BEHIND THE NUMBERS
Debunking the WEF’s fickle rankings
There might be more to the drop in SA’s rankings in the recently released competitiveness survey than a weak economy. What explains the tectonic shifts?
It wasn’t long ago that the local audit profession was using the results of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual competitiveness report to defend itself from mandatory audit firm rotation imposed by the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (IRBA). The same is not likely to happen after this year’s survey. SA lost the number one slot in the WEF rankings of the quality of auditing and reporting standards. It fell to number 30. Bernard Agulhas, CEO of IRBA, says he is disappointed with the 2017 results, but expected it. "What this means is that IRBA and other regulators must work together to correct the situation so that we can re-establish stability in our capital and financial markets," he says. Likewise, the JSE has in the past not been shy to use its strong WEF survey showing for marketing purposes, most recently at the listing of Star. This year’s disastrous slump will put an end to that. SA’s overall rank fell by 14 places. And the JSE’s rank dropped from the number one p...
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