Recent moves in South Africa’s C-Suites have underscored the risk aversion of boards, with the same trusted hands hopping on and off the merry-go-round at various destinations, but with few new players appearing.

SA’s top management is set for at least another decade of slow transformation, with very few new faces representing diversity in terms of race and gender expected until at least 2015.

 

“While top companies are increasingly ensuring that their general workforce reflects the country’s demographics – in line with both ethical and legal requirements - the faces at the very top will continue to look the same for many years and, more likely, even the next decade,” says Debbie Goodman-Bhyat, MD of Jack Hammer Executive Headhunters.

 

No accident that 30% of Chief Executives and 90% of Finance Directors on the JSE are Chartered Accountants

 

Chartered Accountants [CAs(SA)] continue to dominate the directorships of South Africa’s largest listed companies.

 

Independent research into the qualifications of board directors of the 200 largest companies listed on the JSE ltd reveals that 35% of the 2215 directorships are held by CAs(SA). This is a slight increase on the 2010 figure of 32.3%.

 

Unsurprisingly they also dominate the lead finance role in listed companies, with almost nine out of 10 (89.6%) finance directors or chief financial officers having qualified as chartered accountants. This represents a significant increase from the last survey in 2010 when 78% of finance directors had qualified as chartered accountants.