Here’s a mind-tickling quasi science fiction story about a future world of plenty derived from cheap autonomous robots. Well, plenty for some and medieval peasanthood for most. I was having a discussion with a bright young colleague about the Venus Project, whether as a planet we have sufficient resources, capital and technology to meet all…
I didn’t really want to have my first blog post in months be as brief as this, but when XKCD makes me laugh I feel the need to share it. Going to try to blog more regularly over the coming months, so watch this space.
A recent Moneyweb article poses the question of whether Chartered Accountants in South Africa should study longer. The problem is that high schools are failing learners and many accounting students start out with significant literacy and numerical weaknesses in their learning. Now, as it turns out, I’m not a supporter of increasing the required length…
Zimbabwe seems to be experiencing some isolated (for now) cash shortages. This was a concern around election time. There was a risk that citizens, fearing uncertainty around the reintroduction of the Zim Dollar might have withdrawn their deposits and borrowed as many dollars as they could. There has been limited talk of the reintroduction of…
In respect for Nelson Mandela’s death and funeral, many retailers closed yesterday for the day. This Business Day article claims a R300m loss for the retail industry as a result. Except, no. Some fraction of those sales might be permanently lost, but the income hasn’t been spent and the cash still sits in shoppers’ pockets.…
The NY Times has a fascinating article on the increasing demand for American made goods, particularly textiles, and the limited supply of labour with the relevant skills. There is plenty more to the story than just manufacturing increasing in the US – it also includes an historical perspective on the sources of labour in the…
XKCD is always good, but the statistical references are often quite insightful!
Quite a few people have asked me where to find the actual re-exposure draft of IFRS4. It seems to be easier to google for it than navigate the ifrs.org website, so here is the link to the page that includes the IFRS4 re-exposure draft background and the exposure draft itself.
