Nicolaas Van Wyk Nicolaas Van Wyk

Meeting the US Accounting Shortage: A Southern African Solution

The US accounting shortage can be addressed by outsourcing accounting and auditing tasks to highly skilled South African professionals. With language proficiency, global business understanding, and expertise in accounting and tax fundamentals, South African accountants offer a cost-effective solution, scalability, and round-the-clock support, benefiting both nations' economies.

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Leigh Schaller Leigh Schaller

IRBA wants a super regulator for accountants and auditors

IRBA’s CEO wants to implement a 2013 World Bank recommendation to regulate professional accounting bodies and is prepared to serve as this super regulator. The auditor general disagrees and believes more collaboration is needed. 

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Nicolaas Van Wyk Nicolaas Van Wyk

Accountants: You might be doing too much 

Many accountants, driven by high standards and a desire for perfection, often impose unrealistic auditing-level requirements on entities that are ill-prepared to meet them.

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Leigh Schaller Leigh Schaller

Are your clients outgrowing your accounting practice? It’s time for backup 

Stefan Olivier has nurtured his accounting firm Profinan Services, and its clients for almost two decades. Recently, some clients have grown large enough to require audits and complex technical assistance. 

Faced with the choice of losing these clients to larger firms or undertaking risky expansion, Stefan found a third option.

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Leigh Schaller Leigh Schaller

What onions tell us about consumer inflation

StatsSA reported consumer inflation, year on year at 7.1 percent. But for most South African households, inflation is far higher, with those earning less than R33 619 a year experiencing inflation above 10 percent

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Leigh Schaller Leigh Schaller

What PwC’s experts think about ChatGPT and AI 

As part of our recent article looking at ChatGPT and AI’s effect on the future of accounting, we reached out to experts at PwC South Africa. This is the unabridged version of their email response which we’re publishing in the hope that it provides you with further insight.

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Leigh Schaller Leigh Schaller

Is ChatGPT an existential threat to accountants or an aid?

Much of accounting and tax compliance involves repetition and follows predictable patterns. Large Language Models, such as ChatGPT, are trained through countless repetitions leading to superhuman pattern recognition.

Nicolas Boucher, a LinkedIn FP&A and efficiency influencer, and experts from PwC South Africa share their insights on whether ChatGPT heralds the decline of the accountant or whether it will free accountants from low-level tasks.

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Leigh Schaller Leigh Schaller

Five deep flaws with the whistleblowing system and how to fix them

We would likely have no Gupta Leaks and no Zondo Commission without whistleblowing. 

Yet whistleblowers, who often come from accounting backgrounds, are being killed or have to flee the country. This article looks at five flaws in the current whistleblowing system.

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Leigh Schaller Leigh Schaller

Auditor General (politely) tells the government to do its job

The Auditor General reported progress on its new mission of recovering funds and holding accounting officers responsible powers to Parliament earlier this month. 

Tsakani Maluleke also gave insight into shortcomings in the accountability chain. 

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Leigh Schaller Leigh Schaller

How ChatGPT may disrupt auditing

From writing audit file notes to giving expert advice and potentially identifying high risk areas, Imran Vanker, director of standards at IRBA, explains how ChatGPT could change auditing.

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Staff Writer Staff Writer

Sage Partner, AWCape acquired by US firm

Lescault and Walderman (LWI) - a firm that provides technology-driven accounting and finance services in the US has acquired a majority stake in AWCape, a South African Sage business partner.

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