Published: 29 April 2013

In South Africa, auditors are required to issue audit reports in line with International Standards of Auditing (ISA) and International Standards on Review Engagements (ISRE) ensuring uniform application of assurance service reporting across the world. However, each jurisdiction has to remain aware of changes in legislation in their jurisdictions that may affect the auditor’s report. Read More

My going abroad for internship is a program held by the Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants, to improve the English using ability of the students from CPA orientation and to get more students to go into the audit industry in order to develop this industry. I was lucky to be selected by my university to go for the interview and eventually got this opportunity to go abroad and have a totally different experience, working and living in South Africa.

 Read More

“The wise adapt themselves to circumstances, as water moulds itself to the pitcher.” This statement is true of most situations and circumstances. When discussing the changing landscape of corporate governance, it is especially relevant to the duties and responsibilities of directors and the liability they bear for decisions made in executing those duties.

 Read More

Published: 17 April 2013 

Your degree is completed and the torture is over. If you are lucky then your honours year is behind you and for most people, this is your very first job. One word comes to mind – FREEDOM!

Finally you can put on that tailored suit, those shiny shoes and that crisp shirt. You plan to make a name for yourself and every bit of the success you will achieve will be deserved. Read More

Published: 07 April 2013

It is an obligation of the employer to submit a declaration of annual earnings (salaries and wages paid out during the year) to the Compensation Fund. This declaration is referred to as the annual return of earnings (W.As.8). The Compensation Fund will determine the danger of the industry in which the particular business is involved and will apply a percentage rate to the amount of annual earnings declared to raise an assessment which will become payable. Read More

Published: 03 April 2013

It is an obligation of the employer to submit a declaration of annual earnings (salaries and wages paid out during the year) to the Compensation Fund. This declaration is referred to as the annual return of earnings (W.As.8). The Compensation Fund will determine the danger of the industry in which the particular business is involved and will apply a percentage rate to the amount of annual earnings declared to raise an assessment which will become payable. Read More

Published: 25 March 2013

RSM, the seventh largest global network of independent audit, tax and advisory firms, has collected the prestigious Editor’s Special Award for Global Initiative of the Year at the International Accounting Bulletin annual awards. Read More

Published: 14 March 2013

During consultation with directors of companies that have a single shareholder or a dominant majority shareholder, one often finds that the effective control of the company mostly vests in the shareholder of the company and that the directors are mainly appointed to act out the wishes of the shareholder. Read More

Published: 12 March 2013

In the corporate jungle we generally have three kinds of animals.

First, there is the kind that fits in well. They come to work, do their work (and a little bit more) and usually end up getting the benefits in the form of promotion opportunities or remuneration increases. Leana van der Merwe , Corporate world

Read More

There is currently a scandal taking place in Europe involving the substitution of horse meat in food products purportedly made of beef. The scandal has prompted a massive recall and removal of food products (especially certain ground “beef” products) from grocery stores, markets and restaurants and has spurred a significant social debate. Read More

Published: 21 Febuary 2013

The South African Revenue Service (“SARS”) has widely publicised its “Touching Lives” campaign. This is a SARS initiative whereby it features a number of heart warming stories detailing how funds collected via the tax systems have been applied to touch the lives of people in need. Read More

Published: 14 February 2013

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) published an interpretation statement titled IFRIC 4 – Determining whether an arrangement contains a lease which when carefully considered could have far reaching consequences for the users of certain specialised assets. Read More

The current economic climate and bad financial management have led to the increase in the instances of debt forgiveness in both the corporate environment and individuals. The benefits of the pardoning parades are however short lived when an unwanted guest arrives and asks the debtor for his pound of flesh. Read More

“Don’t say anything online that you wouldn’t want plastered on a billboard with your face on it.” – Erin Bury, Sprouter community manager

The advent of social media has drastically changed the way individuals and companies alike, the world over, interact on a daily basis. Information is disseminated faster, more efficiently and very widely. In innumerable ways, this has revolutionized the world for the better. Read More

At this time of year, most people around the world are looking forward to the holiday season and are filled with goodwill and best wishes. This is a time that we should fully enjoy. However, this is also the time when many of our RSM colleagues around the world have been planning and preparing to audit the financial statements of clients with December fiscal year ends. Read More

Being in the career I am in and also having had the privilege to be quite extensively involved in the franchise industry, I have often been asked whether it is a good idea to open a franchise or not. Hopefully this article will clarify certain of the advantages and disadvantages of owning your own franchise and clear up any questions you might have. Read More

Published: 14 December 2012

A common expression in South Africa is: “Nothing for mahala (free)”.

A client recently asked me for a technical accounting opinion on a structure involving a holding company and its subsidiary. One aspect of the transaction involved the acquisition of an intangible asset by the holding company (Holdco) for use by the subsidiary (Subco). Read More

Published: 25 October 2012

Stakeholders are demanding improved governance of companies big and small. In most instances, Family Owned Businesses start out as small organisations. Generally, at inception, the founder can only imagine and hope that the business will grow into a large organisation.

Read More

Published: 22 October 2012

Warm greetings to:

The SAICA officials, UJ officials, organisers of the event, trainees, Thuthuka family, educators, guests and grade 11 learners present here.

Read More

Published: 16 August 2011

The vast majority of business owners develop a Business Plan because they are told to do so. The instruction will generally come from a bank, lawyer or business advisor; and once the much thought out plan has fulfilled its purpose, it is often left to decay in a bottom drawer next to those articles one always intends to read... one day.

Read More

Published: 25 July 2012

This article serves to identify circumstances where it may be beneficial or necessary for companies to opt for a voluntary audit, rather than a review or compilation of financial statements. The audit referred to in this article means an audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing.

Read More

Published: 18 July 2012

The Companies Act 71 of 2008 (the “ACT”) has had a profound impact on companies and the way in which it attends to the business or purpose for which it has been created. There is no doubt that this impact will become even more evident as time progresses and the need for companies to comply has become greater by virtue of the ACT being more entrenched in its application and compliance notices being issued.

Read More

Published: 19 July 2012

The Companies Act 71 of 2008 (“the ACT”) has introduced various changes in respect of the corporate governance structures of companies. A number of the aforementioned changes would require a company to review, amend and/or replace their constitutive documents.

Read More

Published: 19 July 2012

In describing the origins of the Sri Lankan Civil War, the following passage grips the reader’s imagination in such dramatic fashion as one would expect from a novel or film script dealing with the subject matter: ‘War and peace was a status quo between nations, unlike the present status quo of war crimes and terrorism between majorities and minorities.

Read More

In recent times it is almost impossible to read the news without our attention being drawn to headlines of fraud, nepotism and corruption.

We live in a country where we find it unusual if “tender fraud” did not occur. We are all well aware of the effects that corruption has on our government and service delivery and we all agree that we are in dire need of desperate measures. .
Read More

Published: 23 April 2012

In the current business world Excel is the ultimate tool. It is used for complex calculations which contain a number of complicated formulae. Reliance is placed on these spreadsheets by various stakeholders including the banks, shareholders and auditors. Read More

Published: 04 April 2012

The Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (the “CPA”) as amended, has, for many industries, altered the way in which business is conducted, specifically within the arena of the supply of goods to customers. Read More

Published: 02 April 2012

Hi All

As some have already recognised the firm celebrated its 73rd anniversary yesterday. Established in 1939 just shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War the firm has continued to be loyal to its founding principles from inception. Read More

Published: 15 March 2012

I left South Africa in December 2011 to broaden my horizons a bit. I left my friends, family and work colleagues behind to come and work in the RSM Tenon Limited office in London for three months. Read More

I have always been of the strong opinion that a “right” accorded to a person in law is useless unless that person has the knowledge and capacity to fully utilise that right in order to achieve the benefit intended in terms of the law. Such knowledge and capacity starts with full comprehension of what that specific right means for you and how you can employ it to protect yourself. Read More

Published: 09 March 2012 

On 31 January 2012 Neil Hughes, Tax & Trust Partner at RSM Betty & Dickson (Johannesburg) wrote an article titled “Dividends withholdings tax is almost upon us” which in summary set out the basic principles of the Dividends Withholdings Tax(DWT) which is set to replace the Secondary Tax on Companies (STC) with effect from 01 April 2012. Read More

Published: 05 March 2012

The general ledger contains all the transactions of an entity and may include sub ledgers such as accounts payable and accounts receivable. The reconciliation of ledger accounts involves the process of comparing the transactions posted to an account in the ledger with the original supporting source documents. Read More

Published: 27 February 2012

ISA 450 Evaluation of misstatements identified during the audit (“ISA 450”), details the auditor’s responsibility to evaluate the effect of identified misstatements on the audit and of uncorrected misstatements, if any, on the financial statements. Read More

Published: 23 February 2012

This budget represented the third budget in the administration of President Zuma. Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan, seemed very proud to announce that the budget reflected a proposed expenditure of R1.1 trillion over the next year, representing some 32% of the GDP. Read More

The purpose of this article is to draw the reader’s focus on the subject of thinking about how things will continue, or not, when a key person is not there anymore or loses income earning capacity.

Read More

Published: 12 February 2012

What is the driving force behind the desire to achieve this designation? This question would seem to be of interest both to the veterans who have already achieved this highly sought-after qualification and to those who still walk the long and difficult path towards becoming a CA (SA). Read More

I know it has being a while since you heard from me. In my defense though, the city got a hold of me and work came creeping in and has never left since.

Where do I start…

Read More

Published: 31 January 2012

It seems like a lifetime ago when the Minister of Finance announced in 2007 that Secondary Tax on Companies (STC) would be replaced with a new Dividend Withholding Tax (DWT). Read More

Published: 22 January 2011

There is nothing more subjective in the accounting world, or anywhere else for that matter, than “fair value”. Unless an item is regulated, such as the government determined price of fuel or an item managed on a formal exchange like the price of a listed company share, most other items are dependent on a variety of assessments ranging from complex calculations to a thumb suck (best guess). Read More

A common complaint after the holidays is that people are experiencing cash flow pressure personally or in their business. Or, perhaps you’re experiencing this right through the year. The main solution to address cash flow problems and manage your financial affairs is to prepare and maintain a budget. Governments and large corporations use budgets to manage financial risks, why then don’t you do one for yourself and your business? Read More

Published: 12 December 2011 

On 25 January 2011 the Integrated Reporting Committee of South Africa published a discussion paper titled “Framework for Integrated Reporting and the Integrated Report”, once again putting South Africa at the forefront of an international reporting initiative. Read More

After a total of 21 hrs flying time, together with crossing a 10 hour gap in time zones, Vimbai and I are still reeling a bit from the jet lag! We are starting to settle into our new home and dive into American life. Read More

I was recently at a dinner where a friend was raving about his tax manager. He claimed that by employing her to effectively, and legitimately, manage the tax affairs of the company, the effective tax rate had decreased significantly. Read More

Ever considered signing an articles contract but did not know which firm to sign up with? If you have and are still pondering, then you are fortunate enough to have come across this article. Better still, if you have considered RSM Betty & Dickson and signed a contract, congratulations for taking the initiative. Read More

With the implementation of the new Companies Act, many questions have been raised regarding the new audit requirements that were mandatory in the 1973 Companies Act. Read More

Published: 02 November 2011 

With effect from 01 October 2011 South African Transfer Pricing legislation was significantly changed by the implementation of an amended Section 31 to the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962.(”the Act”). The section has now further been amended in terms of the Taxation Laws Amendment Bill 19 of 2011 introduced by the Minister of Finance on 25 October 2011. Read More

Published: 20 October 2011

Fair value measurement guidance is spread across various standards. In certain standards the guidance is incomplete or silent. This creates a potential for inconsistencies in the interpretation and application when determining an estimate of fair value.

Read More

Published: 17 October 2011

Certain fees charged by your tax advisors may be deductible from your taxable income under section 11(a) of the Income Tax Act for a natural person. This may result in a reduction of taxable income and therefore a lower tax burden.

Read More

Published: 14 October 2011

In a strained economy where many businesses are battling to keep their doors open, it has become increasingly important for directors of companies to be vigilant in the performance of their duties as prescribed by the Companies Act (71 of 2008). Their responsibilities and risk of personal liability requires them to be well versed in the provisions of the Companies Act, especially when it comes to reckless trading. Read More