CFO Magazine South Africa 2018 - 4th issue

MAGAZINE FOR FINANCE PROFESSIONALS IN SOUTH AFRICA 4 • 2018 CFO.CO.ZA

BIG deal Insights from three M&A gurus

André du Plessis CFO Capitec Capitec’s fine line Paul Victor Sasol CFO Chemical reaction Logamal Ramiah CFO FutureLearn Authentic leadership

Corporate art collections The finance of fine art

Go ask ALICE Bidvest’s bot in the boardroom

SHIVERS AFTER STEINHOFF

Young CFO of the Year 2018

Rui Morais

Dis-Chem’s strategy champion

CFO Day Survey reveals how CFOs think in 2018

/ YOUR GLOBAL WALLET

CONTENTS

M A G A ZI N E F O R F I N A N C E P R O F E S S IO N A L S I N S O U TH A F R I C A 4 • 2018 CFO.CO.ZA

BIG deal Insights from three M&A gurus

page 40

André du Plessis CFO Capitec Capitec’s fine line

page 22

Paul Victor Sasol CFO Chemical reaction

page 58

Logamal Ramiah CFO FutureLearn Authentic leadership

Corporate art collections The finance of fine art

Go ask ALICE Bidvest’s bot in the boardroom

page 28 page 70

40 SHIVERS AFTER STEINHOFF

Young CFO of the Year 2018

page 34

page 64

CFO Day Survey reveals how CFOs think in 2018

page 16

Rui Morais

Dis-Chem’s strategy champion

CFO South Africa is the organisation for finance executives in South Africa. Our goal is to connect finance professionals online and off in order to share knowledge, exchange interests and open up business opportunities.

CFO Enterprises (Pty) Ltd 1 Wedgewood Link, Bryanston, Johannesburg, 2191, South Africa. | +27 (0)11 083 7515 | CFO.co.za © 2018 CFO Enterprises (Pty) Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

MANAGING DIRECTOR Graham Fehrsen gfehrsen@cfo.co.za +27 (0)79 898 0227

CFO SOUTH AFRICA COMMUNITY MANAGER John Deane jdeane@cfo.co.za +27 (0)82 570 9482

EDITOR IN CHIEF Joël Roerig jroerig@cfo.co.za +27 (0)76 371 2856

SENIOR EDITORS Toni Muir tmuir@cfo.co.za +27 (0)82 908 8687

MANAGING EDITOR Georgina Guedes gguedes@cfo.co.za +27 (0)83 651 2789

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CFO MAGAZINE • CFO.CO.ZA

Kate Ferreira kferreira@cfo.co.za +27 (0)82 8686083

DESIGN

PRINTING

Elizabeth Ferraris

Novus Holdings coenraad.pretorius@novus.

PHOTOGRAPHY Patrick Furter OTHER CONTRIBUTORS Caylynne Fourie, Judith Kamffer, Anouk Bommer, Sungula Nkabinde, Tim Vogels & Sarah Chalmers

holdings +27 (0)11 201 3460

Community 7

From the managing editor

8

CFOs on the move

12

Finance headlines

16

CFO Day Survey reveals post-Steinhoff caution

82

Introducing CFO South Africa’s new community manager

Growth 22

Sasol CFO Paul Victor: Chemical reaction

28

The finance of fine art

34

Rui Morais, Dis-Chem’s strategy champion

40

André du Plessis – Capitec’s fine line

22

Vision 46

Innovation immersion for Cape CFOs at the CFO Journey

50

Leading CFOs gather for first-ever CFO Day

52

Otsile Matheba – finance from the ground up

58

Logamal Ramiah on authentic leadership

62

Women CFOs highlight the importance of sponsorship

64

The increasing importance of dealmaking for CFOs

Technology 70

ALICE – Bidvest’s bot in the boardroom

74

Tech solutions for African CFOs from Deloitte

78

9 Questions for OUTSurance’s Jan Hofmeyr

52

58 CFO MAGAZINE • CFO.CO.ZA

5

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FROM THE MANAGING EDITOR

The fine art of finance

A

s a journalist, I get to meet a lot of interesting people and see some fascinating places.

Getting to know the South African CFO community has meant that I’ve visited the top floor of some rather lovely buildings around Johannesburg. One particularly noteworthy visit was to Sasol’s new Global Headquarters in Sandton – a building I had appreciated from the outside and written about in articles about the city.

Knowing about the company’s famous art collection – and having seen some of the installations in the reception area – I asked Paul Victor, who I was there to see, why the walls of his office were unadorned. It turned out that there had been one of those building-rattling Gauteng storms a few weeks previously and the roof had sprung a leak.

Some people from the art department had appeared, in a bit of a state, Paul told me, to remove the paintings until the roof could be repaired. This got me thinking about corporate art collections and how they actually have their own staff who are ready to leap into action should weather, greasy-fingered employees or theft threaten the artworks. "How is this all run and accounted for?" I wondered.

This thought process is made manifest in The Finance of Fine Art appearing on page 28. You can also read my interview with Paul Victor on page 22, in which he

reveals how he’s had to implement a rand-hedging strategy for Sasol, and why he thinks that business is like American football.

Someone else who ends up in fascinating places is Capitec CFO André du Plessis, who rides from Moscow to Vladivostok, Panama to Alaska or around Iceland on a 1200CC motorbike, while still squeezing in a couple of hours of work a day. He spoke to Joël Roerig (page 40) about how the bank is his baby, and the desirability of fast communication, especially in a crisis.

Other big news this issue is the release of the results of our CFO Survey, which show that after Steinhoff, the South African finance community will never be the same again. Of the leading CFOs surveyed at CFO Day, CFO Journey and Women’s Dinner, a whopping 75 percent said that they are more cautious and prudent after recent scandals. You can check out all the findings on page 16.

And that’s a wrap for 2018. We’ll be sharing more inside stories, insights and information with you in Q1 of 2019 (where does the time go?)

Georgina Guedes gguedes@cfo.co.za +27 83 651 2789

CFO MAGAZINE • CFO.CO.ZA

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PEOPLE MOVES CFO promotions, appointments, resignations and retirements

CFOS ON THE MOVE Telkom gets a new CFO, as do BCX and Implats, while a couple of companies find themselves without finance leaders following high-profile resignations. owned entity in what is now widely understood to have been a purge to enable the infamous ‘state capture’ project. Last year, she testified at the parliamentary inquiry into the power utility and indicated that executives, herself included, were suspended after they resisted pressure to sign agreements with people and entities linked to the Gupta business empire.

Dean Subramanian

E

x ArcelorMittal CFO Dean Subramanian took over as CFO of the Rand Refinery in August. The 2018 CFO Awards nominee resigned from ArcelorMittal in July after three years as CFO and acting as CEO in 2016.

Nichola Dewar, ex South African Post Office CFO, joined FinTech company A2Pay in September as FD. “This builds on my SAPO experience, as A2Pay works with Spaza shops in terms of technology and process enablement. This has a significant job-creation element and funding to subsidise the equipment provided to qualifying Spaza shop owners is provided by National Treasury’s Jobs Fund,” she says.

Tsholofelo Molefe started her new role as CFO of Telkom on 1 July, taking over from veteran executive Deon Fredericks, who moved into the newly created role of chief investment officer.

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CFO MAGAZINE • CFO.CO.ZA

Experienced finance executive Brooks Mparutsa has been appointed as CFO of Standard Bank Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB). He is succeeding the Luvuyo Masinda, who earlier swapped his role for that of Head of Client Coverage.

Kobus Roesch was appointed as the new Standard Bank CFO of Investment Banking, with effect from 1 June 2018. Prior to his promotion to CFO of Investment Banking, Kobus was head of the Financial Insight & Analytics team for Transactional Products and Services (TPS).

Retail Pharmacy International has promoted Wayne Beifus from being international head of finance to CFO in August. Prior to joining Retail Pharmacy International, Wayne was the CFO and FD of British American Tobacco’s various regions for more than 16 years.

Tsholofelo is a former Eskom CFO, who was ousted from the state-

Nichola Dewar

Tsholofelo Molefe

At the same time, Sibusiso Xaba was appointed as the new CFO of Transactional Products and Services at Standard Bank on 1 June. Before this appointment, Sibusiso was the chief operating officer of Transactional Products and Services (TPS).

Claire Coward appointed CFO of Peregrine Holdings in June Before joining Peregrine, Claire was the group corporate finance executive and group reporting financial executive technical at Massmart.

How are you finding your new job?

“It is very different to a low-cost mass retail environment, but is very exciting and challenging. I worked on the Peregrine audit as the technical partner when I was with PKF, which subsequently merged with Grant Thornton so I know the team and the business well from my time with them back then. In a way, it felt like I was coming ‘home’ and my first month there has felt like I never left eight years ago.”

What are you most enjoying?

I work with an incredible and inspiring CEO, Rob Katz, and with an extremely strong finance team. I am very excited to delve deeper into the nuances of the various businesses and cement my understanding of their products and to work closer with the MDs and FDs of the various business units, all of whom are experts in their field with years of experience in the industry.

What is your vision for your new role?

The landscape for Peregrine has changed slightly with the sale of the securities business, however the Peregrine strategy is a lot clearer now and I look forward to assisting Rob in steering the business down that path of growing a high ROE, high cash generative, high dividend paying, high annuity income asset and wealth management business.

“I was drawn to 10X Investments for their passion to help regular South Africans improve their retirements.

Their passive fund management.”

– Tim Merryweather

than three years, serving in several executive positions.

Refilwe’s departure follows the resignations of Mike Buttner, COO, and Ian Russell, CEO, both in June.

Lenny Govender has taken on the role as Group Chief Financial Officer of Macsteel Centres South Africa. He has

Euan McNeil took up the role of CFO of Flight Centre Travel Group with effect from September. He has been with the group's FCM South Africa since 2013, where he served as financial controller and general manager.

Zwelithini Vilakazi was appointed as CFO of BCX after the resignation of Refilwe Nkabinde in August.

Prior to his new appointment, Zwelithini was with Telkom, which acquired BCX in 2014, for more

Brooks Mparuts

replaced Mike Benfield, who is serving as the group CEO going forward.

Lenny has more than 12 years of senior management experience, having previously worked for companies including Basil Read Limited, The Efficient Engineering Group of Companies, Weatherford, Sasol and EY. 10X Investments has announced the appointment of Tim Merryweather as its new CFO in August. Tim has vast experience in driving rapid growth and expansion and is excited to be leading the finance team at 10X Investment as their new CFO. “I was drawn to 10X Investments for their passion to help regular South Africans improve their retirements. Their passive fund management approach and the idea of bringing transparency to a traditionally opaque industry is something that I wanted to be a part of.”

CFO MAGAZINE • CFO.CO.ZA

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PEOPLE MOVES

Africa, with effect from August.

He has taken up the position of Regional Head of Finance for East Asia and South East Asia at GEMS Education.

Alvin has been in South Africa for close to five years, three of which his wife has spent with him, and will be moving back to Singapore.

“We’ve been fortunate in our careers to have lived and worked abroad but we find great affinity, attachment to South Africa in Meroonisha Kerber

Impala Platinum (Implats) appointed Meroonisha Kerber as CFO after the resignation of Brenda Berlin. Meroonisha was the finance VP at AngloGold Ashanti, where she worked closely with CFO of the Year 2018 Christine Ramon.

"Well done Meroonisha! I am so proud of you!," commented Christine on LinkedIn after the news broke.

Alvin Liew announced his resignation as CFO of Monash South

Alvin Liew

many ways. The people, food, wine and the weather are high up there in things we would dearly miss when we move to Singapore.”

Basil Read Limited has announced the resignation of Pieter van Buuren with effect from 21 September. His resignation follows the resignation of company secretary, Andiswa Ndoni. This after Basil Read Limited announced the company going into voluntary business rescue, with effect from 15 June this year. l

“We find great affinity, attachment to South Africa in many ways. The people, food, wine and the weather are high up there in things we would dearly miss when we move to Singapore.”

– Alvin Liew

CFOs going CEOing Debbie Ransby promoted to MD of Takeda

due back in January 2019, when he will pick up in his role as Motus CEO.

In August, Debbie Ransby, former finance director of Takeda, was appointed as its permanent managing director. She had been acting as managing director since 2017.

Attacq appoints CFO Melt Hamman as permanent CEO

Imperial CFO Mohammed Akoojee appointed acting CEO Logistics group Imperial has given their CFO Mohammed Akoojee the job of acting CEO in addition to his finance portfolio, while Osman Arbee is off on medical leave. Imperial says this will in no way impact the proposed unbundling of their vehicle division into a separately listed company, Motus [see page 14]. Osman is 10

CFO MAGAZINE • CFO.CO.ZA

Attacq announced the appointment of Melt Hamman as permanent CEO and Raj Nana as CFO. After the resignation of previous Attacq CEO Morné Wilken in 2017, who joined MAS Real Estate Inc, Melt stepped into his position as interim chief executive officer.

On 18 July 2018 his interim position was made permanent.

“I am excited about the opportunity to lead the Attacq team in our next phase as a real estate investment trust. Our strong leadership team remains focused on unlocking share-

holders value by delivering on our 2018 maiden distribution and future distribution growth,” Melt said.

Imraan Soomra appointed CEO of Oceana Group Africa’s biggest fishing company, Oceana Group, has appointed its CFO, Imraan Soomra, as permanent CEO. Imraan, who won the 2015 Transformation & Empowerment Award, took on the role of interim CEO in February this year, following Francois Kuttel’s unexpected resignation.

Trevor Giles, a chartered accountant who has been in Oceana Group’s employ for 19 years, has been appointed interim group finance chief.

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NEWS A roundup of the biggest finance news stories of the quarter

FINANCE HEADLINES Mervyn King resigns as chair of the King Committee

Standard Bank named best bank in Africa

On 1 October, Mervyn King handed over the reins of the King Committee to Professor Suresh Kana. Prof. King, a member of the CFO Awards judging panel, has headed the committee for the last two decades. He will remain a member of the committee and will take on a new role as chairperson emeritus. Kana is currently the chairperson of Imperial Holdings Group, the chairperson of Murray and Roberts, and lead independent director of the JSE Limited. He joined the King Committee in 2000 and has been involved in the development of the King II, King III and King IV reports.

In its list of the top 1,000 banks in the world, The Banker has named South African bank Standard Bank as the best bank on the African continent. Altogether, five South African banks appear in the list, namely Standard Bank in first place for Africa (145 world ranking), FirstRand in second (173 world ranking), Absa Group in third (184 world ranking), Nedbank Group in fourth (217 world ranking), and Investec South Africa in ninth (338 world ranking).

Longstanding Tongaat Hulett CEO Peter Staude retires Peter Staude, CEO of JSE-listed Tongaat Hulett, retired at the beginning of October. Staude ran the agriculture and agri-processing company for 16 years. An interim CEO will be appointed while the board identifies a suitable successor, and Staude will remain available in an advisory capacity after his retirement.

Another new bank for SA – this one wholly women owned The latest entrant to South Africa’s banking sector comes in the form of the Young Women in Business Network (YWBN) Cooperative Financial Institution, which is looking to become the country’s first bank to be owned by women.

Nthabeleng Likotsi, the company’s MD, says the bank will target infor-

12

CFO MAGAZINE • CFO.CO.ZA

Mervyn King

mal traders and black business owners who have been shunned by traditional lenders. According to Likotsi, YWBN will raise funding from two investors to boost its capital levels. The bank will initially be run from Johannesburg using digital channels, before opening branches in other locations in its third year of operation.

Hospitality Property Fund acquires Tsogo casinos In a shares and subscription agreement worth R23 billion, South African property fund Hospitality Property Fund has acquired seven casino and hotel businesses from Tsogo Sun. Upon completion of the transaction, Tsogo will hold approximately 87 percent of the shares in Hospitality. “It is Tsogo’s ultimate intention to unbundle their shareholding in Hospitality to its shareholders,” Tsogo Sun said.

It added that the transaction is in line with plans to restructure into three separately listed operating divisions focused on property, gaming and hotel management, while Hospitality said it aims to broaden its earnings base.

Also in the African top 10 are two from Morocco, namely Attijariwafa Bank in sixth place (295 world ranking) and Groupe Banques Populaire in seventh place (300 world ranking), Togo’s Ecobank Transnational in eighth (145 world ranking), and Nigeria’s Zenith Bank in tenth (402 world ranking).

Amplats and the PIC make massive investment in platinum Anglo American Platinum (Amplats), the world’s number one producer of the metal, spun off an internal fund and invested $200 million in a new venture capital fund with the aim of stimulating industrial demand for platinum group metals (PGMs). The new company, AP Ventures LLP, takes over from Amplats’ internal Anglo Platinum Marketing Ltd. South African state pension fund, the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), is a partner with a matching $100 million investment in the company.

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NEWS

Pam Golding buys digital estate agency Real estate giant Pam Golding acquired Eazi.com, an online digital estate agency based in Cape Town. According to CEO Andrew

Golding, the acquisition is part of the group’s strategy to adopt an online “hybrid” estate agency model. He expects this will give the company greater exposure to the R500,000 to R2 million price segment, to which they’ve had limited exposure thus far.

Glencore’s bid for Chevron assets approved by the Competition Commission

Andrew Golding

South Africa’s Competition Commission has approved Glencore’s $900 million bid for Chevron’s local and Botswana assets. China’s state-owned Sinopec is also in the running to secure the assets. Chevron agreed last year to sell its stake to Sinopec, before Glencore joined the table last minute, having secured a deal with minority shareholders, who backed it and exercised pre-emptive rights on the sale.

Four top CFOs to lead unbundled Imperial and Motus South African transport group Imperial Holdings is spinning off its auto dealership business, Motus, into a separate JSE-listed company. The unbundling will see 2016 CFO Awards-winning Osman Arbee, who replaced Mark Lamberti as Imperial CEO in May, back in his role as Motus CEO, while Ockert Janse van Rensburg will retain his role as Motus CFO. The remaining company, to be renamed Imperial Logistics, will be headed by Marius Swanepoel until CFO Mohammed Akoojee takes over the CEO role on 1 July 2019 (Swanepoel will retire at this point). Akoojee will, however, be appointed CEO designate of Imperial Logistics to facilitate an orderly transition and handover. Akoojee will be replaced by George de Beer as CFO of Imperial Logistics.

The company said: “After considering whether the long-term prospects of Imperial Logistics and Motus will be enhanced by them being separately listed, the board believes the separation of the two divisions will enable the components part of Imperial’s businesses to operate in a more focused and efficient manner, thereby allowing each of the businesses to achieve their respective strategic goals and unlocking value for shareholders over the long term. This strategic decision to separate the business operations and management of Imperial will provide shareholders with the opportunity to participate directly in Imperial Logistics and/or Motus.”

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CFO MAGAZINE • CFO.CO.ZA

Assets in the deal include a 75 percent share in Chevron’s South African subsidiary, which runs a 100,000 barrels-per-day oil refinery in Cape Town, a lubricants plant in Durban, and 820 petrol stations and other oil storage facilities.

It also includes 220 convenience stores across the two countries.

Steinhoff secures its immediate future by making a deal with creditors Steinhoff International has said that a three-year deal agreed with creditors, together with a series of asset disposals, has secured the company’s immediate future, and also kept safe the jobs of its 120,000 employees. Steinhoff has said that the investigation into the company, being undertaken by PwC, will be largely complete by the end of 2018 and that those found responsible will be held accountable. l

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CFO DAY SURVEY

SHIVERS AFTER

STEINH

CFOs are more cautious after recent scandals, feel South Africa is lagging internationally in the tech space and want to become more involved in dealmaking. These are some of the outcomes of the annual CFO Day survey, which revealed a wealth of insights into the thinking of CFOs in 2018. By Joël Roerig

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CFO MAGAZINE • CFO.CO.ZA

HOFF T

he 2018 CFO Day survey was distributed during CFO Day, CFO Journey and the CFO & CHRO South Africa Women’s event in July and August 2018 and was filled in by a large number of top executives, 77 of them leading CFOs and FDs. All industries that make up the South African economy were well-represented, ranging from financial services, mining and technology to FMCG, hospitality and healthcare.

77 CFOs filled in the survey – where do they work?

42%

JSE-listed companies

30%

Unlisted companies

Mul=na=onals

15%

Government

4%

9%

Undisclosed

CFO MAGAZINE • CFO.CO.ZA

17

CFO DAY SURVEY Matthias Vogt FD of Afrox Linde “To me this raises the question: How do you protect or guard the health of your organisation as the CFO? If we realise that this is our role – to protect – and if we start seeing ourselves as custodians of the business, I think this mindset alone can answer and address all the issues we’ve seen. As we as financial leaders set out to start rebuilding trust in the finance profession, we have to ask ourselves whether we are showing up as true custodians of our organisations."

Veliswa Rozani CFO at Barloworld Motor Retail Disagree completely

“Ethical leadership might mean that you will not be popular and sometimes requires you to walk away from a business if you feel your values are compromised. As individuals, we all have an instinct that tells us when something doesn't feel right, the test of character will come from what we do in those instances. As finance executives, we need to rebuild the finance brand and profession, but that will come with time and consistency."

Neutral & no answer

Disagree somewhat

ETHICS Scrutiny for CFOs

In the CFO Day Survey, 86 percent of

Not long ago, Steinhoff, Eskom and KPMG were beacons of success and stability, now they are tainted after scandals, audit failures and involvement in blatant fraud and corruption have ruined reputations and balance sheets. No wonder CAs are being closely watched by their colleagues and CFOs are feeling anxious.

CFOs indicated that they are noticing increased attention for finance from other board members. It has made most CFOs focus more on leadership of the finance team (83 percent) and has made the majority of finance

75% OF CFOs ARE MORE

CAUTIOUS AFTER RECENT SCANDALS

leaders more cautious and prudent (75 percent). .

Recent audit failures and publicity around corporate and public fraud and corruption have... ...driven me to focus more on strong leadership in the finance team.

...increased the level of attention board members give to finance.

1%

1%

3%

Agree somewhat

...made me more cautious and prudent.

4% 19%

12%

16% 38% 23%

Agree completely

26% 38%

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CFO MAGAZINE • CFO.CO.ZA

57%

62%

Ravi Singh CFO of Liberty Africa Insurance “The way things went down with Steinhoff, there was a lot of complexity there in terms of deal structuring and the balance sheet. When it comes to the next generation of finance professionals, I’ve noticed a lack of attention to detail and a lack of understanding. If we go back to those basics of knowing your balance sheet and income statement exceptionally well, you earn more integrity and respect and are able to talk to any number in that set of financials with the detail behind it."

Mpolaheng Kekana CFO of Lanseria International Airport

ROBOTS

78% OF CFOs FEEL SA IS

LAGGING BEHIND IN AI, ROBOTICS AND IOT

Neutral & no answer

Technology is a massive focus at future-facing companies and take up a lot of time of finance leaders. South African CFOs in particular are worried that our country is missing the boat, with 78 percent indicating that South Africa is lagging behind internationally in the space of AI, robotics, IoT and computer learning.

Finance leaders differ widely in opinion about the question if the tech revolution prompts them to hire fewer accountants and more other specialists, with only 10 percent agreeing completely and 26 percent agreeing somewhat. Opinions are equally divergent when asked if members of the finance team fear for their jobs due to the introduction of more technology, with 14 percent agreeing completely and 24 percent agreeing somewhat.

Agree somewhat

Are they skipping SA?

Agree completely

“Assumption is our biggest enemy. We are so accustomed to accounting principles that we assume everyone in business understands them. These principles are always being amended and it’s our responsibility to ensure we consistently keep business in the loop.

Consistent application of these principles is also crucial. Let’s guide business in the correct manner to ensure accurate reporting of financial statements. The credibility of this profession is in our hands.”

The changes to finance teams through innovation in the space of AI, robotics, IoT and computer learning is… ...lagging behind the ...prompting me to hire fewer ...making members of my international trend in accountants and more other team worried about their job South Africa. specialists. security.

5%

6%

14%

Disagree somewhat

3%

9%

26%

17%

32%

30%

23% 26%

29%

Disagree completely

52%

27%

CFO MAGAZINE • CFO.CO.ZA

19

Disagree completely

CAREER Eyeing the top job

(TFG) are cases in point.

In a time where CFOs are expected to step up to the plate as strategic business partners of the CEO, the career trajectory of finance leaders is changing and some of the brightest of you are considered CEOsin-waiting. The recent appointments of former CFOs Imraan Soomra (Oceana) and Anthony Thunstrom

The trend also informs the ambitions of our current crop of finance leaders, with 60 percent of them indicating they are keen for a CFO role at another company after their current role, but an even bigger group – 66 percent – admitting to be eyeing a CEO role.

After my current role, I hope to… ...retire.

...move to another company in the same role.

OF CFOs ASPIRE TO BECOME

CEO

...become a CEO.

6%

6%

6%

8%

10%

4%

26% 40%

Disagree somewhat

23% 18% 56%

26%

Neutral & no answer

9%

34%

26%

TRANSFORMATION Recruitment remains difficult

Agree somewhat

66%

According to recent research by executive search firm Spencer Stuart, only nine CFOs of the 40 biggest listed companies on the JSE are from a “broad-based black ethnicity group”. There are some reassuring signs that the “pipeline” is getting better, but a speedier transformation remains pivotal for the country.

In the results of the CFO Day Survey, 32 percent of CFOs indicate that their organisation is not well-transformed. That is a minority, but a classic case of “32 percent too many”. Recruitment is often an issue and 43 percent do admit to finding it difficult to hire and retain the right talent to support transformation.

32% OF CFOs ADMIT THEIR ORGANISATION IS

NOT WELLTRANSFORMED

Agree completely

Transformation is an imperative in South Africa… ...luckily, my organisation is well-transformed.

6%

...but I can't hire and retain the right talent to transform.

4%

10%

16%

18%

17% 38%

26%

10%

10%

32%

27% 39% 14%

20

...but I am struggling to convince my fellow executives of this.

CFO MAGAZINE • CFO.CO.ZA

31%

DEALMAKING Focus on the CFO During CFO Day, PSG Group CEO Piet Mouton argued that the CFO plays a pivotal role during any successful dealmaking. We recap his insights elsewhere on page 64 of this issue of CFO Magazine.

Interestingly, a staggering 92 percent of finance leaders believe that CFOs should be more involved in M&A than in the past. An equally impressive 79 percent expect dealmaking to increase in importance compared to organic growth at their company.

OF CFOs SHOULD BE MORE INVOLVED IN

M&A

Agree completely

M&A is often a tango between executives and advisors, and… ...CFOs should be more ...I expect dealmaking to increase involved than in the past. in importance compared to organic growth at my company.

92% ...my loyalty is with the advisors, not with the companies they work for.

3% 6%

5% 14%

10%

13%

31%

Agree somewhat

17%

23%

26% 69% 48%

34%

Innovation jitters but there is an interesting difference in emphasis, as 65 percent agree completely that investing in people should take top priority, whereas only 47 percent agree completely that technology investment is required.

66% OF CFOs WORRY ABOUT

SLOW

Disagree somewhat

The 2019 CFO theme will be Adapt or Die. In this context, 66 percent of CFOs worry about the slow innovation at their organisation. Finance leaders are agreeing that investing in both people and technology are top priority to make their companies future proof,

Neutral & no answer

ADAPT OR DIE

INNOVATION

The 2019 CFO theme will be Adapt or Die. In this context… ...investing in technology should take top priority to make us future-ready.

5% 14%

...investing in people should take top priority to make us future-ready.

5%

8%

19%

Disagree completely

...I worry about the slow speed of innovation in my organisation.

47%

30%

14% 45%

65%

47%

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GROWTH

Sasol’s CFO reveals the secret to his business strategy, and how he implemented successful hedging programmes for the company

CHEMICAL REACTION

It’s been a busy couple of years for Paul Victor since he took the reins as Sasol CFO in 2016. The oil price bottomed out just as the company was facing a R2 billion overrun on the Lake Charles Chemical Cracker Project in the United States. His reaction has been to implement a cash conservation strategy and a rand hedging programme, while still keeping shareholders happy. The secret, he says, is playing it like American football. By Georgina Guedes

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“I get such personal satisfaction from being up to speed as an accountant – that’s what’s kept me in Sasol, along with the people and the culture.”

P

aul Victor, Sasol CFO, says that if he were explaining being a chartered accountant to a young person who wants to study accounting, he wouldn’t talk about debits and credits.

“I would say that it’s a picture of a business problem that needs to be solved. You bring the knowhow and apply it to the problem. I very much visualise issues, try to see the pain points and focus on finding sustainable solutions. Please don't bombard business with debits and credits or complicated accounting speak. Put yourself in their shoes and try to see solutions from a broader perspective than just your own view.”

Finding workable solutions to business issues has been Paul’s focus since he took the reins as CFO at Sasol in 2016, after a long career with the company.

As an example, he recalls when oil prices fell to

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$30 a barrel in the midst of Sasol's operating model redesign. “Oil prices were low, we had to deal with a $2 billion overrun on our Lake Charles Chemical Cracker Project in the United States. It was essential for us to further look at business opportunities and financial risk mitigation measures to keep the balance sheet in good health as well as progressing our Lake Charles project. Being a rand-hedged stock results in shareholders sometimes not preferring an extensive hedging programme, but we had to mindfully look at all relevant business solutions to protect the balance sheet against market volatilities and keep cash flowing in the organisation.”

He says this was not an easy feat. “If you don’t do things the right way, you can expose the company to unnecessary risk and with that lose trust with shareholders and stakeholders. We implemented a very focused cash conservation programme and with regards

Intelligent copycatting Paul says he’s never had a formal mentor, but rather relies on the principle of intelligent copycatting. “Sometimes in life, you have to walk the gravel road to really get the experience, and the learning never stops. So that’s what I try to do. I have learnt as much from people how to do things as I have learnt how not to do things. Behaviour I like, I try to copycat in a way that makes sense for me. From other leaders, I have learnt how to be a good leader and how not to be a bad leader. To this day, I don’t want to be like the bad leader, but I appreciate what he taught me.”

Finding inspiration He says that he is inspired by Nelson Mandela’s ability to turn the cheek and to just see the greater good in people. And from his parents, he learnt to be humble, honest and grateful. “I make a lot of mistakes. I don’t want to sound holier than the pope. I am extremely self-critical, and believe that people only develop if they are super self-aware.”

One of his previous leaders once said to Paul that he shouldn’t think of Sasol as a company that operates only chemical plants, but as one that values the grey matter locked up in its people. He must see this as intellectual property.

This has stayed with him and shaped his approach to management.

“People must walk out after they have dealt with me having experienced me as deadly honest and transparent. I must treat people with utmost respect and demand from myself what I demand from them. If you can strike that balance, then people will respect you and you will respect them.”

Honesty and integrity He says that integrity is of the utmost importance as “people can look at you

“If you don’t do things the right way, you can expose the company to unnecessary risk and with that lose trust with shareholders and stakeholders.”

in how you behave and in two seconds destroy all the trust you’ve built up in two years. I don’t tolerate dishonesty. I learnt from a previous 'boss' that if you deal with 20 issues or people a day and you give it to them the way it is, you’re going to have those 20 people walking out of your office able to focus on exactly what’s going on. And in the same way, don’t tell me what I want to hear, tell me what I need to hear. Just be respectful and be yourself."

“I’ve had to make bold moves. I’ve had to let people go and stand behind people that I’ve believed in when others didn’t. Sometimes you have to make the tough calls, and other times you believe they will succeed. But I think that people will always surprise you on the upside. If you put a person with potential in a role and give them the right environment and the opportunity to develop, more often than not they will succeed. Delivery of results through transformed teams is a non-negotiable. I see this as a personal calling as well as being part of building a legacy for our Rainbow Nation.”

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to managing our financial risk we basically started from scratch in building a robust hedging programme which we believed effectively protected the balance sheet, thereby ensuring a sustainable operating cash flow to complete the Lake Charles capital programme and keep paying dividends to all our shareholders.”

“The chemical and energy company’s reaction to prevailing market forces saved it from the worst outcomes.”

“We need to extend our business and manufacturing footprint into China and the rest of Asia, and it is the next focus for us.”

“Our hedging programme was implemented in a prudent, transparent and thoughtful manner. We’re currently dealing with 23 global banks in executing our hedging programme. At first, shareholder buy-in was not easy.

A rand-dollar exchange rate hedge for example was new to our shareholders, and we had to be respectful to their views but needed to change their mindset that our aim was to protect the balance sheet. Our board needed to ensure that balance sheet protection was a core focus and played a significant oversight role with regards to the hedging policy formulation and in setting clear mandates within which we executed the programme. In times like this, a board's effective oversight is absolutely invaluable to management and shareholders.”

Today, Sasol is very pleased that the hedges have already been earning their keep by protecting the company against the rand’s losing battle against the dollar since March this year.

“Shareholders are now very much in support that this was best for the company,” Paul says.

Strategy as a sport Paul believes that any good CFO can learn from American football. “As a CFO you need to know what your offensive and defensive strategies are. CFOs can underestimate when they need to play defensive and end up with an overly geared balance sheet which may limit a company's flexibility in executing its

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growth strategy. There are many examples of how a poor defensive strategy can stop value creation for shareholders in its tracks for years.” On the other hand, he says, a company's capital allocation framework needs to support the company's strategy in order to deliver a quality growth rate and hence growing enterprise value in measurable and mindful steps.

He believes it was essential for Sasol to refine and refocus its strategy last year, so that investors were clear about where the company wanted to grow, what strategic investment choices had to be made and how this would be executed within its disciplined capital allocation framework.

“It took a lot of hard work to reach agreement on what it is what it is not. Investors now understand that we want to focus more on growth in global performance chemicals with a growing footprint in southern Africa in terms of retail fuels and gas development. We do believe that we have a balance sheet that would allow us to invest and return value to our shareholders."

“There has to be a good interplay between an offensive and defensive strategy so that you don’t idle in the same spot for too long. We’ve learnt our lesson over the past couple of years when we were too ambitious in terms of large capital investments. Now we’re looking at more digestible, focused projects, and are building our portfolio more carefully.”

He adds that Sasol had to have a dividend policy that pays out returns to shareholders through the cycle.

“Shareholders in oil and gas get tired of big projects. The lead times to cash flow are long, so we have to find ways of returning value to shareholders faster.”

"Sasol also aims to support government by creating jobs and being a responsible corporate citizen. It is very encouraging to see how our new president is really trying to transform our economy for the greater good of all South Africans and we are right behind him" Paul says.

Going global, staying local Sasol is looking to diversify its sources of earnings, to reach a point where 50 percent comes from South Africa and the other 50 percent from the rest of the world. Paul says that they want to play in three areas: becoming a global performance chemicals company and, in South Africa, delivering gas to power and gas to chemicals, and providing retail gas.

“We’re already a global chemicals company, making commodity chemicals, pipes, food packaging, fertilisers but we want to move more into specialist chemicals – lubricants that make engines perform better, for example – to provide specific value for customers to improve performance and demand a higher margin for investment. We believe we can add so much more value to the global chemicals business in America and Asia.

We need to extend our business and manufacturing footprint into China and the rest of Asia, and it is the next focus for us. The population is growing in India and China, and there will be a great and growing need for performance chemicals in those markets.”

In South Africa, he says that they are focusing on finding more gas in Mozambique and creating an integrated value chain between the two countries. “If South Africa moves more into gas to power, we believe we can play a key role in creating a nation that’s more environmentally friendly and less dependent on coal.”

And finally, they are looking to create more Sasol-

branded fuel stations. “Although we are small compared to some of our competitors, our brand is voted the best brand in fuel retail. So we want to increase our footprint and be much more prominent in terms of fuel retail stations. We are looking to increase the service offering, with known brands, and bringing in technologies to use data technologies to look at behavioural patterns. We have the service offering in terms of products and services, and there’s a lot of money to be made in forecourts, so we believe we have the recipe for that success.”

Workplace satisfaction Paul says that heading up finance in a company like Sasol keeps him interested and stimulated. “I am fascinated by how Sasol crafts its way in a global energy and chemicals context, how the business model works in different industries, how it makes money and what role finance can play in that. As an accountant, I’ve asked myself how I can merge myself to understand business value while still staying relevant as an accountant. Sasol is one of the few companies that’s really top notch, and has really tapped into the world of accounting to be a trend setter rather than a trend follower. I get such personal satisfaction from being up to speed as an accountant – that’s what’s kept me in Sasol, along with the people and the culture. I have a formidable team and really cherish every moment with them. Team work is at the core of everything we do.

Your success is their success and vice versa.”l

The modern executive Paul says that the olden-day view of the fat-bellied executive smoking cigars on the top floor has been abandoned. “In South Africa and globally, this generation has started to change. We’re focused on how we can maintain a healthy lifestyle and family life and how to balance those with our work obligations.”

Paul himself stays fit with an addiction to mountain biking. “I find the time to cycle competitively. It’s very important to me. It puts you into a very different social system from work, and I’ve made many of my friends in that space.”

on my family life. I get home at seven in the evening and from then I am a family man. On weekends I only cycle a bit and focus more on my family. I become very depressed if I only work with no play.”

He wakes up at 5am to cycle for an hour and a half. “That leaves me refreshed and focused and doesn’t intrude too much

Even with limited training time, Paul still managed to come 85th out of 1,500 cyclists at the sani2c race.

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GROWTH

“Values became meaningful and hence became a topic of conversation at the boardroom table.” – Gordon Massie, MD, ITOO Artinsure

Bronwyn Lace, Solid Breath, installation at Sasol Global Headquarters, Sandton 28

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XX

We take a look at how corporate art collections are valued, for the books

THE FINANCE OF

FINE ART Many South African corporates are significant investors in South African art. With this country’s artists doing well on the international stage, their artworks certainly aren’t depreciating. So how do companies account for it all? Georgina Guedes investigates.

I

n the past, many South African corporations bought art solely for the purpose of having something to hang on their walls or to decorate their reception areas.

The responsibility for the procurement of these pieces generally lay with whichever executive took an interest, and once the artwork was hung, the job was done. On the books, art was depreciated, just like any other asset.

Then, in the early-2000s, everything changed for South African art.

“Pre-2000, South African art values were pretty flat, worldwide. They weren’t buoyant like the French impressionists or American pop art. But then, in the early 2000s, auctioneers and dealers started to move the secondary market in art. Values became meaningful and hence became a topic of conversation at the boardroom table,” says Gordon Massie, the managing director of ITOO Artinsure, underwriting managers with an exclusive focus on art and collectibles.

It is an authorised financial services provider, underwritten by the Hollard Insurance Company.

There were even, Gordon says, a couple of cases of works having been bought in the 1950s for a few shillings suddenly being worth over R10 million. “If a company had a few of those, then they had a meaningful asset and had to find a way of recording that in their books appropriately, and then look at ways of protecting the asset, either with their standing insurance or with specific art insurance.”

Although becoming an art collector was not usually the original intention of the art purchase, companies found themselves pushed into that role, and had to consider the importance of the art in their physical space as well as in their financial records. They also had to consider whether they wanted to become ongoing investors in art, and develop a mandate for doing so.

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Lucky Sibaya, Three Figures, Standard Bank Collection

“We generally select artists precisely because of their growth potential – this is measured through various factors” – Same Mdluli

Sasol New Signatures 2017 Winner Lebohang Kganye, Ke sale teng (animated film)

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SIGNIFICANT VALUE IN THE STANDARD BANK COLLECTION The Standard Bank Corporate Art Collection is one of South Africa’s most significant corporate collections, with over 1,200 pieces of work mostly by local artists.

“While we may not have the largest collection in terms of quantity, our collection is one of the most valuable in the continent comprising of both contemporary and classical Africa art,” says Dr Same Mdluli, manager of the Standard Bank Gallery.

Works from the corporate art collection are displayed in the public and executive offices of the Standard Bank office buildings, as well as in other Standard Bank facilities across South Africa. The collection features art collected over a long period of time, from early works

by South African modernist masters such as Gerard Sekoto, George Pemba, JH Pierneef, Durant Sihlali, Alexis Preller, Irma Stern and Gladys Mgudlandlu, to contemporary works by artists such as William

Kentridge, Sam Nhlengethwa, Diane Victor, Pat Mautloa and Penny Siopis.

“There are also works by some of our Standard Bank Young Artist award winners, such as Hassan and Husain Essop, Mary Sibande, Nandipha Mntambo and Beth Armstrong,” says Same.

She explains that the responsibility for procurement lies with the curator and manager of the gallery, and that the focus is on contemporary South African art.

“We generally select artists precisely because of their growth potential – this is measured through various factors such as exhibition participation and other art platforms.”

The Standard Bank art collection is evaluated every two years by an expert.

“Many of the young artists, particularly from the Standard Bank Young Artists Award, have gone on to win prestigious international awards, and this has affected the value of their work favourably,” says Same.

William Kentridge, Adaptability Compliance Silence, Standard Bank Art Collection

“Art became a general asset, pushed into the finance area and were, in fact, assets that had the propensity to appreciate.

Companies realised that they had to start recognising them differently in the books – establish valuations and recognise these values in the appropriate risk management and regulatory manner,” says Gordon.

Gordon Massie

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Corporations with large art collections hired fulltime curators who held the responsibility not only

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Colbert Mashile, Look at me now, Standard Bank Art Collection

of purchasing the art and making sure that it’s not damaged in the public areas, but also of securing valuations for the works.

Valuing an art collection Gordon explains that in order to arrive at a value, the curator, with the appropriate skills could either do it themselves, or bring in a third-party professional valuer. The valuer would look at several criteria including the artist’s market position, the size of the work, the medium, the condition and the subject matter, then investigate the historic auction results for the artist, matching as many of those criteria as possible, and then compile an evaluation which could include three possible values.

The three values include a low auction value, a high auction value and an insurance valuation. The reason why there are three values – and sometimes more – is

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Nhlanhla Xaba, Migrant family life in South Africa, Standard Bank Art Collection

that art valuation criteria is quite subjective and can be influenced by prevailing economic events.

For insurance purposes, companies usually take the midpoint between the low auction value and the high auction value but Gordon says they do sometimes see requests to insure at the high point.

Gordon adds that CAs and CFOs aren’t generally enthusiastic about the valuation process because it’s not very scientific. “But it’s not a very scientific world.”

As for the frequency of these valuations, Gordon says that a portfolio of alpha artists like Irma Stern and William Kentridge should be reassessed every year, while a portfolio of quite static Victorian landscapes could wait for a couple of years between valuations.

“We even have one client who wants to upgrade their values every quarter at the moment,” Gordon says. “They have a particular blend of artists who are moving internationally extremely well and there is volatility in the rand-dollar exchange rate. So the values need to be continuously amended.”

He explains that art is insured differently from other assets because they are appreciating assets. “If the sprinklers went off in the office I am sitting in, we’d write off the computers and seek a replacement. But if art was damaged in this way, we’d be summoning a specialist restorer to make sure that the work retained its value and historic importance.”

The risks, he says, are also increasing. “People are working out that South African art is valuable. There is a lot more theft going on. Incidents are increasing.

Just a quick review of the Art Theft Register would tell you that.”

The two other hotspots are accidental damage, with an increasing frequency of claims as the standard of packing or training is reduced to meet cost targets, and forgery. “We are seeing an increasing amount of forged works introduced into the market. Buyers need to ensure they are well advised and buying through the leading organisations who carry out proper detection practices in order to prevent having an aesthetically pleasing but worthless forged asset on their books.”l 32

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ART IN SASOL’S NEW HQ After nearly a year and a half in storage, the Sasol art collection is about to be installed in the company’s new global headquarters at Sasol Place in Sandton.

The collection consists of around 2,500 artworks, including a collection made up of a pre-1994 historical section and a contemporary section. Some of the significant featured artists include JH Pierneef, Walter Battiss, Alexis Preller, Cecil Skotness, Sydney Khumalo, Ezom Legae, Azaria Mbatha, John Muafangejo, Helen Sibidi and Noria Mabasa.

Contemporary artists include Diane Victor, Mary Sibande, William Kentridge and Deborah Bell. There are also a number of large-scale sculptural installations commissioned specifically for Sasol Place and created by Angus Taylor, Bronwyn Lace, Collen Maswanganyi, Lindi Sales and Lionel Smit. These are installed in the public spaces on the ground floor of the building.

The procurement of art is done by the art committee in accordance with the Sasol Art Policy. The collection is managed by the Sasol Art Curator, Cate Terblanche, who is responsible for the general upkeep of the collection, all gallery activities and exhibitions, as well as being involved with the Sasol New Signatures competition.

“It’s been interesting to see the staff’s reaction to the fact that there’s been not art in the building,” Cate says. “They’ve been cornering me, telling me that they need the art. When we closed the gallery for a couple of months, people told me that it was their safe space where they sat for five minutes of their day. There is a massive need for art in corporate environments, and art most definitely impacts on the productivity and wellness of employees.”

She adds that many employees take their visitors through the gallery before continuing with their business meetings, once again reinforcing the social role of art in a corporate environment.

The collection is about to be revalued after its time in storage. “Due to the size of the collection, the collection as a whole is not valued every year, but rather divided into smaller sections which are valued on a ‘roll-over’ basis. We are, however, about to embark on a full evaluation of the collection as it is been in storage awaiting the finalisation of the building,” Cate says.

She says that several artworks procured from artists at the start of their careers during the early years of the collection in the 1980s have shown a massive increase in value. Some contemporary artworks such as those by Mary Sibande have also substantially increased in value because of the artist’s increased international exposure.

Growth potential, however, is not the main driver for Sasol’s investment in a particular artist’s works. “Sasol prefers to think of investing in the careers of emerging artists rather than the potential value of their works,” Cate says.

“Most of the new acquisitions are from the Sasol New Signatures competition.

The competition seeks to identify and promote new talent, and therefore the acquisitions are guided or even vetted, by the opinions of the various art professionals involved with the judging process.”

Several of the winners have gone on to create not only significant local but also international careers, such as Candice Breitz and Mohau Modisakeng, who represented South Africa at the Venice Biennale in 2017.

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LEADERSHIP

I am my own harshest critic, says triple-Award-winning Dis-Chem CFO Rui Morais

Dis-Chem’s strategy champion The CFO of Dis-Chem Pharmacies took away three awards at this year’s CFO Awards, his stamina and determination, incredible work ethic and tech-savvy approach to business wowing the judges, along with the significant role he played in the company’s listing.

By Toni Muir

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T

he Midrand head office of Dis-Chem Pharmacies is a busy place. Heading up to the first floor, where I’m taken to meet the CFO, Rui Morais, I pass several people in the corridor, all of them hurrying – albeit quite happily, it appears – to get somewhere. The doors of the various offices I pass on my way are open, chatter drifting out into the passage. I’m shown into Rui’s office, where I wait while he darts out to see the company’s CEO Ivan Saltzman, who has requested a few quick minutes of the finance head’s time.

Triple awards winner “I hate disappointing myself and am my own harshest critic. To me, the most important person who needs to be comfortable that I have achieved, is me,” says Rui, once we get chatting. “You are the most honest person with yourself. If you truly believe you could have done better, it’s only you who is going to know. No one else has as much context about yourself as yourself. I must be comfortable that I’m delivering to the best of my abilities. I think this is the best way to go about things.”

Rui certainly sets high standards for himself. In recognition of this, he walked away with three accolades at this year’s CFO of the Year Awards: Young CFO of the Year, Strategy Execution, and Finance & Technology. “Winning these awards was affirmation for me of what I’ve done,” he says thoughtfully. “A lot of what I’ve done is the output of many years of hard work. It was nice that this was acknowledged by the finance community.”

While all the awards mean something to him, he adds, the one that makes him proudest is the Strategy Execution Award. “Because it’s the bigger picture stuff that’s most appealing to me, and most meaningful in terms of generating long-term returns for the company,” he says.

The great listing debate Rui’s receiving of the Strategy Execution Award was indeed well deserved, given the role he played in DisChem's listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in late 2016. “The decision to go to market was tough.

We debated it at length. The decision to list came with risks; we battled to stay entirely focused on the business and there were numerous balls in the air,” he says.

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“But we unlocked a lot of value, which is evident by the market cap of the business today.”

He says there were plenty of difficult decisions in the process: “The operational shareholders needed to realise what it meant to us personally – that we would have independent non-execs sitting on our board understanding our strategy was not something we were accustomed to.”

Rui says that for him, the ultimate success was that the listing was very well received. “In terms of price and how well it traded. It was a brand the market wanted,” he says. “The listing created wealth and diversification for all the operational shareholders and placed the company on the exchange, which created its own set of accountability and responsibility for us as executive shareholders, ensuring we continue to drive our long-term strategy. Post the listing, it’s given us many opportunities. It’s been great to engage with investors who see numerous other businesses in other parts of the world. You can take incredible learnings from them.”

Bigger and better With the mammoth task of listing the company out of the way, the focus switched to acquisitions, and Rui says he is currently busy with several of these. “A lot of them are relatively small, independent pharmacy specific,” he says. Another aspect of the company’s strategy occupying a lot of his time at the moment – and one which Rui says he finds very exciting – is the rolling out of a smaller store format. He explains: “While we are generally first option in large malls – grocery store anchor tenants aside – we’ve always been second option in smaller retail centres. But the reality is that, with retail property developers increasingly moving away from larger malls and into smaller, neighbourhood convenience centres, around the 10,000 square metre size, we are seeing a lot of interest, because we’ve got a format that can fit that. This will give us the ability to take a greater share of the market where we deem it appropriate. So far we have eight smaller-format stores and will have an additional eight open by the end of 2018.”

The company is also making headway outside South Africa. “Dis-Chem already has four stores in Namibia and is opening its first one in Botswana later this year.

We are moving into Africa territory by territory,” says Rui. “We think Namibia could take another two and

XX

Lego, sports, and family time “I like to build Lego,” says the CFO with an impish grin. “It allows me to take my mind off things. I think I have every single piece of Lego. I’ve always been fascinated with the brand. I’ve built tons of Lego in my life and have never found one piece that hasn’t fitted into another, to me that is testament to quality, and great brands deliver exactly that. You can do really expert stuff now. I collect the pieces and the finished models and build based on the instruction manual.” He gives a big laugh and adds: “I am a finance person after all.”

Rui says he has always been very sporty, running, playing golf and field hockey, and has recently taken to mountain bike riding – but only for fun, he says. “I do races but not with the intention of winning. Though there might be a Cape Epic-type race in my future,” he chuckles.

His first child, a girl named Olivia, turned one in July, and Rui says since she came along he’s learnt a great deal. “She’s given me perspective on how selfish I was with my time. I’ve always been very busy and my wife, Rox – who I’ve known a long time – has always understood this. But I guess I never valued this until Olivia came along.”

Asked if he has yet achieved work-life balance, Rui says probably not, adding that this depends, however, on how you define work-life balance. “I think the family-life balance is right. You have to be very conscious of it. I’m still figuring it out,” he says.

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Botswana another one, then we will look at other SADC countries.”

Keeping the core intact Dis-Chem is quite a different beast these days to what it was when Rui first joined the company in 2009.

“Back then we had about 35 stores, now we’ve got 140, with the aim of reaching 200 soon enough. We had an internal wholesaler but hadn’t done any significant acquisitions in terms of the wholesaling capability, and we didn’t have a model to acquire independents,” he explains. “Also, a lot of the support functions were still being developed, such as IT, finance, HR and marketing. These functions used to lie across individuals, and we’ve had to unlock the people away from these and ensure that from a succession perspective, there are professional managers in place to drive the output of the strategic decisions. I’d say that’s been a significant change for the business.”

natural leader, though I need to demonstrate to my team that I’m willing to change things about myself that need improving. I think you need to take a step back once a year and consider how you can improve yourself as an individual – not just in the workplace. To do this, you need to be honest with yourself.”

Rui is a pedantic recruiter and says he has taken time to carefully select his team. “I’ve spent a lot of time doing this – more than I would imagine most people do,” he says. “But to me, team selection is crucial. I would rather go months and not find someone, and have my team carry the load, and then pick the right person when he or she does come along, than appoint the wrong person. I think my team appreciates this and applies this same logic to their teams and appointments.”

“I don’t want 10 people processing general ledger journals every month if a robot can do that. I want those people working to add real value.”

Within all of this change, Rui says the company has had to ensure that the culture or core of what the team thinks differentiates it from competitors remains intact. “We are a detailed company, but it has proven difficult to stay detailed because time is a limitation,” he says, and describes the company culture as “driven”. “Things happen; they move. It’s busy, but rather busy than not. It’s a great atmosphere.”

Fairness and faults As for his leadership qualities, Rui seems quite aware of his Achilles heel. “I’m very conscious of the fact that I’m detailed,” he says somewhat sheepishly, but he’s learning to let other people run with projects. “I don’t want to do something for someone else or there would be no point in me giving it to them in the first place, so I generally let my team do a task, and then I get involved at the end. I’m getting better at this. I think you need to be aware of how you engage with your team and work to improve this.”

Small faults aside, Rui says he considers himself to be fair and honest. “I have a good relationship with each of my staff members and I’m able to be honest and transparent with them from both a good and bad perspective.” He pauses before continuing: “I think I’m a

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He also makes a point of giving people a hand up if it’s deserved: “I’ve always believed in giving opportunities to people. I have a young team, but I believe it’s important for them to have an opportunity to succeed. I am where I am today because Ivan, Lynette and the original shareholders gave me the opportunity nine years ago.”

Asked to highlight the toughest lesson he has learnt in his career, Rui says people management, something which he “discounted” at the beginning of his career.

“This has been tough, especially as I’ve had a lot of responsibility from a young age. I’ve never felt out of my depth but in the beginning I had to work hard to appreciate that behind every person is a life and challenges they experience, and that this affects what they do day to day,” he says. “You have to understand the people you are working with and what makes them tick. If you don’t, your expectation of what they can produce could potentially be very wrong.”

The finance triumvirate Asked what makes him – a young CFO – most excited about the future of the finance industry, Rui says he is excited to “see what future means”. Finance is a relatively traditional role, though there is a lot of overlap between IT and technology, he says. “I’m quite keen to understand how the finance role will change considering the evolution of technology,” he comments, adding that Dis-Chem is looking at robotics as a leverageable finance function. “I don’t want 10 people processing general ledger journals every month if a robot can do

your computer. I imagine this is going to get more in sync as things evolve, and this is very exciting to me.”

Business and pleasure Asked how the job of CFO has changed him, Rui considers before answering: “I’ve always thought a lot about people and how the team dynamic works and I’ve come to apply this in my own life. So, if you asked my wife, Rox, she’d probably say I’m over critical of people or I overthink things. But for me this has been a good thing; I’ve very sensitive to relationships and understanding people. As for the demands of the role on my time, I enjoy my work. I’m not disgruntled and don’t begrudge the time I spend at work. I try to blend it into my family life. For instance, I don’t have an issue going into a store on the weekend to have a look around while my family’s having breakfast.”

As for what the job has taught the young finance executive about himself, Rui laughs and says, “a lot!”. He says: “I’ve realised that I’m more resilient than I thought I was. The listing was such a challenging period, I learnt that I’m a good problem-solver. I went through this experience where I had to solve problems on a daily basis and make decisions quickly, which taught me that I could do this – or that I had to when it was required. I grew a great deal out of the experience.” l

“A lot of what I’ve done is the output of many years of hard work. It was nice that this was acknowledged by the finance community.” that. I want those people working to add real value.”

Tech is moving how you look at finance into another space, he continues: “Finance tying in with tech and tech tying in with operations means you’re going to have a closer sync of these three functions. Finance, IT and operations will collectively sit in one space in the future. We already see this in our company – you can do very little in retail without engaging with IT. IT is not merely a support function where someone comes to fix

Rebuilding finance credibility in SA We asked: What do you think finance executives most need to do to build and maintain the finance brand or profession?

“However we approach this it will be a big challenge. I think it’s done tremendous damage from a reputational perspective to the finance brand. And it’s a pity. People in the profession, CAs, spent so many years of their lives working so hard to achieve this, and then everybody gets painted with the same brush. To fix it, you need to go back to basics. There is nothing you can do but implement the necessary processes and gain the credibility back over time. I think it’s about doing the right things now to ensure that the credibility of the profession is rebuilt.”

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LEADERSHIP

CFO André du Plessis talks about loan desirability, motorbikes and the bank as his baby

CAPITEC’S

FINE LINE

“Too many CEOs and CFOs are concerning themselves with the previous year’s results. At Capitec, we are managing the business as we go along.” By Joël Roerig

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W

hen André du Plessis finalised Capitec’s investment in the international online lending platform Creamfinance, he was on his way from Panama to Alaska on his BMW 1200GS motorbike. “When I am on these trips, I work for oneand-a-half to two-and-a-half hours a day, which is mostly very productive,” says the veteran CFO, and co-founder of the bank that changed South Africa’s financial services landscape.

It is no coincidence that André values creativity and forwardthinking, two pillars of the success of Capitec that has created access to financial services for millions of South Africans who didn’t have bank accounts before. “Simplicity and being customer-centric have been the cornerstones of this approach, while in the engine-room a different approach to pricing for risk has made us different to other banks.”

His take-work-on-holiday approach makes it possible to trek off for weeks – like his monster ride from Moscow to Vladivostok last year and the tour around Iceland this year – while playing a leading role in the fast-growing bank.

“I like to ride my motorbike in different countries. Iceland is my 50th,” says André. “It opens my mind. I become more creative and forward-thinking.”

It was this approach that landed Capitec in the crosshairs of Viceroy Research, a short sellers outfit that benefits from tumbling share prices. Viceroy accused Capitec of wrongdoing and said that the bank systematically rolls defaulting borrowers into longer-term loans.

The share prices did indeed drop upon release of Viceroy’s report, but disaster was averted as the Reserve Bank quickly backed the

“I like to ride my motorbike in different countries. It opens my mind. I become more creative and forward-thinking.”

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Viceroy Research

Stellenbosch-headquartered bank.

“I have a couple of extra grey hairs,” admits the CFO, reflecting on a turbulent period. “When the Viceroy report came out, I received 17 questions from Bloomberg at 9am and answered all of them before the official release of the report at 10am. We managed to get a detailed SENS response out at 4pm and organised an international call for investors at the same time, where 741 callers dialed in. It was an unpleasant situation. The short seller didn’t have its facts right. I believe that our open communications and speed of response helped a lot in handling the situation.”

What also helped, says André, is that the bank has organised the reporting process in such a way that most information is available at all times and not much time is wasted on compiling reports.

“Our year end is February and our audited results are issued a

few weeks later in March already, which is evidence that we have all the information at our fingertips most of the time. It gives us the opportunity to carry on with our lives. In my opinion, too many CEOs and CFOs are concerning themselves with the previous year’s results. At Capitec, we are managing the business as we go along.”

Our baby The desire to communicate fast and in great detail is ingrained in Capitec’s DNA, says André. “We take everything seriously, whether it is competitors, regulators, shareholders or clients. If we get a vibe that shareholders do not like something, we immediately communicate with them. After the Viceroy report, we tested every single allegation, whether it was through our own internal audit or external parties – and we went back five years to check. What

makes our business different is that we still manage it as if it is our baby. As executives, we are shareholders ourselves. We know the ins and outs of the bank.”

“Some traditional banks copy what we do and offer it for five cents less, it is laughable.”

It is – of course – a plain fact that Capitec offers loans to people that other banks initially steered away from, which results in higher interest rates. The debate around this touches on the core of Capitec’s existence. “After the Viceroy report came out, we also looked again at the desirability of what we offer,” says André. “There is a fine line between inclusion and exclusion. If we can price for the risk, we can offer products others

don’t and make money available to people who traditionally did not have access to it. If we price for that, it makes the rates high and some people call that exorbitant.

But if we don’t offer this product, people will still borrow money but they will go to much more unscrupulous, unregulated lenders.”

André feels that there is a “huge misunderstanding behind boardroom tables” that South Africa looks like Sandton, where “I can press a button and a cappuccino will arrive”. Five kilometres away lies Alexandra, where people live in entirely different circumstances, he notes.

“Most executives and managers never go there, but at Capitec, we frequent the market very often.

Whether you sell financial services, beer or food, you need to see your clients to know what they need.”

The need for the connection with the real world is often on André’s

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LEADERSHIP

Non-non-exec “People take non-executive positions for the glory and the money, but do they really understand the business?” According to André companies should be much more selective about who they put on the board and, especially, what they will be able to contribute. “I have been asked to become a non-executive board member at an insurance company and for a mine. I have no background there and, especially in mining, it would have been totally reckless.”

mind, he reveals. “On any given day, we leave our houses which are behind an electric fence, drive through a gate, sit in a car with music on, drive into a parking garage and arrive at our offices.

That’s not the experience most people have. They get up early, catch a taxi or bus and work, for example, behind a conveyer belt.

There they talk to each other the whole day and are part of a community. The way we live as business people, we are often quite lonely.”

Operating principles Capitec’s four operating principles are simplicity, accessibility, affordability and personal service.

“We take the complexity that is

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“The way we live as business people, we are often quite lonely.” part of banking behind the scenes.

In most banks, the busiest counter is the enquiries counter. That is not an income-producing desk, but a place to sort out problems and address the expectation gap. We don’t have enquiries counters at all. Accessibility relates to things like location and opening hours, like early in the day and Sundays, when people have time to visit a branch. When we have a bank near a bus station or taxi rank there is no point to only open at 9am.”

The affordability aspect of

Capitec’s products has baffled international masters and PhD students, who have come out to South Africa to study the model, says André with a modest dose of pride. “We always strive to drive the cost of credit down, give a decent return on savings and apply a low transaction fee. When we started we charged R2 for a transaction, whereas all the traditional banks charged R25. Our international visitors couldn’t understand why we didn’t just charge R15, but that would not have fitted our philosophy.”

Recently, Capitec launched a funeral policy, once again stepping into a lucrative market where competitors charged high fees – and where very few other established financial services

companies have trodden.

“I cannot tell you how much work we have done to really understand what it is that clients want and what they don’t like,” says André.

“We could have also just copied what others did and offer a slightly better rate. But why do we exist?

What makes us different? We wanted to offer the products that people need and can afford. Some traditional banks copy what we do and offer it for five cents less, it is laughable. We base our costing on required ROE. It is naive of others to think that everything is about price.”

Promoting equality Although Capitec’s executives earn competitive packages, they also make a point of promoting equality where possible. “We treat everybody exactly the same, whether it is staff or clients,” says André. “As board members, we stay in the same City Lodge or Town Lodge as any other Capitec staff member. We all sit in the back of the plane. Our branches are the same for everyone. Low income earners might consider them very luxurious, while wealthier people might just find them clean and functional, but it is the same for everyone.”

A bank’s deposits are dependent on the trust in the brand and André says it is crucial to keep in touch with clients in every possible way.

“We have a team of people watching Twitter to monitor and respond, but we also interact in more traditional ways. While I might phone if I have an issue and my dad’s generation might go to a branch, younger people have no qualms about airing their frustrations on social media, in public. We need to respond, correct and improve and not just keep people quiet. That is why we discuss what comes out of Twitter during our management meetings.”

The fastest-growing group of Capitec employees consists of data analysts and business information specialist. Teams get measured every 15 minutes on their responsiveness and performance, bank statements can be analysed for loan affordability in seconds, using machine learning technology.

The IT focus helps Capitec to stay ahead of others, André explains.

“I believe in sitting around the table daily to eat with everyone in the family and share.”

A consistent part of the way Capitec works is to check what competitors do and analyse what the bank can learn from it. “If we see a new product launched in the newspaper, we phone in and ask questions. Often, staff in the branches of the other banks don’t even know about the products yet.

I compare that with buying a car.

I love everything with an engine in it. When I ask a Toyota dealer why their cars are better than Nissan’s, they often don’t know.

They haven’t even been to a Nissan dealer for a test drive. To me that is strange. It is a mindset. You have to know what is out there.”

Saving R20 billion The acquisition of Creamfinance was a way for Capitec to learn from different markets and work entrepreneurs who emulate the startup mentality and excitement that Capitec itself was born out of, according to the CFO. “What I can tell you is that South Africa’s unsecured lending is 15 years ahead of, for example Eastern Europe, in terms of regulation, use

and managing the cost down. An independent review said that the existence of Capitec Bank saves consumers R20 billion per annum in bank charges.”

With a finance leader who says things like “Capitec is our baby”, it is hard to imagine him ever moving elsewhere and André acknowledges that the likelihood is very remote. “I want to download my knowledge that we have built up within Capitec and bring in new leaders that are equally passionate.

Our top management of about 100 people regularly get together to share knowledge across this bank.

Holidays are also excellent times for people to step into our shoes – and their performance during such times is part of the evaluation process.”

Whereas most CFOs struggle with another fine line, the one between work and family life, André testifies that it can be managed. “I often say to my team: be careful of a corporate. It will suck you in.” He says his father had always wanted to visit Russia, but never did. He recounts a story of a high-powered partner at Arthur Andersen, who started to cry and said he didn’t know his family that well. “I believe in sitting around the table daily to eat with everyone in the family and share,” says André. “Holidays are vital. I know my wife of 29 years and my three sons, who are all in their twenties, as well as they know me.”

Time outside and being active is another pillar of André’s approach to life, work and family. He often recharges his batteries, whether he is cycling the Cape Epic, parachuting or riding his motorbike in far-flung places like Iran and Tibet. “If it’s cold, I am cold. If it’s hot, I am hot. If it’s windy, I feel the wind. That exposure to the elements is what keeps me fresh and creative.” l

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CFOs posing with the RLabs crew

Innovation immersion for

Cape CFOs

South Africa’s first-ever CFO Journey was dubbed the country’s best-ever event for finance executives by the 20 leaders attending the 24-hour programme around innovation and value creation.

“

I think I can speak on behalf of everyone when I say this felt a bit like a sabbatical. This was huge,” said Andrew McMaster, CFO of Peninsula Beverages, at the conclusion of what was an incredible two days of learning and networking for Cape-based finance leaders.

“It has inspired us and has made a huge difference to our thinking as CFOs,” he said, also referring to the power that comes with the sustained peer-to-peer interaction that the programme delivered.

On the morning of 20 July, the programme was wrapped up in style

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by Richard Perez, founding director of the UCT design thinking school (d-school). Through practical exercises and group work, some of South Africa's top finance executives learnt about the actionbased nature of design thinking, delaying the discussion about solutions by going through a process of: empathise, define, ideate, build a prototype and test. “There is no point solving the wrong problem,” said Richard.

CFOs could not stop talking about the previous night’s dinner at Fleur du Cap, the exclusive property of investment group Remgro. Hosted

by the company’s formidable CEO Jannie Durand in a setting of artworks owned by the Rupert family, discussions veered from innovation and the future of business to the responsibility of business to address the damaged image of accountants and the finance profession.

Fleur du Cap winemaker Pieter Badenhorst treated the guests to insights into his innovative wine-making process and there was some serious wine-tasting undertaken, with the Laszlo Red Blend making a lasting impression. The invitation to Fleur du Cap

Remgro CEO Jannie Durand and Sanlam FD Heinie Werth

Remgro CFO Neville Williams

XXX

Bidvest’s Lauren Berrington practises design thinking with Leon Crouse, former CFO of Vodacom and Remgo

The value of CFO Journey CFO South Africa can only facilitate high-level learning and networking for CFOs through partnerships with future-facing corporates like Standard Bank. We spoke about the value of CFO Journey to Rato de Mendonca, Head of Client Coverage in the Cape Region for Standard Bank Corporate and Investment Bank.

What is the value of CFO Journey for CFOs? “CFOs get very few opportunities to carve out time to invest in themselves and their strategic thinking process. They are always looking out for interesting platforms that can help them to look at trends that are unfolding, giving them fresh macro perspectives while creating new networks with people who are facing similar challenges.

It is one thing to read about stuff and subscribe to electronic media.

But it is fundamentally different when you can go out and actually engage with the current trends, like CFOs were able to do during this year’s CFO Journey.”

“The real power of CFO Journey is that it has such an interesting and relevant programme. Innovation is one of the top-five agenda items for boards and excos. CFO South

Africa has the insight and networks to create fantastic platforms around a theme like this. That has made the event so successful.”

What was your main take away?

“The congruence that is required between innovation and leadership. I don’t mean to say that we expect CFOs, COOs and heads of HR to be the innovators on a continuous basis, but to foster a culture of innovation, CFOs need to be champions of innovation.

What were the highlights of CFO Journey for you?

“The site visits to Jumo and RLabs were incredible. Immersing oneself in the environments of organisations that do things differently has the best impact. You get to touch, feel and see it. You get to feel the pulse rate of what is happening.

Innovation is what keeps leaders awake at night, that was evident from the discussions that were had after the site visits. We don’t know what we don’t know. If it was left to us to educate ourselves, we would be lost in the wilderness.”

What is the value for Standard Bank?

“Standard Bank is always looking to understand the world of CFOs much more deeply, because they are key decision-makers around banking, funding and the appointment of technology partners. Being a CFO South Africa sponsor gives us a unique opportunity to meet CFOs we don’t yet know and to spend a different type of time with CFOs we know, outside formalised meetings or RFP processes. It gives us a wonderful window into what is truly occupying CFOs’ minds.” l

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Curro CFO Bernardt Van Der Linde shares some personal information

The programme kicked off at the Star Wars-themed Jumo office Rato de Mendonca

had been made possible by Leon Crouse, former (founding) CFO of Vodacom and longtime CFO of Remgro, who is now one of the members of the judging panel of the annual CFO Awards.

CFOs all commented on the great way that all aspects of the programme complemented and boosted each other, ranging from the company visit to barnstorming FinTech outfit Jumo, world-conquering social-entrepreneurial organisation RLabs and presentations about Bidvest’s audit robot ALICE and Capitec’s winning business model.

After a round of introductions, during which all CFOs shared some details about themselves, the programme started on 19 July at the Star Wars-themed headquarters of Jumo, an appbased microlender that aims to make finance and savings available to developing African countries and elsewhere in the world. Jumo provides loans from

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$1 to $50,000 through a mobile money system.

Asked how the organisation manages to stay nimble and innovative, Jumo’s Charl du Plessis said that “it is crucial to carve out time in the calendar to think and to discuss. At Jumo this time-out behaviour is driven from the very top.”

One of the most moving and mind-shifting parts of the programme was the visit to RLabs (Reconstructed Living Labs) in Bridgetown on the Cape Flats, where CFOs listened to an incredible story of perseverance and entrepreneurial genius from the inspirational founder Marlon Parker. “We are in the business of making hope contagious," he said, detailing how RLabs has supported over 1,500 small businesses by putting faith in young people with hope. “Hope is an enabler, a catalyst for innovation, and it unlocks potential – and potential drives value.” l

Participants CFO Journey 2018 •

Andre du Plessis, CFO Capitec

•

Andrew McMaster, CFO Peninsula Beverages

•

Bernardt Van Der Linde, CFO Curro

•

Brendon Lucke, CFO I&J

•

Brett Tromp, CFO Discovery Health

•

Cornelis Wessels, CFO Atlas Tower Group

•

Heinie Werth, Group FD Sanlam

•

Hennie Nel, CFO Santam

• James Wilkinson, GM Business Improvement Distell •

Jason Wright, CFO Cape Union Mart

•

Lauren Berrington, Audit Executive Bidvest

•

Leon Crouse, Former CFO Vodacom and Remgro

• Luvuyo Masinda, Head of Client Coverage Standard Bank CIB •

Neville Williams, CFO Remgro

•

Paul Steenkamp, Founder CLC Africa

•

Philip Timberlake, CFO Liberty Health

• Rato de Mendonca, Head of Client Coverage Cape region Standard Bank CIB •

Richard Perez, Director d-school

• Sean Doherty, Head of New Business Innovation Standard Bank CIB

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beyond solutions

VISION

TransUnion CEO Lee Naik reveals the attributes that future CFOs need

PPC CFO Tryphosa Ramano and Deloitte Consulting Africa CEO Thiru Pillay discuss ethical leadership

Altron CEO Mteto Nyati shares his turnaround learnings

CFOs – Making their day South Africa’s first-ever CFO Day was an incredible success, with a top cast of 130 finance leaders learning and networking together during a thought-provoking programme that touched mind, heart and soul.

O

ne hundred and thirty finance executives flocked to Marble Restaurant in Rosebank on 17 July for the inaugural South African CFO Day. After a delectable lunch from the kitchen of Marble head chef David Higgs, and a thought-provoking historical journey by storyteller Michael CHarton, the learning component of CFO Day kicked off.

CFOs were treated to insights from Altron CEO Mteto Nyati, who shared

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the learnings from his own turnaround journey at the company.

He said that people do better in an environment where they feel that what they do has meaning and that they are making a contribution. He said that when he joined Altron, he was tasked with resolving issues at an iconic company that had somehow lost its way.

PPC CFO Tryphosa Ramano and Deloitte Consulting Africa CEO Thiru Pillay then spoke about what they thought would steer their

organisations in the right direction.

They agreed that the key was ethical leadership.

Tryphosa talked about how she has navigated the transition in a difficult period for the company during which she has served four CEOs in a space of four years. She also urged CFOs to get back to basics – discipline, honesty and integrity.

Thiru explained how people wanted to work for organisations that have a resounding purpose and whose values are aligned with their own.

CFO Day was made possible with the support of the principal sponsors: Marble restaurant was packed with leading CFOs for a day of learning and knowledge sharing.

Ansarada, Deloitte, Standard Bank, Thomson Reuters and Workday, as well as a host of associate partners.

And associate partners Broll, JLL, Cannon Asset Managers, Sage, The Carlyle Group and TransparenT

He said leaders needed to challenge themselves to set an example in the way they behave, not just in the way they make the big decisions, but at all levels of the organisation.

TransUnion CEO Lee Naik and disruptor and ex-BCX CEO Ian Russell discussed the attributes that future CFOs need.

Lee pointed out that we live in a world that’s digital and that a 2013

Oxford University Study on how susceptible jobs are to computerisation found that 27 percent of jobs in the US are at risk of being automated in the next 20 years. He then added, “If you are not talking about automation as a CFO, if you are not talking about RPA, if you are not sure what it means, you are in trouble.”

Ian then said that one of the reasons organisations get so “bunged up” is in fact finance, which

he describes as having a “sclerotic effect on the arteries of an organisation”.

While breakout sessions with PSG CEO Piet Mouton and Omnia CFO Wayne Koonin discussed the art and science of dealmaking, the plenary saw Nando’s founder Robbie Brozin and Super Group CEO Peter Mountford discussing how to retain a spirit of entrepreneurship in large organisations at CFO Day. The overall message? Optimism is key.l

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VISION

Otsile Matheba, CFO of recently launched secondary listing exchange A2X discusses the rewards of building the finance function from scratch.

FINANCE FROM THE GROUND UP, IN A STARTUP When Otsile Matheba left his job as financial manager at Peregrine Securities for the role of chief financial officer at A2X Markets, he didn’t quite know what to expect, though he did know it would be full of challenges and rewards – hopefully in equal measure.

By Toni Muir

O

tsile joined A2X in December last year, when the secondary listing exchange was still very new – it had launched just three months before, in October 2017. When he took on the mantle of CFO, the finance function was in its early stages of development. Undeterred, he got stuck in right away, driven to make a success of it. Aside from largely establishing all the finance systems and processes from scratch, Otsile also had the matter of an audit to contend with, which was due end-February. He is still the one and only member of the finance team, but has no doubt that as the company grows, so will the finance office.

Otsile says that building A2X’s finance function from the ground up was something he really looked forward to: “Since I joined I’ve been working to establish the company’s finance function and ensure that we’ve got a very good base from which to build. I’ve spent a lot of time getting the basics in place, as well as helping

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with governance and regulation over and above this.

I’ve always had very strong ideas about how a finance function should look and work, so I looked forward to this clean slate. It was a great opportunity to design things the way I thought they should be.”

He continues: “On a personal level, all growth is uncomfortable but it’s good for you. It’s something I’ve personally embraced because you get to learn so much more. Coming into this industry and a startup, your learning curve is immense. It’s also got great challenges. You can’t be afraid to ask questions. I don’t know everything but I’ve got fantastic colleagues.

There are a lot of people here with good experience from whom I can learn. Also, we’ve got a relatively small team so everyone puts their heads together to devise solutions to issues as and when they arise. We discuss these things as a collective and everyone gives their perspective on different aspects. The timing has been great as well; A2X went from three listings with

“Being impactful and making a difference is important to me. I’m lucky to have joined a company that does this on a daily basis.”

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VISION

“We’ve got a relatively small team so everyone puts their heads together to devise solutions to issues as and when they arise.”

Running shoes, motorbikes and books “I’m a runner. I really enjoy running, though I only picked it up earlier this year.

And to my own surprise I’ve become a keen biker. At the end of last year, just before joining A2X, I got myself a motorbike. Aside from that, I read voraciously. Either business biographies or autobiographies, though I read quite widely.”

a combined market capitalisation of R14 billion when I joined, to 10 listings with a market cap of close to R300 billion in just eight months” Heading up the finance function for a stock exchange must come with a fair few challenges and quirks. Otsile considers before answering: “Specifically from a finance perspective you must execute within budget and ensure your forecasting is on point, because you need a long runway to get to the point where you are profitable and can create and make the headway you want. Also, we need to ensure we aren’t frivolous in terms of what we spend. So we are strict with our budget.”

He adds: “One of the things we’ve tried to do as a business is not treat ourselves as a small company but rather, get ourselves up to a level where our finance function is comparable to any big, listed entity. We set high standards for ourselves.”

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VISION

What makes a great CFO? “Trust and integrity are very important. The business has to be able to rely on you, the CFO, as a truth teller. You have to be able to reinforce a positive culture and have good interpersonal skills with regards to staff and how you treat people.”

Full-steam ahead Asked whether the fledgling exchange has found its feet in the industry, Otsile answers with a quick and confident yes. “You can imagine what things are like being a startup – you’ve got your feet firmly on the ground but there are things coming at you all the time,” he says with a laugh. “We’ve made a lot of progress in a very short time. By mid-July, we had 10 listings, two of which are top-40 companies. We’ve got a lot of brokers in South Africa connected to us and able to trade. Something we have found is that we’ve had to play an almost educational role for the rest of the market. While secondary listings are well known in other countries, they’re new in South Africa. As such, we often find that when we approach companies, we have to spend a lot of time first educating them in terms of the framework and how secondary listings work.”

Hiccups aside, Otsile is confident that all of the foundations are now in place – backed up by great technology – and that the company can now “spread its wings and soar”. He says: “We’ve got the right experience and personnel in place, so now it’s about executing our strategy and getting more companies to list. With that said, creating change is hard. We are up against a monopoly with the JSE and that’s difficult.

But we’re confident that, given time, we’ll be able to overcome the challenge this presents.”

Despite its newness, Otsile says the exchange has received a great deal of support. “A lot of companies want to see us succeed,” he says. “People seem to have realised the importance and benefits of having competition. The pipeline in terms of the companies we are talking to is very exciting, as is the potential of what we are trying to achieve and what it means not just for us but for the industry and economy as a whole.”

U-turns and hard lessons Asked whether he ever considered a different career path to finance, Otsile laughs and says yes. “Straight out of high school, I had an Accenture bursary to study electrical engineering. At the very last moment, when I went to register, I realised this wasn’t something I

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wanted to do. It was one of the bravest decisions I’ve ever made,” he says thoughtfully. “I left the paid-for engineering route and, the child of a single parent, found myself without funds to study. It was a big debt for myself and my mother, who had to dig into her savings. But later on you see the rewards of your hard work, because I really put my heart into my studies.

All I knew was that I wanted to be in business. I had some friends studying accounting and decided to join them. I have no regrets.”

Otsile shares some of the lessons he’s learnt thus far on his career journey: “In my career I’ve worked for Coca-Cola, ABI/SABMiller, Peregrine and A2X. Something I have learnt is that company culture is very important. Now, that’s the number one thing I look at before joining a company. Because I realised that there are certain cultures where you’re going to succeed and where the company’s values align with your own. Before accepting a position, you need to learn about the culture of the company and the manager with whom you’ll be working. It’s a learning curve to realise there will be environments where you blossom faster, quicker and easier than others.”

Bright future “My focus now is to try and ensure A2X is as successful as it can possibly be,” says Otsile. “That’s my immediate focus for now and the coming years; to ensure we make an impact. Being impactful and making a difference is important to me. I’m lucky to have joined a company that does this on a daily basis. I get up each day to help meet this goal.”

Asked what makes him – a young CFO – most excited when considering the future of the finance industry, Otsile says the rate of change currently taking place, which he says provides an opportunity to reimagine the role that financial services play in people’s lives.

“We are seeing more and more the role that technology plays, not just in our jobs but out in the industry,” he says. “There’s a lot of potential embedded in the industry and across all aspects, whether you’re looking at blockchain, automation, or machine learning. There’s a lot that can be done. There are so many new companies that have launched recently which are making life easier for the end consumer, and which are doing this in radical ways. We’ve also got better financial inclusion for everyone, which bodes well for the finance industry. Choice is very important in that instance and I think that’s where A2X comes in. We provide that choice at a much lower cost, which means the traditionally dominant players in the industry become less desirable in the services they offer.”l

WE SPEAK

FAIRNESS. Many of us don’t fully understand what the South African Office of the Tax Ombud actually is. Let’s start from the beginning, what is an Ombud?

An Ombud is an independent and impartial officer who deals with complaints about an organisation/agency, whether private or public. Typically these complaints involve issues that the organisation or agency has been unable or unwilling, to resolve to the complainant’s satisfaction.

We are fortunate enough in South Africa to have a body like that. The Office of the Tax Ombud operates independently of the South African Revenue Service as an impartial mediator between the South African taxpayers and SARS. FAIR AND IMPARTIAL PROBLEMSOLVING. The Tax Ombud is appointed by the Minister of Finance to whom he reports directly. The Tax Ombud reviews and addresses complaints that are of service, procedural and administrative nature. We work specifically with taxpayers who have been unable to resolve a complaint through the normal complaints management channels of SARS. HAVE YOU GONE THROUGH THE CORRECT COMPLAINTS CHANNELS? It is important to note that there are certain circumstances where the Tax Ombud cannot make recommendations on. Therefore, before approaching the Tax Ombud, taxpayers must first try to resolve their complaints directly with SARS (through SARS’s Complaints Management Office which can be reached on 0860 121 216) unless if there are compelling circumstances.

If still unresolved, you may then submit your complaint to the Office of the Tax Ombud by downloading and completing the Complaints Form found on our website www.taxombud.gov.za/make-a-complaint.html, call us on 0800 662 837 or send us an email to complaints@taxombud.gov.za or visit our office in Pretoria.

Taxpayers are obliged to comply with the tax laws of our country and should continue to pay the tax amounts due to avoid penalties whilst their complaint is under review.

We may not be able to help you set up your e-filing account, but we do facilitate access to justice in South Africa and contribute to a culture of respect for the tax system and for taxpayers’ rights and obligations.

Tax Ombud, Judge Bernard Ngoepe

HOW DO I LODGE A COMPLAINT? • You need to obtain a complaint form. Visit the Office of the Tax Ombud or contact the Office by telephone, fax or email to request a copy of the complaint form.

The form is also available on our website.

• Document the factual situation of your complaint in chronological order. Attach all the supporting documents relevant to the complaint.

• Ensure that the form is completed in full. Write down the reference numbers from SARS; indicate the name of the SARS branch, date and person you escalated the case to.

• All complaint forms must be signed and dated. If the form does not allow you to relate your complaint fully, use extra paper which must be attached to your complaint form.

• The Office of the Tax Ombud will not accept unsigned forms.

Taxpayer representatives must confirm their authority to act on behalf of their clients through a fully completed power of attorney, and submit ID copies of both the taxpayer and taxpayer representative.

• If there is not enough evidence to support your complaint, the matter may be closed. However, we will first give you an opportunity to substantiate your complaint or provide the necessary evidence.

• Once we have received your form, the Tax Ombud will investigate the complaint and decide how to handle it if it falls within our mandate, otherwise we will recommend alternative remedies.

For more information, visit www.taxombud.gov.za.

VISION

“What’s beautiful about the CFO position is that you see every part of the business and you get to touch and feel so much.”

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IMPACTFUL AND AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a celling to life or to anything,” says Logamal Ramiah, the newly appointed CFO of education group FutureLearn, and the previous CFO of Netsurit. “I believe your future is what you paint it to be – it’s a blank canvas waiting for your story.” And what a story Logamal has to tell. Toni Muir sat down with her over coffee and muffins to hear all about it.

“

My seven-year-old-self wanted to be a marine biologist. I loved animals and the sea,” chuckles Logamal Ramiah, CFO at FutureLearn, a South African group which operates in the education space, and which is wholly owned by PSG. “As you grow up you start to think practically and funding was an issue; my family couldn’t fund me and I couldn’t fund myself. My mom was a housewife and my dad was disabled, working part-time to provide for the family. I didn’t even qualify for student funding because I needed someone to sign as guarantor and I didn’t have that. In Grade 10 I came across a CAO handbook that said they offered bursaries. I didn’t even know such a concept existed. I said to myself, ‘If there are people out there who are going to pay for my studies I’m going to get myself there.’ I worked so hard to get that bursary, I didn’t sleep.”

Knuckling down Logamal is proof that hard work pays off: in 2017, she was nominated for the SAICA Top 35 Under 35 and was also a finalist for Young Professional of the year (through SAPSA, SA Professional Services Awards). “It was very humbling,” she recalls. “The calibre of individuals in the Top 35 is overwhelming. It is amazing to see how many of them are CAs with a highly educated background but who give back as much as they’ve been given. And not once-off either – they live and breathe philanthropy in their daily lives. The compound effect that this will have in society is phenomenal.”

Sink or swim Logamal’s current role is her second as a CFO. Before joining the education group, she was the Group CFO of Netsurit for six years. She took on this first exec-

utive role when she was 28 years old, and also moved into the IT industry – a space in which she had no experience. She had to learn the ropes quickly. “You are talking to business leaders who have a wealth of knowledge and you have to give them insight into something they already have. It depends a lot on you as a person,” she says thoughtfully. “I did a lot of homework and checking and double-checking before going into meetings and got advice from others in the organisation. This helps you to build credibility. You need to respect that others know more than you.”

Logamal joined FutureLearn in April this year. Her new role is quite diverse, covering finance, legal and HR – the latter being a first for Logamal, who is visibly excited about what she can do with this. She glances towards a wall of whiteboards in her office, which are completely covered in colourful mind maps, lines drawn

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VISION from one idea to the next, projects interlinked. She laughs and says this is the strategy that she and the team drew up in her first month.

“It’s a big spiderweb of plans but it allows people to visually see where we are going and also gets them excited about things. When you explain to people why we are doing things and where we see ourselves going, it makes such a big difference,” she says. “What’s beautiful about the CFO position is that you see every part of the business and you get to touch and feel so much.

You’re so integrated into everything,” she adds.

Being impactful Logamal’s first order of business was to “turn finance on its head”, which she did by automating. She explains: “I moved all of our management reporting to Power BI, which has made a massive difference – it has probably saved three to four days of my accountant’s time.

Our analysis gets done here too.

We now have timeous information, which is better for decision-making and accountability.”

Logamal believes she can make the most difference, however, where the organisation’s human capi-

tal is concerned. “The culture here is wonderful – that of a family. But culture is something you build; it’s a living thing which you have to constantly feed and augment if you want it to be a differentiator.” When she arrived, she felt that people couldn’t easily see their greater purpose. “To address this, I suggested we redo the way we do certain things, such as staff induction and staff meetings. Now, there is increased learning, growing and connectedness, which we want to encourage on every level. We are, after all, an education business!”

Given that the company’s main purpose is to have an impact on education, what it does as an organisation must be aligned to this, Logamal says. “This Mandela Day, we went to a Bathabile Farm Primary School out in Olivenhoutbosch, which has 1,500 learners, with around 40 to 50 learners in each class, with one teacher. The teachers are so dedicated but they lack materials, resources, funding and infrastructure: the older children don’t have tools for maths and the younger children don’t have crayons to draw. We spent the day painting the classrooms beautiful colours,

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR ASPIRANT YOUNG PROFESSIONALS? “Stay the course; it’s going to be tough but never give up. Also, know yourself and stand up for what you believe in. Work for your dreams."

WHAT’S THE HARDEST LESSON YOU’VE LEARNT IN YOUR CAREER? “Always look at the numbers. In your career, you’ll meet people with great visions. For example, when it comes to M&A, you’ll hear someone’s passion and you’ll believe in their business, but make sure you look at numbers because they might say something different. As nice as people are, you’ve got to look deeper into the numbers and evaluate, at a micro level, before you say yes. That said, you also need to understand the softer elements to dealmaking and know that it has a bigger impact than the numbers alone.”

WHAT DO THE NEXT FIVE YEARS HOLD FOR YOU, PERSONALLY AND PROFESSIONALLY? “I’m an aspirational person. I’d love to have a doctorate in the next five years. I’d also love to create something bigger than me; to define what my legacy will be and what I’m going to leave behind.”

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“I believe your future is what you paint it to be – it’s a blank canvas waiting for your story.” and we planted a veggie garden with over 1,000 seedlings and a few fruit trees, which the children helped with. We wanted to teach the kids that they can sustain themselves. The school also doesn’t have any books, so we gave them a small library of reading material. On the day we visited, we set up reading spots and read to the children.”

Logamal stops to consider before continuing: “The point of it all was that I wanted the staff to feel what it means to have an impact on education; to spend time with a child who is in a tough situation but to see the difference we can make and the impact we can have; and to show the children that there are people out there who care about them and believe in them.”

Logamal is also very passionate about empowerment – particularly female empowerment. While at Netsurit, she started an empowerment group that focused on women development. “IT is very male-oriented and a lot of leadership posts are held by males,” she explains. “When I came into my CFO role from outside the IT realm, I spent a lot of time thinking about how we could inspire women to be more than what they thought they were. I wanted to motivate women to have a voice. When women come together in a group, something powerful happens. And I’ve seen that happen.”

Logamal took inspiration from Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook and founder of Leanin.org. Logamal says the ideas and concepts that come out of the monthly get-to-

gethers were very powerful. “In the two years since starting the programme, I saw so much growth of the women involved. So much so that we extended it to other women organisations outside of Netsurit,” she says.

Logamal says she likes having a purpose and enjoys co-creating within organisations as part of her career – such as the women’s group. She is also a life coach to students from Alexandra township in Johannesburg. “We work with students from Grade 10 to 12 and take them through a life methodology on how to set goals and work towards that. We show them what it looks like to be successful and we help them to create vision boards. We’ve touched 300 young lives through that,” she says with a wide smile.

Authentic leadership Logamal believes that authenticity is important in every decision that a leader makes. “People look to authentic leaders; people want a passion and purpose for being at work. That comes from the top down,” she says. “Being authentic drives engagement and inspires people to do better. People love a true story and something to believe in. If you show them that you are the same and build a common base, they will trust you more.

Asked what sort of leader she is, Logamal considers before answering: “I’m a very hands-off leader.

When you let go and decentralise leadership, it has a multiplier effect on the organisation. It cascades down and creates more leaders in the organisation, and thus less followers. So, when I build my team I build them to think and innovate and come up with ideas.” Logamal refers to servant leadership, what she calls an “amazing leadership style”, and which is explained in the book, ‘Good to Great’. She says: “Servant leadership takes the traditional view of top-down leadership and flips it on its head. It says you are there to serve the people, including employees, the

community and the organisation’s stakeholders. If you are that sort of leader there to serve, it creates a multiplier effect in staff because you are giving them freedom.

Being a servant leader creates purpose for people and gives them the power to come up with ideas and to bring ingenuity and innovation into their work.”

Sharing her thoughts on the importance of mentoring, Logamal says she believes this to be “utterly critical”. She says: “It is key from a top-down perspective, especially if you want to get the best out of people. And mentoring is key to a CFO. It helps you to build a scaffold and I think you need that grounding as you build your foundation.” She adds that she has several respected peers with whom she regularly touches base. “It’s so good to have that sounding board.”

Off the clock For Logamal, her family is as important as her work, and she jokes that she has two full-time jobs. When she leaves the office each afternoon at around 5pm, it’s to return home to a husband and two children, ages seven and two.

“I believe that work-life balance is important. And as a leader in any organisation, in any sphere of life, if you have a successful worklife balance people will notice and want to emulate what you do,” she says thoughtfully. “I think this comes back to authentic leadership, because your work-life balance must be sustainable and you have to be happy with it. You don’t want to wake up one day to find that your life has passed you by. I think you need to be conscious about the decisions you make and know what’s important for you. To do this, you need to have goals.”

She continues: “I don’t work weekends as a rule. That’s family time, and I try to be 100 percent present.”

Logamal also loves gardening, cooking, socialising, new adventures, and being charitable. She tries to instil the latter in her children, too.

“Before they have their birthday, the

children must plan a charity event, to give back. They decide where they are doing it and which children are coming. Then we get the kids together to play with each other, we put music on and you see they’re all the same. Those nuances are beautiful,” she says. “I firmly believe in what author Kevin Salwen talks about in his book, ‘The Power of Half’. The book talks about giving away half of what you own, as a concept. It also talks about purpose and what children are looking for.

How much is enough? I don’t know.

Maybe half is enough.” l

FINANCE’S TECH FUTURE Keeping up with the data that’s out there is one of the most pressing concerns for those in the finance sector, says Logamal. “If you consider what finance needs to do to stay relevant in the future, I think it’s analysing the data that’s available. Finance isn’t there to do debits and credits. Those days are behind us. We’re there to analyse data and give insight back into the business; to be the trusted advisor and tell the organisation’s decision-makers what they need to know, not what they want to know. So that when decisions are being made they fully understand the knockon effect. It’s about how finance can empower the business to use big data and make meaningful decisions.”

Logamal finds artificial intelligence (AI) and automation exciting and says it “takes the grudge work out of accounting”. She says: “Automation enables you to use your mind more productively – such as for analytics, analysis, insight, and building models.

We are starting to see the impact of automation on the speed at which reporting is being delivered and insights being developed. It is starting to change the traditional finance role. Finance can now begin to be a differentiator."

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VISION

The Radisson Blu Sandton provided a gorgeous backdrop and

Women business leaders had the opportunity to

delectable catering for the CFO and CHRO Women’s Dinner.

network and share knowledge.

WOMEN DO IT FOR THEMSELVES AT CFO WOMEN’S DINNER Women business leaders gathered at the Radisson Blu Sandton to network, share ideas and offer support to one another over fine food and inspirational presentations.

O

n 1 August 2018, CFO South Africa hosted 50 of South Africa’s top women CFOs and CHROS, along with their mentees, at a Women’s Dinner held at the Radisson Blu Sandton. The theme of the event was the “sponsorship of women”.

“We realised that women needed the opportunity to swap notes and

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share ideas about the issues facing women in the workplace,” said CFO South Africa’s managing director, Graham Fehrsen. “We hope that tonight will inspire and enlighten, but also provide a platform for delivering on good intentions.”

The evening’s programme was facilitated by Inge Walters, leadership practitioner and founder of Eve Learning, who said that in order to

achieve sufficient gender representations in senior management and on boards, gender diversity had to be made a top priority.

“Gender diversity strategies have to be anchored in a compelling business case, limiting attitudes towards women in the workplace have to be confronted and factbased transformation strategies have to be implemented,” she said.

AngloGold Ashanti CFO Christine Ramon and Group Executive

Women business leaders brought along their mentees

of Human Capital at Barloworld Tantaswa Fubu participated

who were given the opportunity to request sponsorship

in a fascinating panel on the importance of sponsorship.

from other women.

Inge asked the floor for a definition of sponsorship. After the open discussion, Inge responded with:

for other woman what had been done for them – and more – in the past.

“What makes it different from mentorship is that proactivity, that skin in the game”

The hosts of the evening then delivered a surprise for their guests. Every mentee was invited up to the stage to select the name of a senior executive out of a hat, and to then approach that person with a request for sponsorship – to actually do it, rather than putting it off until later.

She then chaired a panel with two special guests, Christine Ramon, AngloGold Ashanti’s CFO, and Winner of the CFO of the Year Award, and Tantaswa Fubu, Group Executive: Human Capital, Internal Audit and Corporate Affairs at Barloworld, who shared their personal stories about those who supported them on their path to success and what they learnt along the way.

These two woman’s stories highlighted the importance of sponsorship in a women’s life. Inge pointed out that both women listed many supportive men among their mentors, underscoring the importance of men offering women their sponsorship as well as other women.

The panel wound up with Christine urging the other women in the audience to “pay it forward” and do

Although this was an initially awkward process for many, the energy levels in the room soon skyrocketed as women overcame their reticence and held animated conversations with one another over dinner.

ACCOLADES FOR THE WOMEN’S DINNER “I would enthusiastically recommend for women to attend such events. The event is less formal, yet empowering and elegant. It is amazing to be in a room full of resilient, bold, wise and inspiring women who are trailblazers in their own right."

– Ayanda Mafuleka, CFO of AEMFC “Engaging and uplifting network of inspiring professionals! I am proud to be part of this network. Onwards and upwards for SA with this team at the helm."

– Aneshree Naidoo, CFO of Deloitte

At the end of the evening, Inge concluded: “We need to get more comfortable asking for things and doing things for other people. It becomes a part of who you are when you show up at the workplace. Then we won’t have to get together and say, ‘let’s do it,’ because we already will be.”l

The Women’s Dinner was sponsored by Workday, PwC and Transparent, underscoring these companies’ commitment to promoting and supporting women leaders in the workplace.

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VISION

M&A insights from three gurus

According to this year’s CFO Day Survey, dealmaking is becoming more important in the daily lives of CFOs. A staggering 92 percent of CFOs feel they should be more involved in M&A than in the past. To get up to speed with the latest tips, tricks and trends, we spoke to three dealmaking gurus: ansarada’s Head of Middle East & Africa Arie Maree, PSG CEO Piet Mouton and Omnia CFO Wayne Koonin. By Joël Roerig and Sungula Nkabinde

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1. “

Five tips from Piet Mouton

The CFO can't be a yes man.

They are sitting closest to the CEO and must be strong enough to challenge every decision that they make," says PSG CEO Piet Mouton, speaking at this year’s CFO Day at an incredible learning session enabled by event sponsor ansarada.

Investment firm PSG was started

by Piet’s father Jannie Mouton and is perhaps South Africa’s most incredible corporate growth story.

According to Piet, PSG focuses primarily on early-stage investments, which means they are at an immediate advantage over competitors who tend to want companies that are already established.

Meanwhile, PSG is strictly in it for the long-term and they have no fixed exit in mind when they make an investment.

“Capitec was started by us going out and buying 300 micro-lending businesses. PSG Konsult started with five brokers and today there are more than 800 advisors and it’s probably the biggest independent advisory business in the country. We bought Curro when there were three schools and today there are 140 schools,” Piet explained, referring to three of the company’s biggest assets. He gave the gathered CFOs five important investment tips.

1. Focus on big markets You should avoid going into com-

panies that serve niche markets, because that limits the extent to which you can grow. Rather look for companies in industries where the size of the pie is very big. Those are the banking, energy, financial services and education sectors, to name a few examples.

2. Spot market gaps Is the market full of fierce competition or are there lazy oligopolies, like those which characterised the banking sector before Capitec joined the fray? Fifteen years ago, banks would open at 10am and close at 3pm and the customer service was poor. When Capitec opened, they went from zero to 10 million clients in a relatively short period of time, because there was a gap in the market for a better banking service. Markets with government-run or state-owned entities as the primary competitor also represent an opportunity because they tend to be inefficient, leaving a gap for businesses that offered better value to customers.

3. Do your own homework Most companies outsource much of the due diligence aspect of a deal to accountants, lawyers and advisors, but it is crucial that most of the due diligence team is made up of people from your own organisation. After the transaction, it is only you as the CFO that is going to have to answer to sharehold-

ers and board members, not some external party. You have to take ownership of the deal. The CFO and the finance team must take charge of the financial assumptions within that business. The advisor can build the model but you have to take ownership of it. You cannot let someone else tell you what is happening or must happen with your investment.

4. Use negotiators As a CFO, you need to keep your position of strength in a negotiation. By having a representative at the table instead of yourself, you give that person an option when they are in a tough corner to say 'I have to take this back to my CFO or CEO'. If you are negotiating yourself as the CFO and need to say, 'I have to check with my board members whether I can go ahead with this’, then you are immediately in a position of weakness.

5. Work with high-quality execs Having a high-quality management team is the most important element of M&A success, because to destabilise the status quo a company has to be different from competitors. The executive management, with the CFO in a pivotal role, is also important as an effective sounding board for the CEO, who is responsible for creating the strategy of the organisation.

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VISION

2. “

Arie Maree: always be deal-ready

Short, sharp due diligences are the norm for mergers and acquisitions lately,” says Arie Maree, Head of Middle East & Africa at ansarada.

“The average time in data rooms used to be between three and six months, but now we are seeing a lot more two-month processes.”

Ansarada is a provider of virtual data rooms for business transactions, fundraising, IPOs, tenders and M&A. As regional boss of the company, Arie is better placed than most to comment on the vibrancy of the economy. He says there has been a lot of renewed confidence and foreign investment around the leadership change to South African president Cyril Ramaphosa, but also notices “a new sense of cost-conscious behaviour and trepidation” as the result of land redistribution becoming a hot political topic.

According to Arie, “quick and efficient deals” are very common at the moment, while another big trend he is seeing in the M&A space is that companies need to permanently be deal-ready and able to present themselves at any given time. “People really want to have their ducks in a row on an ongoing basis, so when the opportunity arises there are no nightmares or an absolutely crazy phase which creates a lot of stress.”

Arie says, shorter due diligences

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are a global phenomenon, which is also spurred on by artificial intelligence and machine learning, which are both applied in ansarada’s data rooms. “It also addresses the friction between corporate executives and advisors. The executives also have a day job to run the business. We are working hard to minimise the demand on them by creating efficient, collaborative processes. For that, we use scorecards and benchmarks, so everyone knows what good looks like for your deal and your industry.”

What makes a good dealmaker?

“If you look at dealmakers who deliver great results, you see people with the ability to manage complexity very well,” says Arie. “Good dealmakers drive simplicity and don’t get swamped by massive due diligence. They also have a gut feel for where to look and spot a good asset and they are able to deliver.”

To be a good seller is also an art in itself and Arie believes timing is crucial. “You want to present the right stuff at the right time to the right people. Successful presentations are agile and adapted to the audience.

We see a lot of big deals fall over because of bad deal prep from the seller’s side. A poor presentation can also severely impact the multiple that you get. Good dealmakers run a very tight ship and leverage expertise of good advisors.”

CFO is pivotal Results of the CFO Day Survey, unveiled on page 16 in this magazine, show that 92 percent of CFOs feel they should be more involved in M&A and 79 percent expect dealmaking to increase in importance compared to organic growth.

Arie agrees and says the CFO is pivotal. “They are at the epicentre, whether it is a finance raise or M&A. CFOs have the absolute overview and, in most cases, they drive the whole process.”

Efficient delegation is often a characteristic of good CFOs, notes Arie.

“CFOs should be driving efficiency, getting subject matter experts in to execute and embracing technology where needed. Personality still plays a massive part as well in dealmaking. You can be a clever kid who gets top marks, but can’t find a date for the dance. A good CFO can do both. People like to deal with nice people.”

Ansarada itself has a big focus on the deal-readiness of corporates, even after a previous deal has just been concluded. “For example, after a massive listing or very successful transaction, we often find that data and representation of a business starts deteriorating.

We are focusing on agility. Our one main goal is to optimise potential and preparation in whichever stage of the dealmaking.”

Seize opportunity before it knocks At Ansarada, our Material Information Platform and Data Rooms apply AI to all the critical information in your business, so you can boost transaction values, close deals quickly, and seize opportunities before your competitors. Don’t settle for the ordinary way.

Win with our way.

The ready way to do business.

Data Rooms | Deal Preparation | Material Information Platform Sandton +27 118 815 742

Stellenbosch +27 218 828 571

ansarada.com

© 2018 Ansarada Pty Limited. All rights reserved.

There’s the ready way to do business. And then there’s the wrong way. The ready way means knowing what’s coming before it arrives and being prepared for your organisation’s most crucial moments.

XX

FOR MORE KNOWLEDGE, OPPORTUNITIES AND DEALS BECOME A MEMBER OF THE AFRICAN M&A COMMUNITY. ENJOY THE BENEFITS. • Deal sourcing at M&A Forums • Master classes with top-notch knowledge • Find the best specialists and companies in the Top-1000 Dealmakers • Unlimited access to the M&A Database & League Tables • Personal profile on the MandA.co.za website • Stay up to date with the MandA.co.za newsletter • Insights and in-depth stories in the M&A Magazine Sign up today on MandA.co.za*

*The African M&A Community welcomes professionals active in M&A, corporate finance and private equity 68 CFO MAGAZINE • CFO.CO.ZA For more information contact: Tim Vogels | tvogels@manda.co.za | +316 2332 9062

VISION

3. “

Be brave, says Wayne Koonin

The only thing you can rely on as a CFO is the sale agreement. As CFO you need to read the agreement 10 to 15 times, word for word, to make sure that it stacks up,” says award-winning Omnia CFO Wayne Koonin, who says dealmaking finance leaders should focus on legal expertise, due diligence and the quality of their deal teams as part of the overall M&A process.

the deal,” says Wayne. “Equally, making the effort to figure out the deal and realise value can be very rewarding. Dealmaking tends to get into your ego and emotions, so keeping these in check is essential.

An independent board or committee is the key to this challenge as they keep you honest and ask the tough questions.”

After involvement in M&A deals early in his career, Wayne has become known as a turnaround and IT specialist. However, at Omnia he has put his dealmaker cap back on and the company recently acquired Umongo Petroleum and Oro Agri in two separate deals for a total of R2 billion.

He shared some of his insights on dealmaking with fellow CFOs during CFO Day – and here in CFO Magazine.

Legal and tax expertise come at a premium and it’s one thing you cannot afford to overlook, even if your main focus is finance, says Wayne. “As an example, if you’re doing a deal with an American entity and have done work previously in a country with political or economic exposure that may be problematic under American legislation, you simply cannot ignore this. At the same time, when tax advisors go beserk, you need to balance whatever they are worried about with the worst-case scenario risk that could materialise.”

“The key lesson is that when the deal isn’t right you might need to be brave enough to walk away, despite the work you have put into

Ducks in a row

Due diligence is probably the

most “underestimated skills set”, says Wayne. “Working with your partners to validate your perspectives is essential. Once the deal is done, you’re going to have to execute and implement and this can be much more effective if, during your due diligence process, you’ve given thought to the ‘end game’.

You can’t get everything right, but you have to make sure that the due diligence is not just used for the valuation, but also to prepare future integration and getting a good understanding of the business. You need to set the bar high at the due diligence phase, because you will pay the price later on if you do not.”

Wayne says that the quality of the internal and external team is essential for successful M&A. “If you can build the internal team bench strength that will be very helpful as it can bring a diversity of thought and perspective, while making sure at the same time you have depth and a range of skilled advisors to backup the team.” l

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Introducing Bidvest’s bot in the boardroom

Go Ask

ALICE

At future board meetings at Bidvest, there may be an extra presence at the boardroom table in the form of ALICE, who’ll be there to answer questions about the group’s IT risk. But ALICE isn’t Bidvest’s latest executive hire; rather, she’s a bot who has been created by Bidvest’s internal audit team to carry out IT audits across the group’s 229 IT environments.

By Georgina Guedes

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LICE is the brainchild of Lauren Berrington, Bidvest’s chief audit executive, who was brought across from PwC in 2012 to head up the group’s internal audit function. One of her mandates when joining Bidvest was to introduce an IT audit capability. She and her small IT audit team spent the better part of two and a half years auditing the IT environments at Bidvest.

Some of the challenges that Lauren and her team faced were that there are 130,000 employees, 350 legal entities and around 150 operating entities in the Bidvest group, all with separate IT environments.

“There is no shared infrastructure and no common domains. Every environment differs in size, in security posture, in complexity and in maturity. Bidvest is a completely decentralised group. Every autonomous company runs itself and IT follows suit,” Lauren says.

IT through a management lens What this meant for the small IT audit team was that they had multiple “clients” operating across 29 sub-industries in over 900 sites, with 260 key financial systems and a multitude of other systems. IT is also outsourced, co-sourced or part of strategic part-

Lauren and the team that created ALICE Lauren Berrington, ALICE’s creator, says: “Without my team, there would be no ALICE. And the team is really where the story of ALICE began. They are (and have always been) high-performing and hugely talented. My desire was to give them an opportunity to unlock their value and showcase their talent – conceiving ALICE allowed this desire to materialise. Equipping my team to be relevant and building successful careers for them in a disrupted future is important to me. My team has made this pioneering journey worthwhile.”

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“We had multiple audiences, so we had to rehash the same information to accommodate the different views required for the audit committee, for the board, for IT operations management, for external auditors and for ourselves.” nerships, in spaces that range from a fully regulated banking environment to the relatively simplistic systems supporting a toothpick manufacturer.

“As a result, there are complex aggregation and consolidation structures, and with everything being so different, it was difficult to get a group view. We also had multiple audiences, so we had to rehash the same information to accommodate the different views required for the audit committee, for the board, for IT

operations management, for external auditors and for ourselves. We were able to provide the various stakeholders with a robust view of IT environments across the group at the end of two and a half years, but the problem was that this view was two and a half years old in very evolving and dynamic IT environments,” says Lauren.

In 2013, she was asked to chair the group’s IT Forum, made up of the most influential CIOs in the group, who are tasked to leverage the power of the group and unpack smarter and more efficient ways of doing things. Why this was important to Lauren was that it was the first time that she saw IT governance through a management lens. She says this lens provided her with deep insight into the effort and pain points of governing an IT environment and these insights informed a large part of the spec of ALICE. In 2016, she got the go-ahead to build a bot.

Go meet ALICE Alice’s CV is online at www.bidvestalice.com/cv/.

There you can learn that she: •

Plays the cello

•

Likes online shopping

• Considers herself to be a foodie • Is secure, infinitely scalable and has global reach • Is comfortable in all IT environments

All about ALICE “ALICE was built to de-risk Bidvest with the intent of commercialising her in the long run. Her IP is held in Bidvest Advisory Services. We launched her internally in beta phase in 2017,” says Lauren.

ALICE’s job description is to facilitate the collection, storage, orchestration, analysis and reporting of IT environmental data against best practice standards.

“Essentially, she’s an IT governance tool, and her purpose is to equip those charged with governance with visibility into the risks in the IT environment. She has an unintended consequence that she also serves as a management monitoring tool, but that’s not the purpose she was designed for,” says Lauren.

“We don’t believe in hierarchies, red tape and tickboxes just for the sake of it.”

Bidvest is exceptionally well governed, but not conventionally. “We don’t believe in hierarchies, red tape and tickboxes just for the sake of it. Management plays a pivotal role in governance and the value proposition of

ALICE had to be very clear in order to be embraced by management.

It is taking petabytes of training data to make ALICE intelligent, and that’s the journey that Lauren and her team are currently on. “She has an interactive, intuitive dashboard that allows management to interrogate their results in real time, allowing them to mitigate and manage IT risks better.

ALICE is based in the cloud, which makes her scalable and gives her global reach. “She’s multi-tenanted and accommodates complex aggregation and consolidation structures,” says Lauren.

Her current skills set includes technical security, business resilience, user administration, cloud security and SQL hardening. There is a roadmap to increase her current capabilities. She currently audits 159 IT environments across the group on a daily basis, and has digitalised an IT audit workforce.

Lauren says that there is no better testing ground than the hugely diversified IT environments across Bidvest.

“The group has battle hardened her. We are embracing all feedback and fixing all issues identified. She’ll be a better product before we get to market.”

ALICE has been recognised for what she has achieved and for the massive potential she holds. Once beta testing has been completed, she will be commercialised. This is envisaged for early 2019.l

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It's hard to transform if you don't know the pain of disruption.

Local thinking first: tech solutions for African CFOs Deloitte's Enterprise Solutions head explains how South African businesses are using data and technology-driven solutions. By Kate Ferreira

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run Babu heads up the Enterprise Solutions business for Deloitte Consulting. Under his leadership, the broad-capability technology and digital business team focuses on implementation services for large-scale technology and digital solutions across sub-Saharan Africa.

It’s a role that brings Arun’s dual backgrounds in engineering and consulting together, focusing on transforming companies using a strategic approach to the digital transformation imperative.

Outcomes-driven Deloitte’s Enterprise Solutions team focuses on large organisations and the role of technology-led business transformation. They are organised in line with how typical companies are structured, Arun says.

“We have teams servicing the tech needs of chief marketing officers, chief operating officers, chief financial officers etc. We are geared to servicing the needs of the various CxOs in organisations.”

“A typical example,” he continues, “is an organisation that needs to become more customer-centric. We assist them with mapping that goal, finding appropriate digital tools (usually cloud-based) to enable

what they are trying to achieve, like a consistent view of all their customers.”

“In other cases, a business might require support around understanding large amounts of data, which is where our Deloitte Analytics teams would get involved, in managing huge volumes of data and making sense of it,” adds Arun. This could be customer data, used to determine what the next best offer or marketing campaign should be, or data used to predict and mitigate other business issues, he says.

Predictably in the information age, data and analytics are becoming significant and critical levers for Deloitte. Another one is the role of robotics in automating core processes or minimising rudimentary and repetitive processes, so a company’s employees can focus on high-purpose tasks.

“Unless you feel the pain of a disruption, you don’t take the transformation imperative seriously.”

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Demand and distribution Are we seeing local demand and uptake of these kinds of data, automation and robotics tools? Yes, says Arun, but in patterns that correspond to our own context.

“Unless you feel the pain of a disruption, you don’t take the transformation imperative seriously. That’s why manufacturing and mining took a lot more actively to the trend locally,” he says.

“In the old days, technology was the remit of the CIO or CTO. With the digital age, that's changed.”

With these industries in imminent danger of being disrupted, they reacted faster to automation and investment into automation activities. But, Arun cautions, it can’t just be a technology decision. Companies can and do make the mistake of adopting technology for its own sake, and not challenging the business model or considering broader factors including social context. For example, in South Africa, mines and manufacturing firms need to consider the other pressures of job creation and retention, enterprise development, and social responsibility. Companies that aggressively adopted large-scale mechanical automation here might see push-back from workers’ unions or government.

Global drive, African approach Still, digital tools and transformation offer many benefits to an emerging economy like ours. “Consider the effect that something like telemedicine will have for people in rural or underserved areas. Education is the next one. Tech gives us a new way of delivering education. Technology offers solutions, but we mustn’t be ‘too developed world’ in our mindset towards these tools.”

“This is why I want to create a unique African digital transformation capability at Deloitte, where we can help African organisations transform digitally in a very African way, instead of just following a UK or US model, for example.”

Partnering with the CFO Digital transformation also necessitates a corresponding change in how we do business. CFOs, argues Arun, are in a unique position to not just oversee this transformation, but champion it like never before.

“In the old days, technology was the remit of the CIO or CTO. With the digital age, that's changed,” he says.

“Firstly, large technology investments go through the CFO office naturally. Secondly, these days technology is embedded in every function.”

Practically this means that in finance, the CFO makes many technology decisions, such as bringing in new tools or systems that offer better insights into finance decision-making. This, explains Arun, might be in pursuit of faster month-end closing capability, or it might be to support business planning capability. Technology is a core part of enabling this in large organisations. “It is a different level of conversations that we are experiencing with CFOs compared to five or 10 years ago.”

Another apparent shift in the CFO role is perhaps even more fundamental, and can involve rethinking the company’s entire way of doing business: The CFO is now an important player (alongside the CEO) in moving from a model that prioritises ‘failure prevention’ to one that is agile and able to take calculated risks; rethinking operating and capital expenditure as subscription and software-as-a-service (SaaS) models go mainstream; and finally, rejigging for customer centricity.

To sidestep that particular trap, Arun says, start with interrogating the problems themselves, and make technology the secondary conversation.

“The transformation inside a company to become customer centric can be quite complex and expensive.

A CFO has the responsibility to help the organisation articulate the value this transformation can have, and decide how you fund this while still achieving the expected ROI from it,” says Arun.

“Once we know what our problems are, we can come up with unique solutions. Mobile money and mobile payments are a solution that started in Kenya, in response to a unique Kenyan problem. Prepaid mobile was invented in South Africa in response to a South African problem. Both of these have transformed the world," he says.

“Part of becoming a more agile, experimental company involves asking how you create the funding mechanisms for it, how you reengineer business and income statements for a cloud-enabled world, and how finance can support this transformation by being an active participant and sponsor rather than just checks and balances.” l

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Jan Hofmeyr discusses how OUTsurance is maintaining current competitiveness while preparing for a very different future insurance landscape.

QUESTIONS FOR OUTSURANCE CFO

JAN HOFMEYR

Financial services organisations that evolve ahead of the curve with survive the coming disruption. We posed nine questions to Jan Hofmeyr, CFO of the OUTsurance Group and CFO Awards 2018 nominee about his role in driving the group’s FinTech revolution while ensuring that the Group remains competitive with its current product portfolio. By Georgina Guedes

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“You have to be willing to take chances to enable growth and improve service delivery.”

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You started out as a young CFO. How has your perspective changed over the years?

I started out as CFO at the age of 27. My initial focus was learning the ropes of being a finance executive in the insurance space. Over time, my role has become more strategic; looking after the financial health of the company as well as being a key enabler of our organisational strategy. The role has evolved to include evaluating and assisting in defining the strategic direction of the business and the associated risks and opportunities. This is the role I see myself playing, which includes being responsible for components of our FinTech strategy.

2

As a qualified finance professional, how do you prepare yourself for disruption?

Technology interests me and I participate alongside my fellow executives in an R&D forum across the organisation. Theories and ideas get tested by running frequent low-cost experiments. You have to be willing to take chances to enable growth and improve service delivery. The OUTsurance culture allows us to do so within a controlled environment. If you can test new ideas “without betting the farm”, the pace of innovation and learning will improve. This is important within a FinTech environment where understanding digital customer behaviour and interaction is critical to developing good products and services.

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3

With the announcement of your new OUTvest investment service, you are making strides into the FinTech space. How has this changed the work that you do, the people you employ and your overall business strategy?

I take responsibility for large parts of OUTsurance’s FinTech strategy and sponsored the launch of OUTvest in November 2017.

This is our first foray into FinTech and an important project for OUTsurance. The world of banking and insurance is facing massive disruption. We are heavily reliant on motor insurance. Some 30 years from now, with the advent of safe, self-driving vehicles, the insurance market may be much smaller or even obsolete. We therefore need to set the business up for a more diversified future. This is an opportunity for us to test the exportability of our brand into non-insurance services. We pride ourselves with our disruptive products and service offerings which aim to simplify and improve customer value-for-money. OUTvest embraces these principles by offering a new way to invest.

Also, one needs a serious challenge or headwinds to find out if your team’s fundamentals are well galvanised or a bit loose. It’s been incredible to see, with the sugar tax, how well the whole beverage industry can pull together and do the right thing. I think there will be some very positive things that come from this.

4

How are cloud, data analytics or the internet of things making a difference in your company?

Cloud-based services are becoming an increasing foundation of new system development.

I am particularly interested in the cost agility offered by cloud infrastructure and cloud-based software services.

Artificial intelligence is set to have a large impact on many of our operational processes. Automation and improved data analytics is expected to improve our efficiency and service quality. AI and machine learning will increase the pace of automation. Calculating insurance premiums is a scientific process and highly dependent on rich data.

Sustaining a pricing advantage in the insurance industry is dependent on good quality data which provides reliable information on factors which influence insurance risk. Investment in our data and analytical infrastructure is a key interest of mine and an area I remain close to.

Our app-based telematics product, SmartDrive, which monitors our client’s driving, offers an instant discount on premiums. This capability was built in-house using modern technologies. Telematics will play an increasing role in the future of insurance pricing.

5

You’ve recently added funeral cover to your list of insurance offerings.

How will you remain competitive in such a vibrant long-term insurance market?

I believe OUTsurance can add excellent value to the South

taking them out of the office for a couple of hours to explain what we are trying to achieve and keeping them motivated and engaged.

It is essential to be authentic and honest, not only because there is nowhere to hide in our corporate culture, but given the challenges the accounting and auditing environment is currently facing. These are the most powerful attributes of a successful OUTsurance leader.

African funeral insurance market.

We are a champion of customer service and value-for-money, factors which underpin our funeral offering. The funeral market is one of the largest segments of the insurance industry and we are excited to be entering the market.

We have only been in the market for six weeks, [at the time of interview], and we are very encouraged by the early interest. Many insurance products today are commoditised. At OUTsurance we distinguish our offering with market-leading service levels, especially during claims stage.

6

What is your team management style and how do you deal with people challenges?

I need to be both detailed and in the big picture. It is important to be available to my team and participate in the conversations on the floor. I see my most important job as giving the team the broader decision-making context. I love

I see people management as a continuum, so I try not to have formal mentoring and coaching sessions with my team. I prefer to do it on the job, when problems arise, providing context and evaluating solutions. We have an open-plan office, which encourages engagement with staff on a daily basis.

“Some 30 years from now, with the advent of safe, selfdriving vehicles the insurance market may be much smaller or even obsolete.”

OUTsurance has a unique culture and flat management structure. We don’t take ourselves too seriously, but we take business very seriously.

We govern by consensus and big decisions are often subject to a detailed and analytical decision-making process which removes uncertainty. We have never had to vote at our board meetings, our culture supports collective decision-making which ensures the

necessary support for new strategies or changes to the business.

7

How would you define "doing the right thing" as a finance professional and a CFO?

South Africa is fortunate to have a high calibre of finance professionals with a strong track record. The current credibility crisis brought on by a small minority should however not be wasted.

Now is a good time to address the shortcomings of our profession and ensure unfailing alignment with expectations and values of the societies we serve.

8

Who or what inspires you to be the professional you are today?

The financial services industry has the power to improve the quality of life of the societies it serves by not only continually improving product access, service quality and value-for-money, buy playing a key role to enable economic growth and job creation in South Africa. This prospect of creating better client outcomes inspires me, especially in the digital age where the pace of change and innovation is ever increasing.

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It sounds like you’ve got a lot on your plate.

What do you do in your spare time to relax and unwind?

I have a very young family with three kids, and a job that involves loads of international travel. So time spent with them is my biggest source of relaxation. Spending time on my mountain bike is some of my best thinking time. l

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COMMUNITY

Introducing John Deane

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ome of the best news for South African CFOs came in July 2018, when the indomitable John Deane joined the CFO South Africa team as community manager. He will be a massive asset to the community and CFO SA’s mission to boost the knowledge, networks and careers of finance leaders. We asked John to introduce himself.

Growing up “I grew up on the East Rand in Johannesburg, matriculated from Edenvale High School and moved to the UK in 2004. During my stay in London, I had the opportunity to travel all over Europe.”

Coming home “In 2010, I decided to temporarily move back to South Africa to start up a business at lower overhead costs while still supporting my UK-based clients. During this time, I met my wife Kelly and decided to sell the business and turn my six-month relocation project into a permanent home-coming revolution.”

Coaching leaders “I have worked in business development for over 10

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years. Prior to joining CFO South Africa, I was managing a team of resellers and distributors across Africa. I was also responsible for in-country support, development and accreditation training on the various psychometric assessments. I am passionate about personal development and helping others become the best possible version of themselves. I still coach clients and facilitate leadership training outside of business hours.”

Valuing CFOs “What excites me most about joining CFO South Africa is the entrepreneurial spirit and the desire to continuously look for new ways to add value to our community.

I believe that the CFO is still incredibly undervalued in several organisations. People often take it for granted how challenging the role is. It’s not just about P&L, numbers and spreadsheets, there are daily strategic decisions and really difficult conversations in the C-suite which most people are unaware of.”

Planning the future “I plan to further develop and grow the CFO community, find the latest topics and tech solutions that are disrupting the industry and launch our new CFOs Care initiative.” l

The preferred community for SA’s finance executives 12 February 2019

CFO and CHRO SA Summit 1 - Johannesburg

12 March 2019

CFO SA Summit 2 - Cape Town

9 May 2019

CFO Awards - Johannesburg

6 - 7 June 2019

CFO SA Journey - Johannesburg

9 July 2019

CFO SA Dinner - Johannesburg

23 July 2019

CFO Day - Johannesburg

1 August 2019

CFO and CHRO SA Women’s Event- Johannesburg

16 - 17 October 2019 Finance Indaba Africa - Sandton Convention Centre

7 November 2019

CFO SA Summit 3 - Johannesburg

Learn, network & build your career CFO.co.za | John Deane, CFO South Africa Community Manager (jdeane@cfo.co.za | +27 82 570 9482)

Africa is a continent of contrasts, unique challenges and amazing opportunities. Succeeding here depends on having a deep understanding of local issues, a global perspective, and the ability to use these to build tailored solutions. We’ve been doing business in Africa for almost a century, and over 9000 professionals in 34 countries are working with our clients to add value to their businesses. It’s what we do.

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