Tag Archives: companies

18 Jan

S. Africa’s Companies Regulator Charges KPMG, McKinsey, SAP

South Africa’s Companies and Intellectual Property Commission laid criminal charges against the local units of audit firm KPMG LLP, management consultants McKinsey & Co. and software giant SAP SE.

The cases were opened with the South African Police Service between November and December for contraventions of the country’s Companies Act, the regulator’s spokeswoman, Tshiamo Zebediela, said in an emailed response to questions on Wednesday. The CIPC “has been looking into these companies since July 2017,” she said.

The CIPC is one of the first local regulators to bring criminal complaints against the companies for their dealings with entities linked to the Gupta family, who are friends of President Jacob Zuma and in business with his son, Duduzane.

Zuma and the Guptas have consistently denied any wrongdoing. It comes as the country’s prosecutors move to freeze assets held by McKinsey and a company linked to the Guptas.

“The CIPC engaged with the respective boards of directors of KPMG, McKinsey and SAP regarding the emails that were placed in the public domain,” Zebediela said, “and based on the responses received, took a decision to open criminal cases.”

“No criminal charges have been brought against the firm and KPMG South Africa believes that there is no substance to the allegation,” it said in an emailed response to questions. “We will fully cooperate with any enquiries the police may have.”

Below is a summary of the accusations from the CIPC:

McKinsey: The consultant may have contravened the Companies Act by informing Eskom that Trillian Capital Partners (Pty) Ltd. was acting as subcontractor for a portion of a project when McKinsey had never entered into a formal agreement with Trillian.

McKinsey spokeswoman Bonita Dordel told Johannesburg-based Business Day that the firm was not involved in bribery or corruption for work related to Eskom.

KPMG: The auditor may have failed its own risk management and quality controls when compiling a report for the South African Revenue Service and making legal conclusions that went beyond its mandate and professional expertise.

To read the full article, click here.

15 Aug

Tony Elumelu on the challenges of growing a pan-African company

foreign

Policy uncertainty, labour mobility restrictions and foreign exchange issues.

These are some of the challenges foreign companies can expect to encounter as they grow their businesses across the continent, according to Nigerian businessman Tony Elumelu, chairman of United Bank for Africa (UBA). Headquartered in Nigeria, UBA has a presence in over a dozen African countries. Elemu was speaking during the recent Afreximbank annual general meeting in Kigali, Rwanda.

Elumelu, who is also chairman of diversified investment company Heirs Holdings, used UBA’s experience of expanding to Zambia as an example of how changing policies can cause havoc for companies. When UBA decided to enter the Zambian market, it took into consideration the size of the Zambian economy (its GDP) and the minimum capital required to obtain a banking licence. “We did our feasibility and went to Zambia based on that… The capital you deploy is a function of the size of an economy,” explained Elumelu.

However, relatively soon after it opened shop, Zambia suddenly changed the capital requirement to US$100m, significantly higher than the original amount. Although UBA did end up staying in Zambia, Elumelu conceded that “it was a major issue”.

A second cross-border business obstacle is restrictions associated with moving staff from one African country to another. “We can’t be talking of intra-African trade when labour is not as free and mobile as it should be,” said Elumelu

Only 10 of Africa’s 55 territories grant either visa-free entry or visas on arrival to all Africans. In fact, it can be easier for Americans or Europeans to travel the continent than for its own citizens.

However, to overcome this challenge, UBA established its own internal training programmes. “Where we’ve had human capital issues, we’ve set up an internal academy, an internal school – where you hire people, you train them in school, and they are able to deliver.”

Elumelu furthermore highlighted foreign exchange-related constraints in some African countries.

He concluded by saying successful businesspeople look to find opportunities in challenges. “They don’t run away from problems or challenges, they think of how to mitigate challenges.”

Source fromHow we made it in Africa