South Africa’s economic climate is often shrouded with political unrest and stunted by poor growth.

When you get a business up and running, there are a host of important things to consider.

Asking anyone how their retirement plans are going will usually send their blood pressure soaring. This is mostly because retirement and death are two life realities that we least enjoy talking about and are most ill-prepared for.

In the age of outsourcing, assurance is key

The insurance industry faces increasing compliance burdens, making it critical that we stay ahead of the game. Fortunately, there are vast opportunities for using ever-evolving technology to meet these compliance requirements.

South Africa remains blighted by vast income and wealth differentials, and economic inequality remains high enough to present a material risk to our country.

Social media and the 24 hour news cycle are putting businesses at risk as “hype” distracts from the more serious threats to businesses. Business risk assessment and management is being impacted by “Black swans”; attention grabbing issues that are not easy to predict.

Non-executive directorships are common in listed companies but not in private companies. Ian Scott, Managing Partner at BDO Cape Town, believes a strong case can be made for consideration of the appointment of an independent non-executive director on many privately owned companies.