Economy
Sage Summit Tour Targets Business Builders
By Dipo Olowookere
Sage, the market leader for integrated accounting, payroll & HR, and payment systems, will highlight technologies taking business builders to a future of invisible accounting at the Sage Summit Tour in Johannesburg.
Sage customers and business partners from around Africa and the Middle East will gather at the Sandton Convention Centre from 7-9 March 2017 to learn about new technologies, digital transformation and the future of work.
Sage CEO, Mr Stephen Kelly, will share insights about how Sage is levelling the playing field for customers – and it’s just the start of a technology revolution all enterprises of all sizes need to be a part of to compete and grow.
Other speakers include Valter Adão, Head of Digital at Deloitte Africa, Justin Spratt, Head of Business, Sub-Saharan Africa at Uber and Gil Oved, co-founder and co-CEO of The Creative Counsel.
“Business builders and entrepreneurs don’t go into business because they want to wrestle with red-tape and manage admin. Our vision is to make those tasks invisible by 2020 by automating the back-office functions so we can free business builders up to follow their dreams,” said Sage CEO, Stephen Kelly. “At the Sage Summit Tour, they will get inspiration from other entrepreneurs, experts, and peers about how they can take their businesses into a future of invisible admin.”
The digital future of work
Speakers at the Sage Summit Tour will focus on how digital native young professionals and exciting emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, mobility and automated data collection are reshaping the workplace.
Ahead of the Sage Summit Tour, Sage has been discussing these ideas in a series of podcasts, Invisible Admin: Conversations about the future of work.
Said Anton van Heerden, Managing Director and Executive Vice-President, Africa & Middle East at Sage: “Technologies such as artificial intelligence are the answer to the everyday pain points people are facing now. Our work at Sage allows us to use these advances to address the immediate challenges our customers face today. We are helping to free them from mundane admin tasks so that they can focus on creativity, growth and innovation.”
Invisible admin and accounting
Invisible accounting will be built on the back of three powerful emerging technologies, as illustrated in Leading the Invisible Accounting Revolution (http://APO.af/O0dd4h), a new white paper from Sage and Ovum:
Artificial Intelligence will enable users to interact with accounting systems via conversational interfaces. It will also elevate back-office automation and the processing of massive amounts of data.
Blockchain technology promises to transform how frictionless processes can take place, where money transfers, for example, can flow in an automated manner and be auditable and compliant.
The Internet of Things will transform the supply chain and deliver superior efficiencies and lower costs.
Together, these technologies will enable an era of seamless business processes, continuous budgeting and agile accounting.
Release of the Payments Landscape Report
The Sage Summit Tour will also reflect on the results of its Payments Landscape Report for South Africa, which shows that consumers are increasingly demanding choice when they pay.
The majority (96%) of South African consumers surveyed claim it’s important for businesses to offer customers a diverse range of payment methods. South Africans feel strongly enough to act on it, with 90% claiming they would be more likely to shop somewhere that offered them multiple ways to pay.
Investing in the community, inspiring change
Sage will update delegates about how the Sage Foundation is making a difference for communities and non-profit organisations across Africa and Middle East with its approach to social investment. The company unveiled its $1,000,000 Challenge in partnership with parkrun.
This global fundraising challenge is going around the world with the Sage Summit Series, to make sure Sage transforms more communities. The three inspiring local based community partners are: SA Teen Entrepreneurs, SOS Children’s Villages and Dignity Dreams. Sage colleagues, customers and partners will be partnering with parkrun on 8 March 2017 at Woodmead Country Club to raise money for the three non-profit charities.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The federal government has been asked by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to suspend the implementation of the controversial tax laws.
In a reaction to the tax reform acts, the president of the group, Mr Afam Osigwe (SAN), the suspension of the laws would allow for a proper investigation into allegations of alterations in the gazetted and harmonised copies.
A member of the House of Representatives, Mr Abdussamad Dasuki, alleged that some parts of the laws passed by the parliament were different from the gazetted copy.
To address the issues raised, the NBA said it is “imperative that a comprehensive, open, and transparent investigation be conducted to clarify the circumstances surrounding the enactment of the laws and to restore public confidence in the legislative process.”
“Until these issues are fully examined and resolved, all plans for the implementation of the Tax Reform Acts should be immediately suspended,” the association declared.
It noted that the controversies “raise grave concerns about the integrity, transparency, and credibility of Nigeria’s legislative process.”
“These developments strike at the very heart of constitutional governance and call into question the procedural sanctity that must attend lawmaking in a democratic society,” it noted.
“Legal and policy uncertainty of this magnitude has far-reaching consequences. It unsettles the business environment, erodes investor confidence, and creates unpredictability for individuals, businesses, and institutions required to comply with the law. Such uncertainty is inimical to economic stability and should have no place in a system governed by the rule of law.
“Nigeria’s constitutional democracy demands that laws, especially those with profound economic and social implications, emerge from processes that are transparent, accountable, and beyond reproach. Anything short of this undermines public trust and weakens the foundation upon which lawful governance rests.
“We therefore call on all relevant authorities to act swiftly and responsibly in addressing this controversy, in the overriding interest of constitutional order, economic stability, and the preservation of the rule of law,” the organisation stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Demand for hot stocks, including MRS Oil Plc, buoyed the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.52 per cent on Tuesday, December 23.
The energy company was one of the three price gainers for the session as it chalked up N19.69 to sell at N216.59 per share versus the previous day’s value of N196.90 per share.
Further, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained N2.95 to close at N56.75 per unit versus N53.80 per unit and Golden Capital Plc appreciated by 84 Kobo to N9.29 per share from Monday’s N8.45 per share.
Consequently, the market capitalisation went up by N10.95 billion to N2.125 trillion from N2.125 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 18.31 points to 3,570.37 points from 3,552.06 points.
Yesterday, the NASD bourse recorded a price loser, the Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS), which gave up 17 Kobo to close at N33.70 per unit against the previous trading value of N33.87 per unit.
The volume of securities traded at the session went down by 97.6 per cent to 297,902 units from the previous day’s 12.6 million units, the value of securities decreased by 98.5 per cent to N10.5 million from N713.6 million, and the number of deals remained flat at 32 deals.
By value, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc ended as the most actively traded stock on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units exchanged for N16.4 billion. This was followed by Okitipupa Plc, which traded 178.9 million units valued at N9.5 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units worth N4.9 billion.
In terms of volume, also on a year-to-date basis, InfraCredit Plc led the chart with a turnover of 5.8 billion units traded for N16.4 billion. Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc ranked second with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.7 million, while Impresit Bakolori Plc followed with the sale of 536.9 million units valued at N524.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
It was another bullish trading session for the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited as it closed higher by 0.59 per cent on Tuesday.
The market further rallied due to continued interest in large and mid-cap stocks on the exchange by investors rebalancing their portfolios for the year-end.
Yesterday, Aluminium Extrusion sustained its upward trajectory after it further appreciated by 9.96 per cent to N14.90, as Austin Laz gained 9.81 per cent to close at N2.91, Custodian Investment improved by 9.69 per cent to N38.50, and First Holdco soared by 9.35 per cent to N50.30.
Conversely, Royal Exchange declined by 7.22 per cent to N1.80, Champion Breweries shrank by 6.57 per cent to N15.65, NASCON lost 5.36 per cent to trade at N105.05, Sovereign Trust Insurance depreciated by 5.28 per cent to N3.77, and Japaul went down by 4.51 per cent to N2.33.
At the close of business, 29 shares ended on the gainers’ table and 27 shares finished on the losers’ log, representing a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.
This raised the All-Share Index (ASI) by 895.06 points to 153,354.13 points from 152,459.07 points and lifted the market capitalisation by N579 billion to N97.772 trillion from the previous day’s N97.193 trillion.
VFD Group finished the day as the busiest stock after it recorded a turnover of 192.0 million units worth N2.1 billion, GTCO exchanged 63.5 million units valued at N5.6 billion, Access Holdings traded 49.8 million units for N1.0 billion, First Holdco sold 45.8 million units valued at N2.3 billion, and Secure Electronic Technology transacted 38.3 million units worth N28.4 million.
In all, market participants bought and sold 677.4 million units valued at N20.8 billion in 27,589 deals compared with the 451.5 million units worth N13.0 billion traded in 33,327 deals on Monday, showing an improvement in the trading volume and value by 50.03 per cent and 60.00 per cent apiece, and a shortfall in the number of deals by 17.22 per cent.
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