May 6, 2024 2:42 pm
Presented by Stephen Helberg and Scott Goddard, Directors, GRCReady Introduction Thank you very much Stephen and Scott for your most informative presentation on ‘Mastering Risk and Control-Based Auditing (part #1 on Audit Planning)’ at the BarnOwl info-sharing event held on 25th April 2024. Thank you too, to all those who attended the session. Part #1 covers Audit Planning and part #2 scheduled for 27th June 2024 will cover ‘Audit Execution’. Through practical examples and insightful discussions, Stephen showcases how a risk-based approach can transform your audits from mundane tasks to strategic drivers of organisational success. Is your internal audit team... Read more
August 22, 2023 2:31 pm
At this stage of our fight against climate change I would expect that most people are well aware of at least the high level environmental risks, their effect on global warming and the devastating results we are seeing in worldwide weather. Lately there seem to be hundreds of extreme weather events all over the world including heatwaves in Beijing, floods in Nepal and wildfires in Canada, Maui and Tenerife. No one can deny that these events have been increasing each year as a direct result of climate change and in a bizarre twist of fate many of these are happening... Read more
August 22, 2023 2:22 pm
BarnOwl Info Sharing Insight: The State of AI and AI in Corporate Governance with Michael Judin and Lionel Moyal BarnOwl Info Sharing session: 17 August 2023 Presented by: Michael Judin (Partner at Judin Combrinck Inc. Attorneys, Johannesburg, and Lionel Moyal (the SI and Channel Partners Lead at Microsoft Africa Region. Introduction Thank you very much Michael and Lionel for your most informative presentation on ‘The state of AI and AI in corporate governance’ at the BarnOwl info-sharing event held on 17 August 2023. Thank you too, to all those who attended the session. We have entered a new era of... Read more
July 6, 2023 9:15 am
BarnOwl info sharing session: – Greylisting creates new risks for companies. Are you exposed? BarnOwl Info Sharing session: 29 June 2023 Presented by: Robert Davies, Robert Davies is an Attorney of the High Court of South Africa and a member of the Law Society of the Northern Provinces Introduction Thank you very much Robert for your most informative presentation on ‘FATF Greylisting’ at the BarnOwl info-sharing event held on 29 June 2023. Thank you too, to all those who attended the session. South Africa has been grey listed by global financial crime watchdog the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for... Read more
July 12, 2022 8:02 am
The definition of corporate governance for the purposes of King IV (copyright the Institute of Directors South Africa), is defined as the exercise of ethical and effective leadership by the governing body towards the achievement of the following governance outcomes: Ethical culture, Good performance, Effective control and Legitimacy. Ethical Leadership is exemplified by integrity, competence, responsibility, accountability, fairness and transparency. It involves the anticipation and prevention, or otherwise amelioration, of the negative consequences of the organisation’s activities and outputs on the economy, society and the environment and the capitals that it uses and affects. Effective leadership is results-driven. It is about achieving... Read more
April 6, 2022 10:03 am
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) seems to be stepping up a gear with an increasing number of successful prosecutions of tax dodgers. Only a few short years ago, SARS was intentionally sabotaged and appeared to be a shell of what was once a world-lauded institution. Lately it seems that SARS is finally showing its teeth with these successes. SARS is keeping up with technology and trends by closely monitoring the popular social media platforms where on a regular basis people are boasting about their wealth. Apart from not wanting to attract any undue attention to any legally obtained status... Read more
October 6, 2021 12:58 pm
BarnOwl Info Sharing session: 30 September 2021 Compliance: One bite at a time Presented by: Cherryn-Paige Bissett, CEO – Paige Law, Introduction Whilst compliance has always been critical to the operating of any business, many sectors have arguably paid lip service to compliance apart from sectors such as banking, financial institutions, telcos and the mining sector who face heavy fines and / or in extreme circumstances could lose their operating licenses for non-compliance. Compliance is often seen in a negative light as being an inhibitor of business. However, this is not the case; compliance when implemented effectively is a necessary... Read more
April 1, 2021 8:00 am
BarnOwl Info Sharing session: 25 March 2021 Gearing up for POPIA (Protection of Personal Information Act) Presented by Karus Prinsloo (inlexso (Pty) Limited) Thank you very much Karus for presenting at our info-sharing event on the 25th March 2021. Thank you also to all those who attended which was over 160 attendees. Introduction Organisations are gearing up for 1 July 2021! The Protection of Personal Information Act (“POPIA”) has commenced and the year grace period for enforcing POPIA by the Information Regulator established in terms of POPIA, will end at 30 June 2021. The Information Regulator will be enforcing the... Read more
February 16, 2021 8:12 pm
Why are SA businesses not realising ROI from their GRC initiatives? In order for an organisation to realise a ROI on GRC, the GRC process must add value by being a business enabler, providing up to date meaningful business intelligence (facilitating business decision making) as well as drive a culture of continuous monitoring and improvement. Failing this, GRC becomes a compliance tick box exercise with no real buy in from the top which in turn means no buy-in at the lower levels of the organisation. Some of the reasons why SA businesses are not realising ROI from their GRC initiatives... Read more
September 8, 2020 8:31 am
BarnOwl Info Sharing session: 22 August 2020 The Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) is here! What now? Presented by Karus Prinsloo, Manager: Regulatory Compliance at Inlexso (Pty) Ltd (inlexso) Thank you very much Karus for presenting at our info-sharing event on the 27th August 2020. Thank you also to all those who attended which was over 180 attendees. Karus shared insights with us on: • How to make sure your organisation is ready by 30th June 2021 • Lessons learned whilst assisting organisations from various sectors and industries • Risks & opportunities Introduction The commencement date of almost all of... Read more
July 3, 2020 11:52 am
Written by Karus Prinsloo, 30 June 2020 1 July 2020: the effective date for the bulk of POPIA’s requirements. POPIA provides for a window period of one year in order for organisations to comply with POPIA’s obligations. POPIA gives effect to the constitutional right to privacy. It is based on international best practice and reflects some of the best features of international privacy legislation. The protection of personal information is now a statutory duty; POPIA represents sound business practice… and brings opportunity for your organisation! Areas of business impacted by POPIAAlthough all businesses differ, the biggest impact is generally in... Read more
November 27, 2019 9:44 am
As 2019 comes to a close we get a chance to reflect on a year that has delivered copious uncertainty, a frustrating lack of tangible action on the challenges facing South Africa, and a populace that suffers bipolar swings between depths of despair triggered by economic uncertainty, world-leading crime rates, world-lagging education levels and rampant corruption, juxtaposed against the absolute heights of ecstasy experienced watching the Springboks clinch the Rugby World Cup, Trevor Noah selling out Madison Square Garden, Sho Madjozi dancing the John Cena with the man himself, and Western Cape dams rising to their highest levels in 5... Read more
October 11, 2019 7:36 am
Quick recap – what is the GDPR? The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a regulation in EU law on data protection and privacy for all individuals within the European Union and the European Economic Area. It addresses the export of personal data outside the EU and EEA and became effective on 25 May 2018. Similar to our Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), the GDPR makes organisations accountable for personal data protection and governs the handling, collection, processing and storage of information that could lead to the identification of an individual. It is one of the most complex pieces of EU legislation and understandably many small business owners are confused... Read more
August 27, 2019 8:07 am
A lot has been made and will continue to be made of the impact of the fourth industrial revolution on every single aspect of our private, public and corporate lives. Robotics and artificial intelligence already has and will continue to replace a large number of human-based roles, and of course, at the same time also opens up the path to new functions and tasks that people with the right skills will be able to fulfil and take advantage of. Parallel to this runs an ever increasing human population, a decreasing level of skills in too many parts of the world,... Read more
June 3, 2019 9:35 am
Much has been written about the disruptive effect of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics. The fears range from widespread job losses on the sensible side of the scale to nothing short of a “Skynet” state of affairs with a tip of the cap to the main protagonist in the Terminator movies, leading to the inevitable elimination of humankind at the behest of our robot masters. Computer scientist Roman Yampolskiy together with hacktivist and entrepreneur Federico Pistono came up with a set of worst-case scenarios the world could potentially experience in the face of a malevolent AI (MAI). Societal impacts such... Read more
March 5, 2019 10:45 am
BarnOwl Info Sharing session: 28 February 2019 Risk Governance Presented by Christelle Marais, Managing Director, Lucidum Thank you very much Christelle for your enlightening presentation at our BarnOwl info sharing event held at the BarnOwl offices in Bryanston on the 28 February 2019. Introduction: Some of the largest corporate failures in both the public and private sectors have been laid at the door of Boards of Directors. At the same time, many Directors voice the concern that they are not able to provide adequate governance and oversight due to the disparate approach in which the various assurance providers submit information... Read more
February 27, 2019 8:07 am
The dawning of the fourth industrial revolution is set to fundamentally alter so much of what we’ve become accustomed to. Take a moment to reflect on the dynamic nature of work, travel, leisure and relationships in your own life, and compare it the far slower and more stable evolution our parents and their parents experienced, and it becomes glaringly obvious that the current rate of transformation is anything but steady. From AI to big data analytics, bio-innovation to anti-ageing breakthroughs, the leaps and bounds in the transport industry to the highly intrusive yet connecting internet of things, from blockchain to... Read more
January 24, 2019 7:07 am
It’s a mild early summers day, with temperatures only just creeping up over 36 degrees Celsius, and I’m standing at the McDonalds 4D vending machine, old technology, but still reliable. I can’t decide between the insect patty McMuffin, or the synthetic beef Big Mac. Closing my eyes, I activate the body maintenance menu on my neural link device, and it’s clear from the readings that the McMuffin is the lesser of two evils. Ever since the “Et Ius Illud” principle was enacted, what we ordinary folk call the “do the right thing law”, it’s a lot more difficult, if not... Read more
June 4, 2018 8:12 am
Towards the end of May 2018 did you receive a surprisingly large amount of emails informing you of new privacy policies from websites and service providers that communicate with you and store your data? Companies have had over two years to comply with GDPR, yet the flurry of activity, particularly on 24 May 2018, indicates that most left it until the last minute. From blocking EU website visitors to temporary server shutdowns to completely withdrawing services to the EU the implementation of the GDPR has had a major effect. What is the GDPR? The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a regulation in EU law on data... Read more
May 3, 2018 10:21 am
In South Africa we recently celebrated Human Rights Day when we remember the Sharpeville massacre that took place on the 21st of March 1960. On that fateful day 58 years ago 69 people died and 180 were wounded when police fired on a peaceful crowd that had gathered in protest against the pass laws of the time. These laws were enforced through a form of domestic passport system (referred to by its carriers as a “dompas”) fundamentally intended to segregate the population across racial and tribal lines, controlling the flow of migrant labour, and to manage urban development, essentially framing... Read more
March 8, 2018 10:49 am
1.Why POPIA? The Protection of Personal Information Act (“POPIA”): gives effect to the constitutional right to privacy, enshrined in South Africa’s Constitution. (The right to privacy includes a right to protection against the unlawful collection, retention, dissemination and use of personal information). is based on international best practice and is a reflection of the best features of international privacy legislation. It follows King IV’s principles and accommodates international standards. Protecting personal information is not only a statutory duty but also represents sound business practices. 2.Timeline 2.1 During April 2014, sections of POPIA dealing with the aspects listed below, came into... Read more
March 1, 2018 6:33 am
BarnOwl Info Sharing session: 22 February 2018 The Integrated Governance, Risk and Compliance (iGRC) Framework Presented by Gary Khan, Risk Advisory, EOH Thank you very much Gary Khan (Risk Advisory) and Justin Clarke (Business Unit Head) for your enlightening presentation at our BarnOwl info sharing event held at the BarnOwl offices in Bryanston on the 22nd February 2018. The event was well attended and very well received. Thank you Gary and Justin. There are many variations of frameworks out there. Advisory practices are famous at coming up with new ideas and creating impressive / pretty infographics. What I really like... Read more
February 28, 2018 9:10 am
Presented by Gary Khan, Risk Advisory, EOH There are many variations of frameworks out there. Advisory practices are famous at coming up with new ideas and creating impressive / pretty infographics. What I really like about the EOH iGRC (Integrated GRC) framework is its simplicity and its practicality. Traditional pillars of GRC: Traditionally, organisations have treated governance, risk and compliance as a compliance exercise. Organisations have put in place some policies (e.g. an Enterprise-wide Risk Management Policy) that governs a process (e.g. the ERM process), and the governing body has created committees and groups to regulate and monitor these processes... Read more
October 26, 2017 12:37 pm
BarnOwl Info Sharing session: 26 October 2017 So You’ve Installed the Security Software…Think You’ve Covered Your POPI Risk? Think Again Presented by Ron Keschner, one of the founders and creators of Tarsus Dispose IT Thank you very much Ron Keschner for your enlightening presentation at our BarnOwl info sharing event held at the BarnOwl offices in Bryanston on the 26th October 2017. The event was well attended and very well received. Thank you Ron. Ron showed a video (included in the presentation link below) where 2nd hand photo copiers were purchased and the hard drives removed to find out... Read more
September 27, 2017 11:01 am
Reading the news day in and day out it’s difficult to believe that the term ‘good corporate governance’ means anything anymore. Good corporate governance seems to be dead and buried. Has it just become a cliché bandied around to look good and ‘tick the boxes’? It seems as if crime, corruption and cronyism pay off big time. The gravy train and anarchy rule! In the recent survey on Ethical Practices conducted by the Anti-Intimidation and Ethical Practices Forum (AEPF), only 9% of professionals working in the public sector believe their leaders are ethical, while a substantial 66% private sector professionals... Read more
May 25, 2017 12:01 pm
BarnOwl Info Sharing session for the Public Sector: 25 May 2017 The journey from King I to King IV: Why King IV is not another layer of regulation but creates add-on value. (King IV is copyrighted to The Institute of Directors Southern Africa). Presented by Michael Judin, partner in the Johannesburg based law firm, JUDIN COMBRINCK INC By popular demand initiated by interested parties from the public sector, we asked Michael Judin to re-run his presentation on King IV with a focus on the public sector. The event was extremely well attended with over 40 people attending. Michael was as... Read more
April 26, 2017 1:46 pm
I suppose that by now we are all tired and worn out by all the bad news of the ratings downgrade and the strange decisions that have and continue to be made by the government that seem to defy all logic. Whether the real reasons for the cabinet reshuffle are related to power, money, corruption, cronyism, radical transformation (transformation to what one may ask?) or fear of Russia’s Rosatom State Energy Corporation or all of the above, we don’t really know however there is no doubt that huge damage has been done to the reputation of ‘South Africa Inc.’ resulting... Read more
April 12, 2017 10:03 am
IRMSA Public Sector Breakfast on ‘Navigating your Universe – Let’s get real: Series 2: Regulation Legal and Compliance BarnOwl were proud sponsors of the IRMSA public sector Series 2 breakfasts recently held on: 9th May 2017, at the Johannesburg Country Club in Woodmead 25th May 2107 in Durban at the Sun Coast Conference Centre 1st June 2017 In Cape Town at Century City The Johannesburg breakfast saw informative presentations from: Adv Monwabisi Nguqu Musawakhe Khumalo Now more than ever governance, risk, compliance and audit practitioners need to be seen and heard:... Read more
February 23, 2017 12:04 pm
BarnOwl Info Sharing session: 23 February 2017 The journey from King I to King IV: Why King IV is not another layer of regulation but creates add-on value. (King IV is copyrighted to The Institute of Directors Southern Africa). Presented by Michael Judin, partner in the Johannesburg based law firm, JUDIN COMBRINCK INC We were delighted to have Michael Judin present to us on the 23 February 2017 at our info sharing breakfast at the Bryanston Country Club. The event was extremely well attended with over 150 people attending, thanks to Michael being a most entertaining and informative presenter speaking... Read more
December 9, 2016 12:53 pm
The following points are taken from the King IV report copyrighted to The Institute of Directors Southern Africa NPC. Introduction to King IV The definition of corporate governance for the purposes of King IV, is defined as the exercise of ethical and effective leadership by the governing body towards the achievement of the following governance outcomes: Ethical culture Good performance Effective control Legitimacy Ethical Leadership is exemplified by integrity, competence, responsibility, accountability, fairness and transparency. It involves the anticipation and prevention, or otherwise amelioration, of the negative consequences of the organisation’s activities and outputs on the economy, society and the... Read more
September 27, 2016 1:36 pm
I’ve had several interactions with people in the Governance, Risk, Compliance (GRC) and Internal Audit space who comment on a growing sense of excessive legislation. The overarching attitude is that this leads to an exceedingly complicated burden on an organization and its employees to function in accordance with sometimes conflicting laws, acts, regulations, standards, policies, procedures, best practices, statutes, guidelines and rules from a multitude of bodies, chambers, courts, institutes, foundations, bureaus, agencies, societies and other groupings. If you thought that was a mouthful, perhaps it is a flickering endorsement of the true state of affairs. Industry and society is... Read more
August 12, 2016 10:05 am
BarnOwl and the King IV Launch: 01 November 2016 Sandton Conference Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa Written by Jonathan Crisp, Director, BarnOwl GRC and Audit Software We were delighted to be a sponsor at the launch of the King IV report which was a most prestigious event attended by over 1,400 delegates, many of whom were senior executives, risk and audit committee members and captains of industry and government. We were entertained to not only high profile and brilliant speakers but also to a ‘show’ not to be forgotten. The event was extremely vibey with state of the art effects including... Read more
July 29, 2016 12:10 pm
BarnOwl Info Sharing session: 29 July 2016 The Integrated Report and Integrated Thinking in the reign of King IV By Leigh Roberts CA(SA) – IRC of SA –CEO We were honoured to have Leigh Roberts, the CEO of IRC (Integrated Reporting Committee) of SA presenting at BarnOwl’s info sharing session on the 29th July 2016. There was a great turn out which is an indication of how much interest there is in integrated reporting and the need for us to hear the latest developments and thinking. Leigh has been integral in the development of integrated reporting in South Africa and internationally.... Read more
February 3, 2016 12:05 pm
Many organisations see compliance as a ‘necessary evil’ and in many cases try to ignore it hoping it will go away. Whether we like it or not compliance is here to stay and it’s not only getting more and more complex in an increasingly complex and connected world but is having a bigger and bigger impact on business. The effects of non-compliance / unethical behaviour: Just a few examples that highlight the impact of non-compliance and / or unethical behaviour: Just look at what MTN is facing right now relating to the so called non-compliance with the Nigerian Communications Act... Read more
August 27, 2015 12:17 pm
The BarnOwl info sharing breakfast held on the 27th August 2015 was very well attended and focused on two topics, namely ‘King IV – an update on the progress so far’ and ‘What makes an internal audit function a valuable asset’. We would like to thank our guest speakers; Gert Cruywagen, Director of Risk at Tsogo Sun Group and a member of the King Committee on Corporate Governance and Liesl Brown, head of internal audit at Cell C for their time and insightful presentations. We would also like to acknowledge the Institute of Directors and the King Committee for the feedback... Read more
July 21, 2015 9:15 am
Many companies struggle to identify what to be compliant with let alone staying compliant with existing laws and acts. Compliance does not need to be overly complex to start with. Compiling a Regulatory universe and applying your mind to which acts are pertinent to your organisation is a major step in the right direction. The definition of the idiom, “Trying to run before you can walk”, is trying to do something requiring a high level of knowledge before you have learned the basics. Too many organisations attempt to address too many compliance areas and end up doing a bad job... Read more
