Nexia International becomes ninth largest global accounting network

Nexia International (Nexia), a network of independent accounting and consulting firms, is delighted to announce that according to the latest International Accounting Bulletin (IAB) World Survey, the network has risen one place since last year to become the 9th largest global accounting network, as measured by fee income.

The  financial results for 2017, show total fee income of more than US$3.62bn – an increase of 13% on 2016.

This increase in global revenue is a result of growth right across the network. The Asia Pacific region achieved spectacular growth of 62%, including a doubling of fee income in China for the second consecutive year.

The North & Central America region showed an increase of 8%, and in Europe, the Middle East and Africa fee income grew by 7%.

Kevin Arnold, CEO of Nexia International, said: “This impressive growth across the network is great news and we are delighted to have risen to 9th position in the global rankings.

This rise in fee income is clear evidence that we continue to successfully implement our long-term growth strategy of recruiting high quality firms in key and emerging world markets.”

For more information, please contact:
Kevin Arnold
CEO
Nexia International
T +44 (0)20 7436 1114
E karnold@nexia.com

PR enquiries:
Sarah Miller
Thirdperson Words
T +44 (0)7941 550310
E sarahmiller@thirdpersonwords.co.uk

2018 South African Professional Services Awards

Professionals from various organisations gathered at a gala dinner in Montecasino Ball Room on the evening of 1 February 2018 to honour the best amongst them. The South African Professional Services Awards were being hosted for the third time after a rigorous process of determining winners through strict criteria.

Nexia SAB&T were nominees for four awards, which included the hotly contested Accounting Professional of the Year for which both our Chairperson, Ndumi Medupe (meet our new chairperson here) and our CEO, Bashier Adam were nominated:

  • Accounting Firm of the Year (Nominee: Nexia SAB&T)
  • Accounting Professional of the Year (Nominees: Ndumi Medupe and Bashier Adam)
  • Woman Professional of the Year (Nominee: Ndumi Medupe)
  • South Africa’s Best Professional (Nominee: Ndumi Medupe)

“These awards are important as they give visibility to disciplines that are desperately needed in this country. They also reward entities for performing well in important areas such as transformation, customer service, contribution to the community and commitment to ethical best practice,” said Gert Bezuidenhout, Regional General Manager – Sanlam Gauteng Region at Sanlam who sponsored the event.

And The Winners Are

Ndumi Medupe narrowly beat Bashier Adam to the 2018 title of Accounting Professional of the Year.

Nexia SAB&T was recognised as runner-up in the category of Accounting Firm of the Year.

The Woman Professional of the Year went to Shirley Machaba of PWC, while Sally Hutton of Webber Wentzel was crowned SA’s Best Professional.

We wish to extend our congratulations to all the other winners and nominees on the night across the myriad of professional service providers in South Africa. Your spirit of innovation and making a difference inspires us.

The Way Forward

We couldn’t be happier than to be recognised for our efforts in transforming the accounting, audit and business consulting sectors through Gender Empowerment. These awards follow on from our being recognised at the Standard Bank Top Women Awards in August of 2017. (See article here)

Nexia SAB&T is looking forward to 2018 being a year of continuing to demonstrate our commitment to our ideals of gender empowerment, innovation and responsiveness to the needs of our clients, staff and society we serve in.

Follow Us

Be sure to follow all the Nexia SAB&T news on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NexiaSABandT/

Best Advice Conversations

In 2008 Author, Siya Mapoko published the book “Conversations with JSE AltX entrepreneurs”. The book featured Nexia SAB&T, CEO, Bashier Adam in a 20 page interview section. Fast forward to 2017 and Siya has since published a further book in 2012 titled “The Best Advice I Ever Got”, which he is taking on the road in a series of face to face interviews with the entrepreneurs featured in the books.

Bashier Adam is one of three business leaders on the inaugural panel held on 4 November 2017 at Melrose Arch.

If you would like to read the original feature on Bashier from “Conversations with JSE AltX entrepreneurs”, please click here.

Message to Indyebo Clients

Since the inception of Indyebo in 2007 it is humbling to look back on the past 10 years as I am filled with immense pride for what we have achieved. Our successes, imbedded in our continuous determination for excellence, are in every way a direct result of the overwhelming support we have received from our valued clients and dedicated employees. Indyebo’s merger with one of South Africas leading audit firms, Nexia SAB&T, could only have been possible with your constant and unwavering support. We owe this progression to both our long-time clients, and those who only recently joined our client base. Without you we would not be where we are today and we would like to take this opportunity to thank you.

The merger will see us continue to improve on our quality of service, allow us to offer a wider range of services to a broader geographic spread, as we now have a truly national footprint, having 10 offices in 9 provinces. We continuously strive to achieve the highest possible levels of customer service and retention and we have no doubt that this collaboration will afford us the opportunity to do so in-line with the strictest ethical standards and utmost integrity.

While 2017 marks the dawn of a new era for Indyebo as being an incorporated firm of Nexia SAB&T, we believe that the future holds just as much, if not more promise. We will continue to provide support to our clients during any changes the industry may face and will continue to examine new opportunities that will ensure the continuous development of both our company and yours. So I say that this is not good bye, but ‘ watch this space’  as we are extremely excited about what lies ahead and we hope that you will continue with us on this journey.

Ndumi Medupe

2017 Standard Bank Top Women Awards

Since 2003, Standard Bank Top Women has been South Africa’s leading gender empowerment brand; celebrating visionary organisations that prioritise gender empowerment as integral to their strategy for growth and success.

The elegant awards ceremony was held on the 17 August 2017, at Emperors Palace.

In an evening that was all about South Africa’s most inspiring women our CEO, Bashier Adam, got to share the spotlight for a moment having been recognised as the Top Male Driving Gender Transformation in South Africa for 2017.

Being a firm that provides equal opportunities to all and in particular seeks to provide opportunities to those who previously were not afforded the same has always been a part of Bashier’s vision for Nexia SAB&T.

Be sure to follow all the Nexia SAB&T news on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/NexiaSABandT/

 

Meet the new chairperson of Nexia SAB&T

NDUMI MEDUPE reveals what it takes to succeed  and her vision for Top 10 Audit Practice Nexia SAB&T:

Ndumi Medupe was elected Chairperson of Nexia SAB&T in April 2017. Her election followed on from the merger of her practice, Indyebo, with Nexia SAB&T on March 1, 2017.

Ndumi hails from Bizana in the Eastern Cape, she has more than 20 years of professional experience, having started her path to becoming a chartered accountant at Deloitte in 1994.

Ndumi qualified as a chartered accountant in 2002 completing her studies at the University of Natal.

Ndumi has both private and public sector experience, having served in senior positions at the Gauteng Department of Finance, MTN and Joburg City Parks.

In 2003, she was one of the founding partners of Xabiso Chartered Accountants, where after she decided to go it alone in 2007, when she founded Indyebo.

During her 10 years at the helm of Indyebo, Ndumi grew the firm into a brand with an outstanding reputation for quality, excellence and integrity.

The merger with Nexia SAB&T came about as a natural development out of several projects undertaken by Nexia SAB&T and Indyebo jointly. Indyebo has long benefitted from Nexia SAB&T’s enterprise development initiatives and as such shared a long and mutually beneficial relationship.

With the other Black owned assurance provider firms in the market having experienced growth in the past years, this merger sees Nexia SAB&T solidifying its position among South Africa’s top ten audit firms as well as, as one of the premier Black empowerment firms.

“The benefits for myself and the staff that joined Nexia SAB&T include: JSE accreditation for the conduct of audits of listed entities, a national footprint with offices in each of South Africa’s nine provinces and experience in the private and public sector at all levels.” commented Ndumi when asked about the merger.

“Gender discrimination and stereotyping, juggling the pressures of a career and family and coping with failure are the biggest challenges women in business face,” says Ndumi.

“Women should be confident in their abilities and skills in order to excel in their roles. Creating a strong support and network base is key to success.”

“In my role as chairperson of Nexia SAB&T I will look to ensure the firm executes its approved long-term strategy which means protecting and enhancing the firm’s brand while cementing ourselves as a top 10 professional services practice in South Africa.”

”Our focus will be on increasing service quality by developing and retaining key talent and expanding our capabilities across all areas of the business.”

When asked what gets her up in the morning Ndumi replied: “I have a strong sense of purpose and set myself goals, I’m excited to execute, implement, correct and fine tune.”

“I’m excited for the future, each client brings a unique dynamic that stretches our service excellence ambitions. The diversity of the Nexia SAB&T team and our clients makes my life fascinating as a business advisor.”

Indyebo and Nexia SAB&T tie the knot!

Centurion,   Gauteng,   27   February   2017   –   Representatives    from    Nexia    SAB&T    and    Indyebo,   announced   today   that   the   two   companies  will  be  merging  effective  1  March  2017.  The  business  will  continue  to  trade  under  the  Nexia  SAB&T  brand,  to  emphasise  its ties to the 10th largest international network in the sector, Nexia International.

Nexia  SAB&T  is  a  top  ten  audit,  accounting  and  consulting  professional  services  provider,  with  a  history  that  dates  back  to  the  birth  of  democracy   in   South   Africa,   having   been   founded in 1994. Nexia SAB&T has always strived to reflect the demographics of the country in its ownership structure, while providing a service to its clients that is inspired by a vision to be “Closer to you!”

Indyebo is a progressive Black female owned firm that offers assurance, advisory and consulting services and has an outstanding reputation for quality, excellence and integrity.

The merger has come about as a natural development out of several projects undertaken by Nexia SAB&T and Indyebo  jointly.  Nexia  SAB&T  has  long  identified  Indyebo  as  a  candidate  for  its  enterprise  development  initiatives and as such shared a long and mutually beneficial shared relationship with Indyebo over the years. With  the  other  Black  owned  assurance  provider  firms  in  the  market  having  experienced  growth  in  the  past  years, this merger will see Nexia SAB&T solidifying its position among South Africa’s top ten audit firms as well as, as one of the premier Black empowerment firms.

Nexia  SAB&T  is  truly  a  multi-disciplinary  professional  service  provider,  with  a  wide  range  of  services  and  accreditations in the audit, accounting and consulting fields. These include JSE accreditation for the conduct of audits  of  listed  entities,  a  national  footprint  with  offices  in  each  of  South  Africa’s  nine  provinces  and  experience in the private and public sector at all levels.

Bashier  Adam,  CEO  and  founder  of  Nexia  SAB&T  explained  the  new  direction  of  the  merged  company  as  follows:  “This  merger  is  in  line  with  Nexia  SAB&T’s  vision  to  entrench  itself  as  a  top  Black  empowerment  professional services firm in South Africa. We have no doubt that the addition of Indyebo and particularly Ms Ndumi Medupe will go a long way to achieving this!”

Indyebo has experienced highs and lows since its inception in 2007 and with the enhanced capacity brought about  through  the  merger  with  Nexia  SAB&T,  is  now  ready  for  bigger  challenges.  This  includes  exposure  to  JSE Listed Assurance Services and a national footprint.

Ndumi Medupe, CEO and founder of Indyebo expressed enthusiasm for the merger: “By merging with Nexia SAB&T  we  will  attract  clients  in  new  sectors  and  geographical  locations  to  create  a  formidable  professional  services firm in SA. I believe the market is ready for strong, empowered brands and this merger will solidify the firm’s position. These are truly exciting times.”

The  “new”  Nexia  SAB&T  is  set  to  continue  to  chart  a  course  that  sees  it  living  its  vision  of  being  “Closer  to  you”  through  professional  services  that  provide  strategic,  innovative,  resource  management  advice  to  its  clients.

For more information, visit: http://www.indyebo.com/

In March 2017 Ndumi Medupe was elected as Chairperson of Nexia SAB&T by the entire board of directors. Meet the new Chairperson here.

How to choose a good BEE verification agency

How to choose a good BEE verification agency

Our belief is that the implementation of a BEE strategy is not about statutory compliance, but rather about the economic growth of the organisation and thereafter the national economy, through meaningful up-skilling, planned procurement and the engagement in enterprise and social initiatives.

Having been involved in the B-BBEE verification and consulting industry since the inception of the codes, we have been exposed to just about all of the idiosyncrasies within the industry.

A lot of the advice we have given in this article, has been based on client satisfaction surveys that we have conducted over the years, and below is some of the feedback that we have received from our clients and strategic partners, as well as some facts one needs to consider when looking for a BEE verification agency:

• The agency should be SANAS accredited as a sign of their credibility. SANAS is the only accrediting body in the B-BBEE verification industry, so it is imperative that the agency be able to demonstrate this.

• The agency should have an exceptional BEE level themselves, to show that they truly understand transformation as being a national, social and business imperative. The agency should have a succinct process that determines verification from start to end. Their process should be highlighted to the client before deciding on which agency to appoint.

• The agency’s marketing & verification staff should be up to date with all relevant BEE knowledge.

• The agency should be price competitive whilst maintaining a high degree of quality and service delivery.

• Conduct market research by approaching businesses within your industry and establishing which are the common verification agencies that are appointed. This will ensure that you are appointing an agency that understands your environment and most importantly your business.

• Pay attention to how well the agency strives to understand your business.

• A great agency makes verification a simple, hassle free and informative process for their client.

Should you wish to engage SAB&T BEE Services in order to understand more about B-BBEE feel free to visit our website at www.sabtbee.co.za or contact us at marketing@sabtbee.co.za

By Mr Abisha Katerere, Nexia SAB &T BEE Services

First Limpopo then the World – Aspiring CA(SA) makes his mark despite humble beginnings

Pretoria, Friday May 6 2016 – Musa Ndlovu grew up in Limpopo, a province more often in the headlines for protests than feel good stories. But occasionally someone comes along who beats the odds. Ndlovu has risen above his personal circumstances to make his hometown and family proud.

He has always scored high marks for mathematics. Only one in twenty children who start school score over 50% for maths. The reasons range from a legacy of sub-standard Apartheid education system to poor subject choices, and the fact that only 50% of those who start school even write matric.

Ndlovu’s story is a tribute to how far determination can carry a person. It also illustrates the life-changing consequences of extending a helping hand when help is needed most. A gifted mathematician, Ndlovu hasn’t had it easy. A disability in his fingers makes it difficult to write, but this hasn’t deterred him from developing his full potential.

“Life gets real at high school,” says Ndlovu. “I couldn’t play sport, because of my disability, so I concentrated on my school work instead.” He writes slower than usual. In matric his teachers wouldn’t give him extra time to complete his exam paper – but he still achieved a credible 78% for mathematics.

Ndlovu was proving the usefulness of his mathematics ability as a budding entrepreneur. His most successful venture was selling pre-paid electricity, airtime and cold drinks, enabling him to pay the deposit for his first year university fees with his earnings.

While some people with disabilities begin to believe they aren’t as worthy as their able bodied counterparts, Ndlovu is disproving this. Many learners have the same self-limiting beliefs about mathematics. It is seen as a subject to be feared. “This attitude is their disability. I was lucky. I was always good at maths,” Ndlovu says.

His perceptive parents encouraged his logical leaning. Realising their son would benefit from the best schooling possible, in grade 9 they moved him to Khanyisa Education School , in Giyani, Limpopo.

“My parents sacrificed a lot for me to get a private school education,” says Ndlovu. In grade 11 Ndlovu registered for the South African Maths Olympiad training and submitted weekly assignments online. His hard work paid off – he entered and reached the second round of the Maths Olympiad and was awarded Best African Learner in the Maths Olympiad in 2011, his matric year.

“The value of participating in any Olympiad is to promote that subject,” says Ellie Olivier, Operations Manager at the South African Mathematics Foundation (SAMF), “getting the message across to learners that mathematics is important and that it can open doors for you. The mathematics competitions are primarily to identify talent. The next step is developing talent.” Fortunately for Ndlovu, Olivier recognised his talent.

“The Maths Olympiad for grades 8 to 12 is one of our flagship programmes and is co-sponsored by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA),” says Olivier. In 2012 Ndlovu enrolled for an undergraduate degree at the University of Pretoria. “Because of my maths marks I was accepted into the Actuarial Studies programme and also into the BCom Accounting stream. But my parents couldn’t afford university fees,” he says.

Despite good academic results Ndlovu didn’t qualify for a bursary from the National Students Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS). “I was in the missing middle – the majority of students whose parents are considered rich in terms of NFSAS – yet who cannot afford to send their kids to university,” he comments.

Ndlovu struggled to obtain funding so he called the person who represented his last hope. “By this time I had written my National Benchmark Test (NBT) and had performed well. I sent my results to Ellie who introduced me to the Thuthuka representatives at SAICA.”.
“Ellie could only help me apply for a Thuthuka Bursary Fund in Accounting as the Actuarial Society had closed its applications. I’m grateful I was selected for this bursary because I think Thuthuka is the best programme. It doesn’t just support the cost of your studies. You get mentored from day one. There is nothing to worry about as Thuthuka pays for food and things like books and calculators, so you can focus on your studies.”

The aspiring chartered accountant completed his undergraduate degree in record time, and in 2015 completed his honours degree at the University of Johannesburg. “Musa did very well. I am very proud of him,” says Olivier.

“I think I can change people’s mind-sets about how they perceive people with disabilities and inspire many people academically,” Ndlovu reflects. He is currently a trainee accountant at Nexia SAB&T Chartered Accountants in Centurion. Ndlovu is receiving in-house training and appreciates the open door policy which he enjoys with all directors. All trainees are allocated to mentors from their first day of training.

Ndlovu’s next hurdle is writing his SAICA professional exam in November 2017. He plans to complete his training and build his career from there. Ndlovu would ultimately like to return to Gigale in Limpopo to be with his family and become a role model in his community.
Ndlovu counts himself as lucky. “I have gained supporters as I have progressed in life.” He has extended an invitation to Thuthuka that he is available for talks at schools to inspire learners that they can become anything they want to become. All it takes is determination, hard work, besides encouragement and support from other. The rest is up to them!

Willie Coates, Senior Executive: Brand at SAICA says, “I am glad that both our SAICA sponsorship of the Maths Olympiad and our valued partnership with SAMF has paved the way for Musa’s success. His determination to achieve success is a beacon of light to all who aspire to be leaders. SAICA is committed to transforming the profession and to promoting the CA(SA) designation to the youth in the country. SAICA’s Thuthuka programme is also yielding the desired results.”