Retrenchment – is it time to change the game?

For many companies retrenchment is a necessary evil to ensure survival. It is a part of the facts-of life of the socio-economic scenario of the western world today. As the world economies experience recessions you may find yourself on the retrenchment list even if you are the only chartered accountant in the company. Yester-year’s version of a stable company no longer exists in this world where political boundaries have failed to stop the spreading of global recession.

SAICA Membership – to pay or not to pay?

A few days ago, while diligently organising pre-employment qualification screening in respect of a dynamic and highly accomplished candidate whom our client was keen to extend an offer to, it became apparent that yet again we had an individual on our hands who had chosen not to continue paying annual membership fees to their esteemed professional body.

Let’s see – that means that she had studied at a university for four years, passed two rather challenging qualification exams, and completed articles while experiencing the indignity of being paid goat-herder wages, all in a quest to be referred to as a CA(SA). Several years later, she decided that it was not worth her while to continue paying the Institute its annual membership fee of around R4200, as for one reason or another she felt she wasn’t getting value for that spend – something that any accountant would loath!

Temps vs contractors vs independent contractors – what’s the difference?

When it comes to temporary placements, a question that often arises is “What’s the real difference between a temp, a contractor and an independent contractor?”.

According to Contract Accountants consultant Stuart Welch, it is often assumed that a temp is someone who will be on assignment for a very short period of time, which can be anything from a day to a week, and a contractor is someone brought in for a longer period of time. “This is not actually the case,” he says. “In fact, there is no difference between a temporary employee and a contractor. According to government employee classifications, there is no such thing as a contractor. The categories are defined as: casual employee, employed to do a one off job; temporary employee, who is employed for a fixed period of time; and a permanent employee.”

Financial Services – Cape Town or Johannesburg?

Many a budding Financial Services employee has asked the question, which is better for my career, Cape Town or Johannesburg?

Johannesburg has traditionally had more opportunities in Financial Services than Cape Town due to most of the banking sector headquarters being based there. It used to be that if you wanted to get a foothold in a Financial Services career, a move to Johannesburg was on the cards with the likes ABSA, FNB and Standard Bank. Also the JSE is based in Johannesburg, so it seems the logical choice.