Page 8 - KZN Business Sense - 4.2

TOP 10 SCORING OPPORTUNITIES ON AMENDED BBBEE CODES

Vash Singh, Managing 2. The pre-requisites to obtain and there are many cost-
Director - Xcelerate points on Skills Development effective ways of implementing
Verification and Management Control these for any company. Contact
Agency (annual WSP/ATR/Pivotal us to find out more.
Reporting and Critical Skills 7. Utilise the EME and QSE
M implementation, and affidavits for suppliers that
Employment Equity reporting
meet this profile, as these are
to Department of Labour) are
easy to obtain and provide
ost vital to obtain any points in high levels that boost
companies these elements – for Qualifying procurement scores.
have now Small Enterprises (QSEs) and 8. Be mindful of new requirements
been Generic companies. under Enterprise Development
assessed 3. At least 40% of points for the and Supplier Development
on the priority elements of Ownership, e.g. limitation of early payment
Amended Skills Development and ESD terms, bonus points,
BBBEE Codes and many are must be obtained to avoid qualification of beneficiaries,
unfortunately not scoring well dropping one level on the etc.
(non-compliant to Level 7) due Generic Scorecard, or 9. Maintain records of all
mainly to ineffective preparation Ownership and either one of
for the challenging differences the others for QSEs. If a initiatives as they are being
done to reduce workload
from the prior set of Codes. company does not have black Xcelerate Verification Agency
From our experience, we have ownership, they should aim and risk at time of verification. Fuels & Petroleum are in is a Level 1, Black women
summarised the list below to to achieve the highest level on If suitable evidence can’t be draft format. It’s imperative owned company that has been
assist companies in implementing the other elements to cater for provided, points unfortunately to prepare against the draft operating for over 10 years, and
those tactics that have the most cannot be awarded. requirements as most Codes is accredited on all gazetted
impact: this fall in level. 10. Be aware of the specific are finalised with immediate sector codes. 
4. For the Department of Trade requirements of Sector Codes effect, and rating agencies
1. Initiatives towards the three and Industry (the dti) Codes, should they be applicable must certify relevant
elements that carry the most a 10% black ownership is the to you. The Amended Codes companies against the final Contact us to guide you further on
points (Skills Development, minimum requirement to for Forestry, Tourism, ICT, versions with no grace period achieving your targeted BEE level – call us
Enterprise & Supplier avoid dropping a Level. Property, Marketing allowed. on 0861 505 555, email info@xcelbee.co.za
Development [ESD], Socio- 5. Under Skills Development, Advertising & or visit xcelbee.co.za.
economic Development) must training and development of Communication
be implemented in the any black person can be
financial year that will be used claimed – not just staff. (MAC), Construction,
for the verification. No Financial Services and
random 12-month period is 6. Formal learnerships, internships Agriculture have already
now allowed. and apprenticeships gain been gazetted while
the most points under skills Transport, Defence, Liquid

REPUTATIONAL RISK

Helper Zhou blue-chip clients and credit lines directly making up 25% of that. active approach is adopted, which map. When predefined thresholds
or erosion of trust – something As such, this shows that in this harnesses all organisational are breached, proactive steps are
eputation has emerged that is difficult to recover. Had it increasingly competitive space, members in achieving sustainable then taken to address impending
as one of the invaluable been small cap businesses, such companies need to ensure that positive image. reputational risk triggers. Key
Rassets across public and scandals would have been at they build strong reputations. in achieving this is a systematic
private sector institutions. A least conceivable to accept. But, For this to be practically stakeholders’ management model
good reputation enhances the these are big corporates with With vast empirical cases to achieved, organisations will need to ascertain the impact different
company’s value and allows it substantial resources at their learn from; there is a need for to appreciate the construct of groups of stakeholders have on
to charge a premium compared disposal that could be deployed organisations to migrate from reputation as a business asset. the organisation.
with its peers. However, due to have mitigated and averted the traditional reputational Reputation has been defined by
to the exponential growth of such scandals, which have risk management model, which various studies as a perception of Recent studies indicate that
information sharing conduits, caused great harm to their most was centred on a reactive risk the company by various internal damage to brand and reputation
such as mainstream and social precious asset – reputation. management approach, to and external stakeholders and is the top risk right across the
media, organisations need to something more agile. Changing is distinct from the company’s globe. However, if the approach
realise that reputation is always at The proliferation of costly from the traditional style will not actual character. To sustain to reputational risk management
risk and needs to be safeguarded. misdeeds by the corporate world, be easy, as shown by research, growing positive reputation in is merely a tick box or rules
What makes this asset so delicate as well as public sector entities, individuals have strong cognitive the market, every organisation based and there is no dedicated
is that while being inherently is global and sadly on the rise. biases that discourage them from should appreciate the main drivers champion (especially for medium
material to business continuity, This contrasts with claims by thinking about and discussing risk of reputational risk, which can be sized and large organisations) to
reputational risk is uninsurable. a Harvard Business Review until it’s too late. condensed into seven categories: be responsible over organisational
One prominent South African 2007 issue, which contended This also reconciles with recent 1. Internal stakeholder and reputation risk management, then
the worst of what has been seen
economist said that 2017 was the that executives appreciate the findings that top management management culture in the past is not only imminent
“year of fantastic failures” citing importance of business reputation. overestimate their ability to 2. Financial performance and but inevitable. 
several business scandals. What’s Now it’s said that more than influence events that in fact, are investment value
noteworthy is that these scandals 70% of the company’s market heavily determined by chance. To 3. Ethics and corporate governance
have resulted in tangible losses; value comes from hard-to-assess worsen that, they largely subscribe Sigma International
drastic share decline, loss of intangible assets, with reputation to confirmation bias, which 4. Public relations and crisis T: 031 201 0788
drives them to prefer information management C: 073 176 5014
that supports their views 5. Corporate social responsibility helper@sigmaintl.co.za
www.sigmaintl.co.za
It takes 20 years to build a reputation (typically successes) and suppress 6. Legal and regularity compliance
information that contradicts
and five minutes to ruin it. If you think them (typically failures). This is 7. Strategy execution
Any organisation need to ensure
about that, you’ll do things differently. the major cause to reputational that these drivers are properly
damage, which normally could
- Warren Buffet be decisively dealt with if an managed through a dynamic heat-

8