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The pervasive advances in information technology, coupled with environmental changes and the gruelling real-time stakeholder demands consistently challenge the auditing profession. Modernday complex interconnected business networks, are progressively making the true nature of emerging risks difficult to assess. Some of these emerging risks are like ticking time-bombs that can erupt rapidly and dramatically without cautionary. Emerging risks are concealed risk exposures with potential to trigger unanticipated and disconcerting shocks. As a result, organisations are more frequently turning to their internal auditing departments to help with the task of identifying emerging risks and guiding risk management protocols consistent with the dynamic risk landscape. The auditing professionals are increasingly being judged and evaluated for their ability to adapt and be forward-looking in matters of risk assessment. For that reason, internal auditors are forced to adopt laterally think and adapt to emerging risks. Several examples in recent years have shown the immense responsibility that internal auditing professionals must carry, and the present paper is to be seen as a contribution to understanding the implications of the changing risk landscape on the internal auditing profession. The qualitative thematic analysis identifies the overwhelming need for agility within the internal auditing profession, that emerging risks are engraining business operations, and remain significant determinants of governance and accountability. The results of the study have several policy implications and ignites pertinent future research propositions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In South Africa, it is commonly acknowledged that objectionably high numbers of borrowers are over-indebtedness. However, it is also true that some retailers still need to uphold ethical standard and be risk compliant in line with the statutory and governance requirements. Research has revealed irresponsible credit provision, and inconsistent training, education and sensitisation programs aimed at alerting borrowers about the intricacies of borrowing. This research study sought to evaluate compliance risk and ethical standards within selected departmental stores located in Cape Town, South Africa, whose main operations is based on credit granting. Because these stores do not sufficiently evaluate the compliance risks and ethical standards in the process of granting credit, they ultimately lose potential profits which possibly impact on the long term viability and sustainability of their business operations. The research evaluates the processes surrounding the credit environment vis-à-vis the processes involved in granting credits to customers within department stores and how compliance risk affects their performance. A quantitative research approach was conducted by way of a structured questionnaire. The convenient sampling method was used from selected retail departmental stores in Cape Town. The findings indicate that although departmental stores have written policies and incorporate some level of training on personal lending and credit policies, poor ethical standards are still prevalent within their credit granting environments. Credit granting departmental stores are still exposed to substantial amount of compliance risks, deterring overall business performance. Paper adds value to the domain of credit risk management, and also proposes possible future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technological advances continue to expand connectivity and communication, greatly assisting in social media business integration. Although social media has potential to drive the world of finance and accounting, firms in the accounting domain have predominantly remained laggards in social media adoption and usage. The usage of social media tools in accounting would be transformative; better leveraging opportunities for interaction and user engagement. This article discusses the background and significance of social media tools, projecting the overall concept of social media and offering some empirical evidence on the adoption and usage by accounting firms. The paper also discusses the potential benefits and approaches towards building a social media presence from an accounting perspective. Common reasons for not adopting social media include the fear of appearing unprofessional, posting something wrong or being misunderstood, or a lack of confidence in online skills. Future research is proposed to assess linkages between usage patterns and organizational characteristics, staff perspectives, and audience engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The majority of research examining the interplay between athlete hostility, anger verbal aggression and physical aggression in competitive sporting environments has focused on Western populations and only on selected sporting codes (e.g. Rugby; ice hockey). Research involving African, particularly South African athletes is sparse. Thus, this study examines the prevalence of athletes' hostility, anger, verbal aggression and physical aggression in South African sport. A total of 233 athletes in Gauteng province, South Africa, were selected. Descriptive statistics as well as Smart PLS software for structural equation modelling (SEM) technique were applied. The results indicated that the relationship between athletes' hostility and anger, verbal aggression and physical aggression were significantly positive; while insignificantly positive association was obsereved between athletes' hostility and verbal aggression. The results also suggest that the experience of hostility, angry emotions, verbal aggressive behaviours and physical aggression of South African athletes are similar to Western populations, but that sport psychology practitioners should be aware of some potentially important differences, such as the general tendency of South African athletes to disapprove of aggressive behaviour. The research paper concludes by discussing both academic and managerial implications of the results, and future research directions are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on e-retailing in the context of developing countries such as South Africa has remained scarce. In order to fill this gap, the current study is done to explore the relationship of e-retailing adoption, e-retail implementation, e-retail innovativeness, brand recognition and impact on business performance, particularly in this growing South African economic sub-sector. Five hypotheses were posited in this study and in order to test these hypotheses a sample of 273 was used. The findings in this study showed that, e-retailing adoption, mediated by e-retail implementation and innovativeness positively influences brand recognition and consequently business performance in a significant way. Management implications and limitations of the findings are discussed and future research directions proposed. The paper also suggests measures designed to create an enabling and nurturing environment that promotes and accelerates e-retailing adoption within the SMEs sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]