Africa's Peter Stenslunde.

The success of a course depends on the commitment of the employer, says UCT GBS's Tim London.

Three conversations have given CFO South Africa MD Graham Fehrsen insight into the future of accounting.

The future of the finance profession will rely on technological competitive advantage, says Sean Gossel, senior lecturer in Finance at the UCT Graduate School of Business.

Standard Bank's CFO of Group Tech says that CFOs "sticking to their knitting", could result in the next large corporate failure.

Keep your CFO's hands off the tech budget, and put your CIO on the board.

If someone's late for a meeting, here are some insights that will help you to cope with the stress.

BP's Udayan Sen and Afrisam's Leon Serfontein share their thoughts on the CFO Awards experience.

And leaders need to understand this, says Prof Tim London of the UCT Graduate School of Business.

Jessica Yellin sat down with FedGroup CEO Grant Field to chat about his business and how he brings Purpose to life.

Deadlines, pace and face time are among the most important tools to strike a great deal, she says. 

Stop asking, "Can I?" and start asking, "Should I?", says Prof Tim London of the UCT Graduate School of Business.

Prof Tim London of the UCT Graduate School of Business cautions on the dangers of having too narrow a view of leadership.

CFO SA MD, Graham Fehrsen, encourages CFOs to do the right thing.

Expectations of business and CEOs are high, but they are not being met, says Jessica Yellin

To embrace change you need to be real, says CFO SA's MD, Graham Fehrsen

The little decisions are as important as the big ones, says UCT Graduate School of Business' Tim London.

My generation must transform the fortunes of the continent, says UCT's Mills Soko.

We've selected the top 10 most popular articles of 2017 for your literary enjoyment.

Head FICO consultant Jill Van Der Merwe offers six steps to deal with the VAT rate change.

With three decades of experience at the intersection of finance and technology, Ronald Laxton knows the challenges CFOs face, and how to solve these.

It's a Shovel founder Jessica Whitcutt Yellin on why SA scores so badly in reputation rankings.

Imperial Holdings CFO Mohammed Akoojee shares what he's learnt about perseverance and opportunity.

Getting the right people into your organisation is a challenge - and something we often get wrong, says UCT's Tim London.

Chris van Zyl, WP Rugby captain, has proven he is a pro at balancing both the numbers and the line-outs.

Talita Ferreira, a former BMW CFO, says authentic leaders and cultures are the differentiators to financial and strategic success.

Set goals for yourself and pursue continuous learning, advises Motus CFO Ockert Janse van Rensburg.

Standard Bank's Stephen Brickett and Paul Fallon explain IFRS 9 and what it means for CFOs

UCT's Tim London shares what he considers four positive outcomes of the Steinhoff scandal

Standard Bank operates with a model that lists five value drivers. And financial outcomes are not even number 1, 2 or 3.

Digital technology is having a huge impact on banks, says James Nicolson, chief architect for Corporate and Investment Banking: digitisation and blockchain, at Standard Bank. “Like many industries, it started out at the consumer end of banking, and now we are seeing a strong drive at a CIB level towards a much richer digital experience.”

Through the course of a tumultuous 365 days since the launch of the inaugural and extremely successful Finance Indaba Africa, I’ve been fortunate enough to learn alongside finance leaders and exceptional professionals, and I’ve learnt some great lessons. While some are familiar cliches and almost all seem like common sense, in my experience, it’s the obvious and common-sense advice that is often the hardest to live by. Here are my top five.

“Our role within Human Capital is to be the custodians of culture and strategically partner the people agenda that enables our business strategy,” says Anré Klopper-Stroh, Human Capital Head for the Corporate & Investment Bank (CIB) within the Standard Bank Group. “The role of the Human Capital team within CIB is to partner our people in, for and across Africa to realise their ambitions, thus enabling our clients and the communities in which we operate to achieve their objectives. Furthermore, we need to position ourselves for what the future holds by understanding the mindsets, skillsets, and toolsets required for our people to stay relevant and contribute to the ambitions of the business into the future.”

An in-house bank may be simply defined as an internal organisation which assumes some of the functions traditionally performed by external commercial banks to provide enhanced performance, transparency and control. Traditionally, the operation of an in-house bank was regarded by most finance executives to be the preserve of the largest corporations. Despite the many benefits, these structures were thought to be too expensive and complicated to add cost effective value. As more efficient cloud solutions become available, the threshold barriers for justifying in-house bank adoption have been steadily lowered, and positive cost/benefit analyses are becoming more and more common.

As the head of Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) for Africa at Standard Bank, Victor Williams is responsible for corporate and investment banking in the 19 countries – excluding South Africa – that comprise the Africa Regions. He says the bank serves corporate, sovereign and institutional clients (local corporates and multinationals) in those markets, providing them with global markets, transactional banking and investment banking services. “In each of the markets in which we are present we are looking to build the leading corporate and investment banking franchise in that market,” he says.

“CFOs are in a unique position to make a difference – by taking steps to understand what reporting requirements are out there and how various risks may affect companies now and in the future, they can help safeguard their companies and advance the future of sustainability,” says Rodney Irwin, MD, Redefining Value at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.

“There’s never been a more wonderful time to be a banker,” says Funeka Montjane, CEO of Personal and Business Banking at Standard Bank. Montjane, a 2015 WEF Young Global Leader, believes that the future of banking lies in creating time for customers with the help of automation, artificial intelligence and FinTech. Speaking about the future of banking at the Singularity University South Africa Summit, hosted on the continent for the first time in collaboration with Standard Bank, Montjane said that we’re living in what Stephen Hawking called ‘the century of complexity’ – in a more compressed and globalised world characterised by rapid disruption, and where information is free.

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’.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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?

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

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

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

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

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

At the turn of the year, futurist Craig Wing wrote a piece where he postulated an increase in three seemingly unconnected developments all aligned with the central tenant of trust and transparency in a connected world. As we approach the middle of the year, Craig has updated it, adding local context particularly within the changing landscape of credit downgrades.

“Everyone has a different way of thinking about FX and settling and hedging their FX and we must solve and understand for each of these,” says Richard de Roos, Head of Foreign Exchange for the Standard Bank Group. In this, the second article in a series from Standard Bank specialists, Richard talks about forex trends in Africa, what Standard Bank is doing to stay ahead of the pack, and what CFOs should expect in this arena.

A thorough, smart and stealthy due diligence process is among the top ingredients for successful mergers and acquisitions. We spoke to finance executives and deal makers about the homework a growth-hungry company needs to do. “The due diligence report is often just used to tick the box and the findings are not adequately translated into the pricing and sale and purchase agreement,” says Karin Hodson, Partner and Transaction Services Leader at Deloitte. Failure to undertake adequate due diligence can result in significant erosion in value and potential losses of customers, staff and everything in between, she adds.

“In South Africa, the full impact of a downgrade to sub-investment status will probably only manifest over the next 12 to 18 months. Companies in strong balance-sheet positons should be cautiously opportunistic and look for value-enhancing acquisitions both in South Africa and abroad. As much as economic conditions may be tough, my view is that we should never let a good crisis go to waste,” says Zaid Moola, Head of Client Coverage South Africa for Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB) at Standard Bank. In this, the first article in a series from Standard Bank specialists, Zaid talks about the trends he is seeing in his area of expertise and offers expert advice for CFOs.

A thorough, smart and stealthy due diligence process is among the top ingredients for successful mergers and acquisitions. We spoke to finance executives and dealmakers about the homework a growth-hungry company needs to do. “You don’t always want to let the staff of the other company or companies know you are doing this process,” says Sibanye Gold CFO Charl Keyter. “You have to be stealthy so as not to raise suspicions.” Charl gives one of the best and certainly most amusing explanations of due diligence:

According to Europol’s 2016 Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA), several EU states have found that cybercrime offences have surpassed traditional crimes, with trends such as crime-as-a-service and ransomware rising significantly. Given the increasing sophistication of the attack landscape, hacking has become a genuine threat facing organisations and countries across the globe. And yet, the ability of those targeted to manage such attacks remain, for the most part, limited. Riaan van Boom, Managing Director, MWR Infosecurity South Africa, unpacks the issue.

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. “Prepare, ensure all parties are on the same page and don’t get distracted by unnecessary details,” advises Dr Andrew Balnaves, Executive Vice President of Africa Corporate Finance at Standard Bank.

Today’s world requires innovation to remain competitive, and with the changing nature of consumers, businesses cannot afford to be on the wrong side of technology. CFOs need to be on top of tech.

In this age of multi-channel communication, we need to be diligent about our communications because the consequences – be it at home, in the workplace or in the M&A environment – can be far-reaching.

Perhaps the most underrated aspect of crowdsourcing is its potential to disrupt the current cost structure that supports talent management. Crowdsourcing makes sense when thinking about the perennial constraint that businesses face: costs. Cost containment remains a priority, and with people costs (including salary, training, perks, etc) accounting for close to or over 60 percent of the cost structure of most companies, crowdsourcing offers the potential to greatly reducing this expenditure.

Where talent management requires reviews to determine who belongs in what box and what to do with them after boxing them, crowdsourcing promises to bring out-of-the-box thinkers who work on a specific project as a team of free agents on demand.