The Economic Competitiveness of South Africa: Financials Returns, Labor Productivity and International Gaps
ICON Group International, May 2006, Pages: 200
Is South Africa competitive? With the globalization of markets, the increased mobility of corporate assets, and the need for productive human resources, this question has become all the more complex to answer. This report was prepared to tackle this question by focussing on certain fundamentals: financial performance and labor productivity.
In the former case, we are essentially interested in the degree to which firms operating in South Africa have fundamentally different financial structures and performance compared to firms located elsewhere. With respect to this view of competitiveness, if one were to invest or operate in South Africa, how would the firm’s asset structure likely vary compared to a firm operating in some other country in Africa or average location in the world? In South Africa, do firms typically hold more cash and other short term assets, or do they concentrate their assets in physical plant and equipment? On the liability side, do firms operating in South Africa have a higher percent of payables compared to other firms operating in Africa, or do they hold a higher concentration of long term debt? The structure of the income statement is also telling. Do firms operating in South Africa have relatively higher costs of goods sold, operating costs, or income taxes compared to firms located elsewhere in the region or the world in general? Are returns on equity higher in South Africa? Are profit margins greater? Are inventories held longer? Chapters 2, 3, 4 and 5 are designed to answer these and similar questions that naturally affect one’s decision to invest or operate in South Africa. In many instances, people make all the difference. In addition to financial competitiveness, this report considers the extent to which labor deployment and productivity in South Africa differs from regional and global benchmarks. In this case, we are interested in the amount of labor required to operate a typical business in South Africa and the likely returns on this human investment. What is the typical ratio of short-term and long-term assets to employee? What are typical capital-labor ratios? How different are these ratios to those in Africa in general and the world as a whole? What are the average sales and net profits per employee in South Africa compared to regional benchmarks? Again, these and over 50 other measures of labor productivity are considered in Chapters 6, 7, and 8. The goal of this report is first to assist managers in gauging the competitive performance of South Africa at the global level. With the globalization of markets, greater foreign competition, and the reduction of entry barriers, it becomes all the more important to benchmark South Africa against other countries on a worldwide basis. Doing so, however, is not an obvious task. First, one needs to aggregate across firms in South Africa. Second, one needs to control for exchange rate volatility. Finally, one needs use comparable financial standards.
This report generates international benchmarks and measures gaps that might be revealed from such an exercise. First, data is collected from over 26,000 companies across all regions of the world. For each of these firms, data are standardized into comparable categories (assets, liabilities, income and ratios), by country, region and on a worldwide basis. From there, we eliminate all currency effects by standardizing within each category.
Though we heavily rely on historical performance, the figures reported are not historical but are forecasts and projections for the coming fiscal year.
1 INTRODUCTION & METHODOLOGY
1.1 Financial Returns and Gaps: Methodology
1.2 Labor Productivity Gaps: Methodology
1.3 Limitations and Extensions
1.4 Related Reports
2 FINANCIAL RETURNS: ASSET STRUCTURE RATIOS
2.1 Overview
2.2 Assets
Definitions of Terms
2.3 Asset Structure: Outlook
2.4 Asset Structure: International Gaps
2.5 Key Percentiles and Rankings
3 FINANCIAL RETURNS: LIABILITY STRUCTURE RATIOS
3.1 Overview
3.2 Liabilities and Equity
Definitions of Terms
3.3 Liability Structure: Outlook
3.4 Liability and Equity Structure: International Gaps
3.5 Key Percentiles and Rankings
4 FINANCIAL RETURNS: INCOME STRUCTURE RATIOS
4.1 Overview
4.2 Income Statements
Definitions of Terms
4.3 Income Structure: Outlook
4.4 Income Structure: Gaps
4.5 Key Percentiles and Rankings
5 FINANCIAL RETURNS: PROFITABILITY RATIOS
5.1 Overview
5.2 Ratios
Definitions of Terms
5.3 Ratio Structure: Outlook
5.4 Return Ratios Structures: Gaps
5.5 Key Percentiles and Rankings
6 PRODUCTIVITY: ASSET-LABOR RATIOS
6.1 Overview
6.2 Asset to Labor: Outlook
6.3 Asset to Labor: International Gaps
6.4 Key Percentiles and Rankings
7 PRODUCTIVITY: LIABILITY-LABOR RATIOS
7.1 Overview
7.2 Liability to Labor: Outlook
7.3 Liability and Equity to Labor: International Gaps
7.4 Key Percentiles and Rankings
8 PRODUCTIVITY: INCOME-LABOR RATIOS
8.1 Overview
8.2 Income to Labor: Outlook
8.3 Income to Labor: Gaps
8.4 Key Percentiles and Rankings
9 DISCLAIMERS, WARRANTEES, AND USER AGREEMENT PROVISIONS
9.1 Disclaimers & Safe Harbor
9.2 User Agreement Provisions
9.3 Financial Glossaries: Bibliography
Customers who bought this item also bought
All rights reserved. © Copyright 2013 Research and Markets WWW6
Terms and Conditions Privacy Policy Publishers Employment Opportunities Site Map Link to us Webmaster Affiliate Network
