Zinhle Tyikwe, the CEO of the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA) outlined several challenges faced by the retail sector on Wednesday. 

Together with Coenie Middel, the founder and chairman of Middel & Partners, they elaborated on the role accountants can play in the economy if they operate outside of their traditional scope.

Tyikwe and Middel were speaking at CIBA’s Practice Management Conference.

Challenges in the retail sector

Like much of the economy, Covid affected the enormous retail sector. However, Tyikwe outlined the resilience of business, pointing out that despite panic buying and hard lockdowns, there was no break in the supply chain. “We also saw improved e-commerce, improved digital technology.”

Tyikwe believes compliance challenges and levies, such as the sugar tax, adversely affect the sector. These costs, Tyikwe says, are ultimately passed onto the consumer. 

She says government often points out the sector’s lack of transformation. However, the high compliance burden makes it difficult for smaller players to gain market share. 

Another problem hampering the retail sector is the decline in South African infrastructure, explained Tyikwe. Not just at Eskom but also on a municipal level. This is seen in the increase in potholes and unreliable water supply. 

“One of our members had their shops burn down because when the firefighters connected the fire hydrant, there was no water,” says Tyikwe.

Similar to CIBA and its program to improve the accounting functions at municipalities, CGCSA has established a non-profit to work with municipalities in private-public partnerships to address infrastructure problems. 

“We can’t just sit back and do nothing.”

How accountants can help

Tyikwe is a big advocate for accountants’ role in the sector and the economy. “We believe accountants mustn’t sit behind debits and credits because you’re critical thinkers. You shouldn’t be sitting behind computers. Unfortunately, I can’t employ all of you.”

The important role accountants can play in addressing challenges in the sector and the economy at large was also addressed by Middel.

Middel pointed out that accountants need to be forward-thinking in a literal and figurative sense. To not limit their jobs to compiling financial statements about the past but to influence future business decisions. 

We have influence because we can tell what the numbers are saying, and we can tell where we’re heading,” explained Middel. 

 ”We need to be actively involved in driving change.”