Browsing by Author "Rathnasamy, Shagaran."

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Exploring adequate retirement funding in South Africa: a KwaZulu-Natal financial planner’s view.
(2018) Rathnasamy, Shagaran.; Deodutt, Jugjith.
The development of several social demographic and economic trends have created the interest among financial analysts and the general population in planning for retirement. By the year 2021 the number of South Africans past retirement age will be an estimated 4.4 million which should account for approximately 7.3% of the country’s population (currently 3.8 million or 6.8% of the population) (Statistics South Africa, 2016). The increase in South Africa’s population at large and longer retirement periods have raised questions about financial preparedness for retirement. Economic issues such as corporate downsizing, capped employer retirement contributions, changing of jobs for greater remuneration and increased daily living costs have shifted the responsibility for retirement financial well-being from employers to individuals. Adequate retirement provision does not necessarily only affect the retiree but also the family unit of the retiree as a whole, as the vast majority of households in developing countries such as South Africa rely solely on one breadwinner. A global financial planning survey “was conducted by the FPI in 2015. The survey shows that only 38% of South Africans are confident that they will achieve their financial life goals, with 55% indicating that they do not know where to start with financial planning (Financial Planning Institute of South Africa, 2015) Gustman, Mitchell and Steinmeier (1995), as sited in (Greninger, Hampton, Kitt, & Jacquet, 2000) reported that, “there is no consensus in literature regarding the definition of retirement. If we do not understand the meaning of retirement, is it possible to judge whether a population is financially prepared?” This question underlines the importance of gathering informative qualitative data such as goals and risk tolerances and quantitative data, in order to develop a capital needs analysis to establish how clients can successfully meet their retirement goals. This paper aims to explore the role of the Financial Planner in the retirement planning process.
Factors that affect accounting students’ academic success at undergraduate level at Durban University of Technology.
(2022) Thompson, Tanya Felicia.; Rajaram, Rajendra.; Rathnasamy, Shagaran.
Numerous international and national studies have been conducted that have concentrated on factors that influenced and impacted on student success, where the specific focus was on undergraduate student success in academic programmes. A lack of research in this area had been highlighted both nationally and locally, especially with KwaZulu-Natal, and this gap in such literature justified further research in the province. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence and impact of various factors on students’ undergraduate studies at a university of technology. The student success model that was created for this study was based on Bronferbrenner’s bio-ecological model which recognised multiple systems that influence student success. In this study, these systems are referred to as student success factors, namely the first-year student experience programme, the tutor programme, the student success programme, family support, financial support, and institutional support. The research was positioned in the Positivist Paradigm and consisted of an investigative study. The sample size was a minimum of 30 respondents. The study used a single method approach. The primary data collection tool was a survey questionnaire. The data were collected using an online questionnaire, and this being a quantitative study, the data collected were statistically analysed using both descriptive and correlation methods. The target population consisted of post-graduate students who had completed their three-year undergraduate academic programmes in the field of accounting in the Accounting and Informatics faculty at the Ritson Road campus of the Durban University of Technology. As indicated in the results, a combined 71.9% correlation among the postgraduate students relating to factors in the questionnaire about specific programmes, namely first-year student experience, tutor, and student success that retrospectively, positively impacted and influenced their undergraduate studies. The research also found that students' reactions to various support factors varied. From the results, of the list of key student success factors, namely financial, institutional and family, more than 80 percent agreed that family support contributed to their student success, while more than half of the participants felt that support from the institution was a significant factor in their student success. It can be concluded that all factors investigated in the study, barring the financial factor, positively influenced and impacted these students’ success at undergraduate level. Results emanating from this research study are intended to be helpful to academics lecturing on the undergraduate level. The findings of this research would also assist in the development of programmes or initiatives by institutions of higher learning to enable greater academic success with undergraduate students.
Impact of integrated reporting on financial performance.
(2019) Mukeredzi, Takunda Chipochangu Grace.; Rajaram, Rajendra.; Rathnasamy, Shagaran.
Companies the world over have implemented the new phenomenon of Integrated Reporting. This followed global initiatives introduced by the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC), and in South Africa by the Integrated Reporting Council of South Africa (IRCSA). In South Africa, it is mandatory for all listed companies on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange to produce and publish annual Integrated Reports. This also aligns with the recommendations of the King IV Code of Corporate Governance. The major weakness of Integrated Reporting is that it is an expensive and time-consuming process, given that numerous resources go into its development and one report can exceed a hundred pages. However, its strength rests in the provision of a wholistic view of the company to its stakeholders. In view of stakeholder requirements and benefits, the question that remains unanswered relates to whether there are financial benefits for companies that employ Integrated Reporting. Such an understanding is crucial as such information may inform companies considering its adoption. This study sought to determine whether Integrated Reporting had any impact on the financial performance of companies in South Africa generally, and, in particular the Top 40 Johannesburg Stock Exchange listed companies. This study on Integrated Reporting was underpinned by the stakeholder theory. Company stakeholders are the primary audience of the Integrated Report. By adopting Integrated Reporting, a company becomes more mindful of its stakeholders as they influence the decision-making processes. Given the focus of the study on Integrated Reporting, the theory enables establishing whether or not Integrated Reporting reflects, offers and delivers all the financial and non-financial information required to stakeholders. The study was located within a positivist paradigm, given that there was a distance between the researcher and the researched. The study commenced with hypotheses and employed statistical measurements for data analysis and presentation. Using a quantitative approach, data were drawn from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. In selecting the Top 40 listed companies based on market capitalization, the study employed statistical analysis to investigate the impact of Integrated Reporting on financial performance. On the over all, this study found that companies did not benefit significantly from Integrated Reporting. The study found that Integrated Reporting has no impact on financial performance as there was no relationship between return on assets (ROA) and Economic Social Governance (ESG) score. It also emerged that there was no impact on financial performance as there was no relationship between Economic Value Added (EVA), Tobin Q and ESG. This suggests that companies may not be utilizing fully the synergies that come with the adoption of this reporting phenomenon. It may also be that Integrated Reporting is not assisting companies in generating any long-term value.