[Sara Butchart] Oh how I love my PVR! After years of being in the advertising and communications business, my husband and I delight in zapping the rubbish ads and moving on to what we really want to watch - the programme! It's a global trend which is resulting in more and more interest being placed on AFP's (Advertiser Funded Programmes) with some really interesting results.

The annual Supply Chain Management Education Excellence Awards were held on 7 May 2013 in Rosebank. Awarded by SAPICS (Association for Operations Management of Southern Africa), they aim to encourage the continuous improvement of the body of knowledge, address the skills shortage in the profession and to encourage the sharing of knowledge between organisations and individuals.

To avoid losing margins to SARS, retailers need to ensure that they are in possession of associated tax invoices for VAT inputs. Following successful SARS legal cases, companies need to ensure that all input tax invoices are compliant and the record of invoices is complete.

[Rod Baker] NEWSWATCH: Mail & Guardian's editor-in-chief, Nic Dawes, has resigned to take up a post at the Hindustan Times in New Delhi, the newspaper reports.

[Andrew Kirkland] Recent reports suggest that the managed security services (MSS) space, which increased by 12% to US$13 billion in 2012, will continue to grow rapidly. For businesses looking to partner with a MSS provider (MSSP), this article will provide tips which may assist in properly assessing your IT security environment before engaging a MSSP for outsourced services.

A reminder once again to all branding, design or advertising students in Jozi to enter our competition to win a ticket to attend South Africa's first Portfolio Night hosted by McCann Johannesburg next week, Wednesday, 22 May! Complete this form and upload a Biz Portfolio Showcase before Monday, 20 May. You will need to create a MyBiz Profile if you don't have one already.

Atlantis City Shopping Centre in the Western Cape has been acquired by Synergy Income Fund Limited for approximately R334 million, making it the fund's largest single property investment since listing in December 2011. The retail centre is expected to transfer on 1 September 2013.

[Amukelani Chauke] Cabinet has approved a proposal to review some of the Independent Communications Authority of SA's functions to make it more transparent and accountable.