M.Comm. / Financial Condition Reporting is the new proposed risk-based approach to calculating the solvency requirements of the short-term insurance companies in South Africa by the regulator, the Financial Services Board. A risk-based approach to calculating capital requirements is currently the most popular in the developed nations with the United States of America being the champion of this. Australia has implemented its own version of the risk-based capital approach and the United Kingdom has implemented ICAS which is a prelude to Solvency II to be implemented by the European Union. It is unknown how Financial Condition Reporting in South Africa will affect the levels of competitiveness of the short-term insurance industry. Qualitative study was done firstly to develop an understanding of the regulation of financial services and secondly to get an appreciation of how the regulation of financial services affects the levels of competition within the industry. Due to the fact that different people (organisations) have different views on the proposed financial reporting, qualitative data methods provide participants with an opportunity to discuss their reasons. The intention of the researcher was to get as much information as possible from the interviews and hence one of the data collection techniques employed was the use of a tape recorder.. Generally all participants indicated that Financial Condition Reporting was more than welcome in the short-term insurance industry. It was evident that this will force the board of directors of short-term insurance companies to be involved in the risk management of the organisation. In turn this will allow an in-depth understanding of the risks that the organisations are facing. i Financial Condition Reporting will certainly not come without costs; these could either be the cost of implementing the internal models as this will inevitably require the use of qualified actuaries or the capital required as dictated by the prescribed model as this is an industry average. Both costs can result in some companies merging or some being bought out and this could change the scales of competition within the short-term insurance industry.

Fundamental changes in the global economy are changing the basis of organisational competitive advantage. The challenge in attaining a competitive advantage is characterised by factors such as increased competition, market volatility, geographically dispersed operations, customer awareness, raising workforce diversity and stringent regulatory regimes. These factors have driven, and in turn have been driven by, an increasing complexity of products, services and the processes that create value, resulting in changes in the structural and functional dimensions of the organisation. Business executives and academics recognise the shift in value creating assets from the traditional land, labour and capital to intangible assets such as knowledge and information becoming the most important resources an organisation can muster.The combination and integration of intangible assets such as human resources, structural and relational resources has been grouped under the umbrella of intellectual capital. This study comprises of a single descriptive case study analysis to ascertain how intellectual capital is managed strategically to gain a competitive advantage in an organisation in the banking and financial services sector in Zambia. Based on document review and semi-structured interviews, this thesis investigated the extent to which an organisation in the banking and financial services sector in Zambia leveraged intellectual capital to gain competitive advantage. In this study it was found that there is a low level appreciation of the intellectual capital phenomenon as a strategic management tool in the participating organisation. However, the organisation has adopted aspects of intellectual capital and has implemented them successfully accounting for the organisation‘s competitive edge in the market.

Magister Commercii - MCom / The aim of this study is to determine the extent to which the UN/OSCAL (United Nations Office of the Special Coordinator for Africa and the Least Development Countries) model of microfinance is being applied in the South African context, its scope for application and recommendations for implementation. The hypothesis is that, the better South African microfinance initiatives conform to the model, the more successful it will be in fulfilling the ultimate mission of microfinance which is to supply financial services to the poor by cutting the cost of outreach with beneficial effects on poverty.. / South Africa

Financial regulation is a subject that is more often than not regarded as distant and yet another level of bureaucracy that has to be endured by both the public and private sectors. The significance of creating and maintaining an efficient and effective system to regulate financial markets, financial institutions and financial service providers is a salient feature in the development of a country’s economic health. The recent global economic crises of 2007/2008 and the economic hurdles accompanying those events are perhaps the most dramatic instances of how necessary the implementation of efficient and effective financial regulation is. The international financial system has experienced a retinue of changes in the last two decades. One of the main challenges of financial regulators has been to keep abreast of as well as adapt to these changes, which are of an international nature. In a majority of countries, the financial sector is one of the most intensely regulated and supervised industries. Over a period of time, it has become evident that regulatory arrangements have a formidable impact on: i. The size, structure and efficiency of a financial system; ii. The business operations of financial institutions and markets; iii. Competitive conditions both overall and between sub-sectors of the system. The impact of regulation can either be stagnant or progressive; this depends on how the objectives of regulation are defined and how efficiently regulatory arrangements are related to their objectives. The issue at hand is to engage regulatory institutions, structures and mechanisms for supervision and enforcement need to be implemented because they are pertinent to the formal regulatory requirements in the overall regulatory regime. Effective financial regulation would be unable to exert its objectives in the absence of efficient supervision and enforcement. In numerous countries the institutional structure of regulation has experienced change or is in the process of change. Different models of institutional structure are availed such as the single/consolidated model, the twin-peak model and the multiple regulator model. For example, the United Kingdom has embraced the single/consolidated regulator model while Australia has employed the twin-peak regulator model. Kenya operates on the multiple regulator model. This report addresses the role of financial regulators in the Kenyan economy. The objectives of the research are to: Provide comprehensive information about the theory and practice of financial regulation; Identify the financial regulators in Kenya and define their roles; Address the issue of multiple regulators and the duplicity of roles; Discuss international trends in regulation and examine different regulatory regimes; Consider the viability of a single/consolidated regulatory regime in Kenya; Suggest a possible future regulatory regime for Kenya and identify the key issues associated with such a regime; Suggest areas for further investigation and research.The approach of this report will constitute the following: Chapter 1 discusses the rationale for the research, objectives, scope and scale of the research, preliminary literature review and the research methods to be employed. Chapter 2 focuses on financial regulatory systems in general as well as an extensive analysis of financial regulators in Kenya. Chapter 3 combines the research methods employed and also contains a comparative analysis of the regulatory regime. Chapter 4 examines the findings of the research, the lessons learnt and the regulatory responses. Chapter 5 includes recommendations towards improvement of regulatory systems and an executive summary of outstanding policy issues and priorities in Kenyan financial regulation.

The focus of this doctoral research is on developing an enhanced understanding of the nature and operational significance of fair values by studying the organisational systems and processes through which such values are produced. The external reporting of fair values in corporate financial statements has created significant controversy and debate, particularly during the global financial crisis with various accusations and competing defences as to whether or not such a form of accounting caused or exacerbated the crisis. Fair value accounting has been debated mainly from a relevance and reliability perspective, with much attention paid to the relative usefulness of fair value accounting to investors and claims and counter claims relating to the reliability and subjectivity of fair values compared to historical costing approaches. Investigation into implementation issues affecting reliability, however, has been little studied. While an emerging strand of the literature has pointed to the importance of recognising fair value accounting’s social constructed nature, relatively few research papers have examined the construction of fair values and the ways in which such values are shaped by social and organisational contextual influences. This research contributes to such an emerging literature through a detailed case study of the construction of fair values in an international financial services organisation. The primary focus of analysis is the work of the organisation’s central governing body in this area, namely its Fair Value Committee (FVC). The work of the FVC provides a rich empirical base from which to examine the key factors and perspectives influencing the organisation’s approach to fair values. In particular, through a detailed analysis of its formal minutes and supporting interviews with senior members of the FVC and other key organisational actors, the research documents and reflects on the nature and direction of change that the organisation experienced during the global financial crisis with respect to the operation of its fair value system. The main research findings in relation to the nature of the fair value system are: Firstly, the operation of an organisational fair value accounting system emerges not as a demonstrative example of objective, arm’s length pricing but as a social, relational process influenced by the organisational context. Secondly, in studying the way in which fair values are made sense of or constructed to be market consistent, patterns of sensemaking generally invoke a rational and prudent view of the market, which stimulates questioning as to whether fair value accounting is inherently pro-cyclical and exacerbates swings in the financial market. Thirdly, ‘fair value’ pricing should not be seen as being without a semblance of order and routine. Fourthly, the observed growing dependency of fair value accounting on valuation experts provides confirmation of the weakening jurisdictional authority of auditors and their monitoring role in overseeing fair value accounting. Finally, the research reveals clear evidence of the constitutive effects of fair value accounting on the organisation’s investment policy and permitted investments. As such, the acceptance of specialist models to construct fair values should not only be seen as being reflective of the particular organisational context but also serving in part to permit (and encourage) investments in esoteric financial instruments - a constitutive impact on the organisation's investment strategy and risk profile. The study encourages a greater empirical analysis of the operational construction, development and utilisation of fair values so as to advance knowledge and move the debate beyond polemical debates on the status of fair value accounting.

Work is focused on main problems of segmentation in practical life taking complicated financial services showing difficulties the market is facing. Aa main stream is author describing czech insurance market where segmentation has held a prime place within media and insurers interest. On the other hand is also showing banking sector where easy and simple marketing segmentation has been adopted. After analyzing the real situation, author is taking best practice advise from real world and also recommendation on what to do next from theory.

The advent of trade in services theory has been a developing research topic since 1980, where various factors are in place to determine trade flows and the impact of regulatory frameworks and policies. Services trade is an important contributing factor towards economic objectives and continues to drive development. With growth in services trade across the globe there is increased value in understanding the impact of the services sector on the African continent. The evolving reliance on services towards globalisation in low-income economies is proven to contribute significantly to gross domestic product. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement was instituted to integrate economies by creating ease of access for the intra-trade of goods and services across the continent. This study aimed to explore the impact of the AfCFTA agreement on a regional financial services provider. The research followed a semi-structured interview methodology, which measured and tested the impact of the agreement on trade in services for this qualitative study. The results indicated that the service provider would adopt the AfCFTA agreement’s requirements in the expansion of its operations, to establish services across the continent. Although the minimum number of countries required supported the ratification process, a lot of work is needed to develop and understand the effect of international trade, on the back of reformative policy changes such as the AfCFTA agreement. / Mini Dissertation (MPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MPhil / Unrestricted

Magister Commercii - MCom / South Africa's unique colonial history, apartheid legacy, and ongoing transition to democratic governance drive the country's determination to attain its development objectives. Embedded in that determination is a broad social and .environmental public benefits agenda-that is, a sustainable economic development agenda. Public benefits include, inter alia, banking access, black economic empowerment and financial sector stability and efficiency. "

This dissertation consists of three parts. In the first part, we study an oligopoly model in which firms compete across several geographic regions. This networked competition is prevalent in many markets, such energy, metals, and agricultural commodity markets. Firms operating in these industries are constrained by physical limits on production capacities. Our paper provides the first analytical study on firms' competition in industries where players are capacity constrained. We find that a reduction in import-export taxes can have qualitatively different effects on consumer welfare depending on whether or not the impacted firm is capacity constrained. Our results imply that policies that promote free trade (e.g. NAFTA, European Union) may have unintended consequence and reduce the consumer surplus in capacity constrained industries. The second part of this dissertation analyzes the pros and cons of Bitcoin payment systems. The creator of Bitcoin envisioned a decentralized payment system in which mining can be performed by anyone using their home computers. Since it was introduced in 2008, Bitcoin attracted significant attention, both by public media and by investors. This led to a surge in the bitcoin price, and its market capitalization exceeded $170 billion (as of February 2, 2020). With the rise of bitcoin price, firms started to invest in developing efficient hardware to increase their probability of successfully mining blocks. As a result, mining operations became vertically integrated with single firms designing and manufacturing mining chips, and operating them in data centers. These major developments in mining technology bring up the following question: Does Bitcoin's proof-of-work protocol serve its intended purpose of enabling and supporting a decentralized payment system? We propose a two-stage game to answer this question. Firms first invest in research and development to subsequently compete in a Bitcoin mining game. We show that firms fail to capture the surplus created from their research, because higher research expenditures induce a more aggressive mining game. We calibrate our model to rewards and operational costs observed in the Bitcoin system, and quantitatively demonstrate that the mining industry has a tendency towards centralization, against the core principles of cryptocurrencies. The third part of this dissertation studies the emerging robo-advising industry. Roboadvisors are threatening traditional wealth management firms due to their ability to offer lower fees and minimum balance requirements, as well as transparent and systematic advise. Robo-advisors had $300 billion in assets under management during 2016, and are projected to reach $2.2 trillion by 2020. Currently, robo-advising firms employ questionnaires to assess the risk preference of investors. While appealing, the use of questionnaires presents various shortcomings: (i) investors' answers do not account for emotional responses observed when the loss is incurred, (ii) survey responses are subject to noise, and (iii) risk tolerance assessments are sensitive to the specific wording and formats used in questionnaires. To overcome these limitations, we propose a reinforcement learning framework for retail roboadvising. The robo-advisor does not know the investor's risk preference, but learns it over time by observing her portfolio choices in different market environments. We develop an exploration-exploitation algorithm which trades off costly solicitations of portfolio choices by the investor with autonomous trading decisions based on stale estimates of investor's risk aversion. We illustrate how, by correcting for the investor's mistakes, the robo-advisor may outperform a stand-alone investor regardless of the investor's opportunity cost for making portfolio decisions.

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