Role of the independent director recognised

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Sirdar's annual governance awards late in 2013 recognised the role of independent nonexecutive directors in SA for small and medium privately held companies‚ as these companies are viewed as the engine room of the economy.

The doyen of financial reporting standards‚ Prof Mervyn King‚ said at the function it was encouraging for practitioners to be recognised.

"This is true in all spheres‚ including business. The awards recognised the practice of quality governance and encouraged practitioners to be responsible corporate leaders‚" he said.

Paul Kent‚ nominated by Avimune‚ won the strategic pivot award for his role in simplifying goals into a few key priorities and "giving the management team the confidence to believe that they could actually do some of the things they had dreamt of doing for many years".

Nominations were received from the companies represented‚ by fellow directors and/or management.

The Expedition Leadership Excellence Award went to Stephen Bentz‚ nominated by African Corporate Cleaning and Bufu Continental Stores.

"Stephen has first and foremost taken the time to understand our business and family structures and has walked the path with us for almost 18 months‚" said new CE of Bufu‚ Lwando Tsembeyi.

"Stephen has taken the MD's apathy towards the concept of clear shareholder expectation and converted it to a focus point of the organisation‚" said African Corporate Cleaning.

The Shareholder Pinnacle Award went to Brian Rajchrt‚ who was nominated by Leonard Light Industries. This is an example of a family-owned business‚ with the owners also acting as executive members on the board.

The company said Rajchrt has assisted "where it is difficult to wear all the hats at once (as is the case with most owner managed businesses) and he continuously encourages this".

The Avalanche Avoidance Award was won by Caroline Mbi-Njifor‚ nominated by accounting‚ auditing and consulting firm Accounting for Entrepreneurs. "As an independent director‚ Caroline identified critical areas of the business where risk management and compliance issues were inadequate‚" said the company.

The Peak Profit Award went to both Danie Pieterse and Caroline Mbi-Njifor‚ who were nominated by Accounting for Entrepreneurs as a team.

As a result of their efforts on the board‚ the company said its turnover rose 23% and the profit 149% compared to the previous year.

The Mountaineering Excellence Award‚ sponsored by Sanlam‚ recognised the director or chairman nominated by fellow directors and company management for their complete and dedicated commitment to the success (performance and conformance) of the company(ies) in which they were appointed. It was won by Stephen Bentz.

The National Development Plan‚ released in August 2012‚ proposes the creation of 11-million more jobs by 2030‚ among others by expanding the public works programme‚ lowering the cost of doing business and costs for households and helping match unemployed workers to jobs.

Some other major initiatives feed back into the loop‚ like the youth wage subsidy.

But results last year showing that entrepreneurship in South Africa was at its lowest ebb in three years shows a lot more needs to be done.

Sirdar hopes its awards will play a role in encouraging high standards and strategies that help businesses flourish.