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Tag: PwC

  • PwC advises banks, others to digitise risk management

    Report BY Pricewater houseCoopers  (PwC) on risk review has  asked banks and other key players in the economy  to focus on developing strong digital skills and capacity as part of their broad risk management strategy. This, it says, would help them to make informed decisions in a technology-driven climate.

    The report released by the financial service provider, admits that many organisations have embraced new technologies as part of their internal audit, risk and compliance functions. It, however, regrets that most (organisations) are yet to fully realise the benefits in using relevant insights to make informed investment decisions.

    The survey, which is the eighth in its series, focuses on identifying the conditions that help “top-performing and digitally fit risk functions” stand out both in terms of ability to strategically advise stakeholders on risks as well as the capacity to adapt to emerging processes.

    The survey identifies six habits of risk functions that are responsible for smarter risk-taking. It lists the habits as going all-in on the organisation’s digital plan, upskilling/injecting new talents to move at the speed of the organisation and finding the right fit for emerging technologies.

    Others are enabling the organisation to act on risks in real time, actively engaging decision makers in key digital initiatives and collaborating/aligning to provide a consolidated view of risks.

    Reviewing the report, Risk Assurance Leader at PwC Nigeria, Femi Osinubi, says:

    “Risk professionals are at a critical juncture. As technology transforms the way we do business – from data analysis to more automation – so too do the potential risks. At the same time, digital transformation is driving the potential for identifying risk and making smarter decisions, yet the study highlights that many risk functions are not fully realising this.

    “Only 22 per cent of chief executives who responded to PwC’s 22nd CEO Survey say the risk exposure data they receive are comprehensive enough for long-term decision-making – the same figure as 10 years ago. This indicates that risk functions are not harnessing the power of abundant data available.

    “It is vital that risk professionals recognise that by improving their digital fitness, they can take an active approach to becoming important partners and leaders in helping their organisations derive more benefits from their digital initiatives. Organisations with dynamic risk functions enjoy more effective risk management, which contributes to greater confidence in taking risks, a faster and safer digital journey, and greater-than-anticipated value from digital investments”

    PwC says it surveyed more than 2,000 CEOs, senior executives, board members, and professionals in risk management, compliance and internal audit, and interviewed dozens of executives and board members to explore what differentiates risk functions when it comes to digital transformation.

  • PwC seeks speedy disbursement of mining funds

    PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is seeking speedy implementation of the mining funds, including the solid mineral development fund as well as the World Bank assisted credit.

    The World Bank approved a $150 million credit to enhance the contribution of the mining sector to the economy. The fund is expected to help establish a strong foundation for mining sector development and enhance competitiveness by improving information, infrastructure and knowledge, strengthening of key government institutions, and fostering of domestic investment in the sector.

    The funds will help develop measures for formalising, regulating and inventoring artisanal and small-scale mining, facilitate the flow of mineral transactions, facilitate access to finance, technology and equipment, increase knowledge and support the mining and processing of the minerals in accordance with best practices with regards to environmental and social protections.

    Head, Mining Industry Business, PwC, Habeeb Adebayo, stressed the need for the management of the solid mineral development fund to be restructured so as to be able to help inject some funding into the mining sector.

    Adebayo, who spoke with The Nation on telephone, said: “We expect to see more improvements in the activities of the solid mineral development fund and ability of the fund to be able to see to some of the funding challenges threatening the sector.

    “We also have seen a couple of initiatives especially the mining diversification for economic development initiative that is under the World Bank.”

    According to him, previous years had been good for the industry and “we have had several initiatives by the Federal Government that seem to be kicking off. However, we expect to see those initiatives to fruition’’.

    “We also expect to see significant improvements with the state involvement in the mining operations. Being an election year, though, temporarily affects the industry, but we don’t expect it to take the industry backward. We expect that the improvement to be built would be quick irrespective of how the elections go.

    “We expect 2019 to see actualisation of a lot of initiatives of the mining sector that are being put together in the past. It is expected that significant marketing for the country’s mining industry, which we are currently witnessing will be extended to other sectors of the nation’s economy. Nigeria is also gaining interest from international community due to the licensing of the gold refiner, which the industry is quite excited about.”

    The refinery, which is expected to kick off by second half of this year, he said, will definitely see to the growth of gold industry. “It’s quite exciting and we expect to see more of these initiatives coming up in the year and also going forward,” he said.

    He agreed that the mining sector will help assuage whatever revenue shortages encountered in view of the fluctuating global crude oil price. There are indications crude price might vary in the coming years and consequently will affect the benchmark set for the nation’s budget. He advised the government to give adequate attention to the development of the mining sector.

    The mining industry, being one of those sectors that will help to bridge the revenue gaps, the government is expected to put in more efforts that will help to see the industry blossom by giving incentives to the private sector.

    He also noted that funding had continued to be a big challenge to a lot of players. Investors still complain about getting access to funds that will enable them have appropriate payback period. Unfortunately, most of those who apply for loans do not necessarily have the basic requirements that banks need to convince them that the money will be put to good use.

  • PwC to banks: cost-cutting won’t guarantee profitability

    PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report has urged banks to look beyond cost-reduction and restructuring measures for profitability and long-term survival.

    The document, which presents the results of ‘PwC 2018 Productivity in the Financial Services Sector Survey’, says traditional cost-cutting strategies come with inherent limitations. These, it argues, affect the overall impacts of the strategies on corporate performance and long-term sustainability.

    To boost profitability and support sustainable growth, the report titled: ‘The Productivity Agenda – Moving Beyond Cost Reduction in Financial Services’, urged senior executives to address issues affecting productivity.

    The document also points out the impacts of digital evolution on traditional businesses, saying smart solutions would continue to threaten established businesses except there is a change of mind-set.

    In the face of concern over the disruption of artificial intelligence (AI) in the industry, it called on managers to clearly spell out tasks that could be performed by AI as against those human capital is needed to execute.

    The report states: “As people live and work longer, and unemployment rates remain low, digital training and retraining of existing workforces is particularly crucial. Despite its importance, research shows that current efforts are not achieving the desired results. Of the financial-services leaders polled in PwC’s 2018 CEO Survey, 75 per cent reported they were concerned about shortages of digital skills within the industry.

    “To keep up with digital-only competitors and rapidly deliver a seamless and instant customer experience, 77 per cent of financial institutions are turning to agile somewhere in their organisation.Over 50 per cent of CEOs believe AI will have a bigger impact than the Internet. Getting the balance right between tasks performed by AI and tasks performed by people will be key to future success for financial institutions.”

    It adds: “With banks struggling to improve their return on capital, many institutions are being forced to restructure and cut costs. Even in the asset management industry, where return on equity is higher than the financial services industry as a whole, there is downward pressure on margins and profitability. Cost cutting will only deliver so much. If financial institutions are to improve profitability in the long-term, they need to fundamentally improve the productivity of the enterprise.”

    Analysing the research outcome, Financial Services Leader for PwC Nigeria, Sam Abu, says: “The cost cutting agenda adopted by many institutions since the financial crisis has, in essence, de-globalised the industry to make it more local or national, shrunk global footprints, divested businesses and shed clients.

    “However, this process has run its course. If profitability is to get anywhere near the highs of 15 years ago, what is needed now is a fundamental focus on building a sustainable productive business model that can compete with both incumbent institutions and digital-only competitors,” Abu stated.

    PwC has identified six areas where financial institutions can focus their productivity efforts to boost sustainable profitability. The specified areas are Better understanding the workforce, Rethinking change functions, and Embracing the platform economy.

    Others are Improving workforce digital IQ, Bringing an agile mind-set to the mainstream and Mastering digital labour.

    It notes further: “Our experience indicates that by simply tracking hours by task, organisations can improve productivity by 15 per cent to 20 per cent, and the implementation of service catalogues and multi-tier sourcing can bring another 20 per cent improvement. Of the organisations that didn’t track work by hours and tasks, 62 per cent believed such tracking would yield productivity benefits.

    “Forty per cent of financial institutions are spending 20 per cent of their entire budget on so-called ‘change-the-institution’ efforts.  However, only 15 per cent said they were satisfied with their ability to execute change.”

     

     

  • KPMG, PwC others warn on Nigeria’s debt to revenue ratio

    Nigeria’s  debt to revenue ratio is alarming, KPMG Partner, Ayodele Salami has said.

    He warned that with a debt of N22.2 trillion, the nation will be in dire straits servicing the debt  in the next five years. He added that debt servicing cost could be higher than income if the situation was not checked. It may spell doom as the country may find it difficult to discharge its responsibilities, such as payment of salaries and fund capital projects, he said.

    Salami, who spoke at a roundtable on ‘Nigeria’s Debt Sustainability’ organised by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI) at the weekend, urged the government to do away with assets such as the Kaduna refinery and Ajaokuta Steel Plant,  saying  these have incured huge debt without any revenue to the government.

    Represented by Adegoke Oyelami, also a Partner at KPMG, Salami  lamented the use of devaluation to increase revenue, stating that the measure was only deceptive and not sustainable. He called for reduction in the cost of governance and the need to curb inefficiencies and revenue leakages, saying government should aim at working on strengthening the inefficiencies at the ports.

    He said the difficulties experienced by importers in clearing goods from the ports, have led to the increase in the cost of goods which, regrettably is passed on to final consumers.

    Chief Economist at PwC, Andrew Nevin, said  the only way out of the present economic situation is to encourage rapid economic growth. According to him, the country needs an economy that will grow at between six to eight per cent a year. This,  he said, would reduce poverty, unemployment, underemployment of young Nigerians with the population growing at about three per cent.

    He said with a rapidly growing population, the nation may not have the capacity to address her debts any moment from now.

    He said: “Nigeria’s poverty level is on the increase because the nation’s growth is not in alignment with its revenue. The economy declined significantly between 2015, and  2018, and may likely  decline  in 2019  with the International Monetary Fund’s  (IMF’s) prediction  that the economy would decline in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

    “Eight years of declining of GDP per person (per capital income) in simple terms means we are getting poorer and poorer every year, so it is not a big surprise that we cannot raise more tax revenues. The only way out is to get our growth rate up and that means encouraging policies that promote growth. Elimination of fuel subsidy is a good place to start, ease of doing business still not good enough.”

    Also speaking, the Managing Director/CEO, Financial Derivates and Company Limited,  Bismarck Rewane, regretted that the government borrows to spend rather than borrowing to invest. He said the nation’s debt is growing steadily while productivity remains low,a condition that leads to further pauperising the citizenry and leading to greater poverty.

    He canvassed policy consistency and the need to build confidence on the economy to attract investors.

    He said: “We can’t be penalising people who are investing in our country, there must be sanctity of contracts. We must embrace conducive environment, collaborate with investors and create an ambience that encourages investment, saying mangers of the economy must build trust in the people and the investing public.

  • PwC praises govt’s support to mining sector

    PricewaterhouseCoopers(PwC) has extolled the Federal Government’s commitment to developing the mining sector. The professional services firm observed that government policies toward overhauling the sector had been a major discussion.

    PwC noted that government’s efforts around diversification of the Nigerian economy including the mining sector have continued to be at the front-burner of conversations.

    The professional services firm said the contribution of the mining sector to the nation’s economic growth had increased within the last one year. Before now, contribution of the sector to the economy was less than one percent.

    Associate Director and Head Mining Industry Business Development, PwC Nigeria, Habeeb Jaiyeola, noted  that there had been a lot of inputs from the present government around policy development and areas that would boost the development of the mining companies and the private sector as well.

    Jaiyeola, who spoke with The Nation on telephone, said in the past one year, a lot of activities had been dedicated to the mineral development funding including the Bank of Industry’s (BoI) support to artisanal mining. We have seen a lot of support from the Federal Government in that regard, he reiterated.

    He said: ‘’We have also seen a lot of enforcement on monitoring especially around the illegal mining. There’s been a lot of improvement in that regard, he said, adding the clampdown on illegal miners had been given more attention by the government.

    “We have also seen a strong support by the Federal Government around the mining monitoring team on the field, a lot of them have been supported by vehicles and funding. We have also seen support by the government in monitoring revenue collection especially the declaration by the various mining companies where the monitoring is being enforced, also checking the various mining companies and what they actually produce in terms of quality.

    ‘’We have also seen growth in revenue generation of the Federal Government generally, as well as strong support by the government for the Mineral Resources and Environmental Management Committee (MIREMCO)’’.

    MIREMCO, he said, is the mining inspection regulatory committee at the state levels. Jaiyeola said this committee monitors the mining activities at the state level to ensure that a very strong influence was imputed from the Federal Government up to the state level. They also get information from the miners through the Federal Government and also from the Federal Government through the miners.

    Thus, their activities had not been really known and brought to the fore but with this current administration and efforts of the ministry as well as the industry we are now seeing strong support for the regulatory committee. The support we are seeing is quite significant from this current government, he added.

    According to him, the body was set up to assist every state that has mineral activities, support state activities, they act as the federal, state and private sector liaisons. They are more on the field to inspect what the miners are doing, they have a committee that is constituted by the representatives of the ministry, federal, state and local governments and communities as well, adding they are able to know what the issues on ground are, and able to channel these to the federal government for ease of attention.

    He said the PwC would continue to give its support to the development of the mining sector.

  • Nigeria primed as world’s fastest growing E&M market– Report

    Despite narrowly getting out of recession, a new report by PwC suggests that Nigeria’s economic outlook in the coming years is promising, writes Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf with agency report

    Nigeria’s population size is a plus thanks to a new report commissioned by PwC. As one of the emerging market economies, the country is primed to play a leading role as far as consumer preferences, rapid advances in technology.

    The most rapid growth rates in E&M revenues over the coming five years will be in less-developed markets and economies, where entertainment and media spending on a per capita basis is generally quite low.

    This is according to PwC’s Global entertainment and media outlook 2017-2021. The report provides PwC’s most recent and up-to-date forecast of consumer and advertising spend data as well as related commentary for 17 entertainment and media segments, across 54 countries including Nigeria. It is a powerful online tool that provides deep knowledge and actionable insights about the trends that are shaping the E&M industry.

    According to the latest report, Nigeria with a 12.1% CAGR (albeit strongly influenced by surging spending on mobile Internet access), will be the world’s fastest-growing E&M market over the coming five years while the slowest-growing will be Japan, growing at a 1.7% CAGR. While consumers in mature markets such as North America and Europe, and wealthier Asia-Pacific markets, spend a lot — more than US$500 per capita annually — on entertainment and media, growth rates are relatively slow in these areas. In contrast, less developed economies feature much lower per capita spending and faster growth albeit from a very low base – less than US$50 a year in many cases.

    The report noted that dramatic shifts are underway in how entertainment and media companies compete and generate value, as the quality of the experience they deliver to consumers becomes their primary basis for strategic differentiation and revenue growth. To thrive in a marketplace that is increasingly competitive, crowded, and slower-growth, therefore, companies are developing strategies and building capabilities to engage and monetize their most loyal and passionate users — their fans. This means they must combine compelling content with breadth and depth of distribution, and then connect it all to a great user experience, where content is discoverable easily on an array of screens and at an attractive price.

    In the view of Femi Osinubi, Technology, Information, Communications and Entertainment (TICE) Industry Leader at PwC Nigeria, “A raft of changes in technology, user behaviour and business models have opened up a gap between how consumers want to experience and pay for E&M offerings, and how companies produce and distribute them. The right user experience bridges this gap. To deliver it, companies must pursue two related strategies. First, build businesses and brands anchored by active, high-value communities of fans, united by shared passions, values, and interests. And second, capitalize on emerging technologies to delight users in new ways and provide superior user experiences.”

    Rapid advances in technology drive direct-to-consumer strategies

    As companies compete to create the most desired user experiences, advances in technology are at the heart of their strategies. Combined with a great user experience, companies can harness technology and data to create a virtuous circle – one in which increasing consumer engagement and attention lead to the capture of more data and more insights into what users want. This understanding enables companies to further target and engage their core audiences, opening up new opportunities to generate revenue. Increasingly the models used to achieve this monetization are founded on direct-to-consumer (D2C) strategies, which are enabled by technology and characterized by greater choice and user control: over the next five years, Internet video will grow at an 11.6% CAGR, and music streaming at a 20.7% CAGR.

    E&M growth and advertising spend

    The focus on realizing new revenues by turning consumers into fans is being intensified by a slowdown in overall entertainment and media industry growth and pressures on advertising models. Over the next five years, we project that the entertainment and media industry globally will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.2%, lagging behind the growth of global GDP. Within this overall increase, global advertising revenue will also grow at a CAGR of 4.2% – down from 5.1% in last year’s Global entertainment and media outlook. This slowdown reflects pressures on ad-supported business models, driven by consumers’ preference for ad-free experiences and advertisers’ dissatisfaction with the current measurement capabilities available with digital media. While advertisers are still willing to spend, growth in ad spend is now overwhelmingly driven by Internet advertising.

    Mobile advertising to grow apace

    The growth of Internet advertising is being powered by mobile advertising, which grew by 58.7% in the past year, and will continue to expand at an 18.5% CAGR through 2021. But despite this growth, wired Internet advertising still accounted for 61.6% of total Internet advertising in 2016. Also, the robust growth of Internet advertising actually masks an embedded form of inertia. Without accepted measurement practices that can provide transparency on the efficacy and efficiency of the major platforms, premium brands are reluctant to take on the perceived risks inherent in concentrating more of their advertising in digital mediums, resulting in larger agencies and their clients holding back their ad dollars.

    Echoing similar sentiments, Osere Alakhume, Partner and TICE Industry leader for PwC West Africa, said, “The steady march of digital technology has ushered in a more direct-to-consumer environment characterized by greater choice and user control. Amid an ever greater supply of media, businesses that are fan-centric will find themselves with audiences that are more engaged, more loyal, and spend more per capita. To thrive in the experience-driven marketplace characterized by this year’s Outlook, companies need to attract and harness the economic, social, and emotional power of fans. “

    Major digital tipping-points are occurring or in prospect across all segments…

    Internet advertising now generates more revenue than TV advertising globally. In 2016 an important tipping point was reached in the global advertising industry, with revenue from Internet advertising exceeding that generated by TV advertising for the first time. That lead, thanks to the rapid growth of mobile ad revenues in particular, is set to increase significantly in the next five years. However, at a global level we forecast TV ad revenues will also continue to rise, albeit at a more modest rate. Both platforms are important to consumers, so brands seeking to engage future audiences effectively will need to keep developing and growing their ability to plan, deliver and measure co-ordinated campaigns across multiple platforms.

    Internet video revenues will overtake physical home video in 2017. The Internet video segment has expanded rapidly in recent years, and will overtake the physical home video market for the first time in 2017. Internet video revenues are projected to grow at a CAGR of 11.6% to reach US$36.7bn in 2021, while the terminally declining market for DVDs and Blu rays will have fallen to US$13.9bn. Demand has shifted towards the more immediate and convenient video-on-demand (VOD) market, with content accessible via a wide range of connected devices allowing consumers to view when and where they desire. While there remains a strong market for ownership of content through transactional VOD (TVOD) services, growth will be mainly focused on subscription VOD (SVOD) platforms, with subscribers attracted to full seasons of original content and back-catalogues they can binge view.

    Global newspaper circulation revenue overtook global advertising revenue in 2016.  While newspaper circulation revenue has been on a downward trajectory since 2015, publishers have had the useful lever of cover price rises to partly offset the rapid fall in units. However, the year-on-year falls in newspaper advertising revenue have been more pronounced, with advertisers deserting print editions in large numbers, and publishers increasingly being squeezed out of the digital ad space by Google and Facebook. The upshot is a historic shift in the dominant revenue streams, as newspaper circulation eclipses advertising. By 2021, global total newspaper circulation revenue will account for 54.0% of total newspaper revenue.

    In 2016, total digital recorded music revenue overtook physical – and streamed music overtook downloads. The digital recorded music segment was worth US$10.7bn in 2016, surpassing that for physical recorded music, at US$8.5bn, for the first time. Music streaming services grew apace during 2016, pushing global digital revenues up by US$1.8bn year-on-year, or 20.3%, as the physical segment declined 9.6%. While digital recorded music accounted for 55.7% of overall recorded music revenues in 2016, that proportion is set to rise to 80.3% in 2021. Digital music streaming revenue also overtook its download counterpart in 2016, with streaming revenues rising 65.3% to US$6.6bn, and downloading revenue slumping 18.4% to US$3.5bn. Downloaded music is expected to fall from 32.5% of digital revenue in 2016 to just 6.4% in 2021.

    Virtual reality video revenue will exceed interactive application/gaming revenue in 2019. The consumer virtual reality (VR) content market will grow at a CAGR of 77.0% over the forecast period to be worth US$15.1bn by 2021. Of this, US$8.0bn will be spending on VR video (rising at a CAGR of 91.2%), surpassing interactive experiences and games in 2019. Spending on VR apps – software that is neither video or game, such as communications apps or utilities – remains modest, and will total just US$163mn by 2021. Spending in this category will also be in decline from 2018 onwards, as purchased utilities that make up for platform or OS shortcomings become integrated into the core platform, in the same way as smartphone apps have increasingly been integrated into new versions of iOS or Android.

    Smartphone traffic will exceed fixed broadband data traffic in 2020. Although mobile usage is a key driver of growth in overall data traffic, fixed broadband will continue to account for the majority of data traffic in the 19 markets for which we have developed detailed forecasts. Many consumers still prefer to access data-heavy content – notably high-quality video – via fixed broadband rather than their mobile device. But the shift towards the smartphone will continue, especially in developing markets such as India and Indonesia, so that by 2020, overall smartphone data traffic across our 19 markets will exceed fixed broadband data traffic for the first time.

    Global physical OOH revenue will slip into decline in 2019. Global growth in physical out-of-home (OOH) revenue has been trending downwards for some time as an ever-growing share of advertising spending is diverted to digital out-of-home (DOOH). This trend will reach a tipping point in 2019, when physical OOH revenue slips into decline, falling by -0.2%. By 2021, the rate of year-on-year decline will have accelerated to -0.8%. While physical OOH revenue will continue to grow in many markets – especially emerging ones – globally, it will be in terminal decline by the end of the forecast period, as DOOH takes over.

    Global experience

    China’s total number of cinema screens now exceeds those of the US. China had 41,056 cinema screens in 2016 compared to 40,928 in the US. This marks a significant shift, underlining the growing popularity of cinema among Chinese audiences of different ages and demographics – and especially among middle-class cinemagoers with disposable incomes. Although some of the cinemas being erected at such speed in shopping malls across China are not necessarily all premium quality, their existence will serve to hook yet more consumers on the cinema-going habit, and contribute to the longer-term replacement of the US as the number one market for box office revenue.

    Data consumption in Russia will overtake Japan in 2020, but the US and China will account between them for nearly half of all data traffic. Our analysis of data traffic in 19 countries shows that the US and China will continue to dominate traffic globally. They are not just the two largest markets individually, but together will account for nearly half of all the data traffic forecast across the 19 markets. Moreover, both will see high levels of growth in the next five years. However, the fastest levels of market growth will come from less developed markets, notably Russia and Brazil. Indeed, Russia is set to overtake Japan in 2020 to become the third-largest market for data traffic among the 19 countries, albeit some distance behind China in second place.

    By 2020, Asia Pacific will be the most digitised OOH region. Currently, North America gets a higher proportion of its OOH revenue from digital out-of-home (DOOH) than any other region – 37.9% in 2016. But there are signs that DOOH is approaching saturation point in North America; the region has lower-than-average public transport usage, and the digitisation of the billboard market is being limited by regulation. In Asia Pacific, by contrast, public transport usage is already high in markets such as Japan and South Korea, and soaring in others, as China and India invest in extending metro networks, and Indonesia, Vietnam and others open rapid transit systems. This increased room for growth in DOOH will allow Asia Pacific to overtake North America as the most digitised region in 2020; by 2021, DOOH will be approaching half of all OOH revenue in the region, with a share of 47.7%.

    According to Osinubi, “Alongside the tipping points being reached in specific segments and geographies, the whole entertainment and media industry may have arrived at its own global tipping point. In many of the largest markets, and hence in the industry as a whole, entertainment and media businesses are approaching or have reached a form of saturation.

    “This effectively puts us on an industry plateau – one where some traditional, mature segments are in decline, the Internet and digital E&M content are growing but at a slowing rate, and the next wave of content and entertainment is in areas such as e-sports and virtual reality that are just beginning to ramp up. Thriving in a world of slower growth, intense competition for attention, and continual disruption will be challenging. But the opportunities inherent in this world are immense. And the data, analysis and perspectives in our Global entertainment and media outlook provide compelling insights into how companies are adapting, investing, experimenting, and innovating to succeed in this new world.”

     

  • PwC: women don’t trust employers on career

    Anew report commissioned by PwC has shown that many women don’t trust what their employers are telling them about career development and promotion; or what helps or hurts their career. It however stated that they are confident, ambitious and ready for what’s next.

    The report titled: Time to Talk: What has to Change for Women at Work was released to mark the International Women’s Day (IWD) slated for tady.  PwC surveyed over 3,600 professional women (aged 28-40) to find out about their career development experiences and aspirations. The survey included respondents from employers across 27 industry sectors and from over 60 countries worldwide.

    Although CEOs recognise the importance of being transparent about their diversity and inclusion programmes to build trust, the message isn’t universal and strong enough. 45 per cent of women believe an employee’s diversity status (gender, ethnicity, age, sexual preference) can be a barrier to career progression in their organisation, and only 51 per cent of women agree that employers are doing enough to progress gender diversity.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • OGFZA, PwC partner to drive for FDI

    OGFZA, PwC partner to drive for FDI

    The Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority (OGFZA) has signed a partnership agreement with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to pool resources together to drive investments into Nigeria’s oil and gas free zones.

    The agreement commits PwC to long-term collaboration with OGFZA’s investment subsidiary, the Free Zone Global Investments Limited, in strategic advisory services, optimisation of processes and investment promotion.

    OGFZA’s Managing Director  Mr Umana Okon Umana described the relationship with PwC as important.

    Umana said the mandate of OGFZA to manage the nation’s oil and gas free zones and grow foreign direct investment inflow required professionalism that could only be enhanced through partnership with a credible brand like the PwC.

    “Given what you represent as a global brand, working together we can win for OGFZA and for Nigeria,” Umana told the team from PwC.

    He said with the partnership, OGFZA would “fully realise the promise of the free zones as vehicles for growth and development.”

    A partner at PwC and leader of the team Cyril Azobu said his organisation was excited to be part of the OGFZA initiative. “I strongly believe you have the right niche for investments.” He expressed joy at being “a participant in the process for the development of my country.”

  • PwC: data, analytics create values for businesses

    The Director, Data and Analytics Consulting, PwC India, Amit Lundia, has said data and analytics are creating values for oragnisations that harness them across the world.

    Speaking in Lagos during a one-day Data and Analytics conference, organised by PwC Nigeria, Lundia highlighted the possibilities and opportunities in data assets for businesses.

    He said: “A series of trends are creating opportunities for companies to create value through data and analytics. PwC has responded to these by building a robust data and analytics apps market place.”

    Partner, Data and Analytics, PwC West Africa, Femi Osinubi, also said: “Every organisation has the opportunity to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of analytics for growth. However, building analytics capabilities requires strong leadership, sponsorship and proactive change management. Best in class companies harmonise internal and external data sources, setting the stage for new data applications.

    “Exemplars strategically invest in technology that enables the right analytics and makes data available to the right people. Organisations need to update business and data governance processes to align with analytics, IT and business.”

    The panel consisting the Chief Information Officer, Flour Mills, Ebenezer Onwuama, Chief Information Officer and Head, IT Services, Diamond Bank, Lanre Bamisebi and Head, Retail Banking Business, Robert Giles, said data can improve customer experience as well as drive commerce.

    They said when the business community fully realises this fact, they  will be on the right track in monetising data.

    “In terms of big data we could gather more, we could expand data by gathering data from unstructured sources. It is important to set very high standards for the way data is shared and use data for very specific purposes

    “The public sector should be engaged to develop smarter ways of using data in an intelligent manner and PwC is already doing a lot in this regard by creating awareness about the importance of data,” the panelists said.

    The forum featured other leading data and analytics experts and business leaders among whom were Director of Marketing and Operations, Microsoft Nigeria, Ade Ajayi, represented by Ola Oladiran of the same firm.

    Othere are  Transformation Director, Union Bank, Joe Mbulu and top executives, consultants and stakeholders.

     

  • PwC: data, analytics critical to business growth

    THE Director, Data and Analytics Consulting, PwC India, Amit Lundia, has said data and analytics are increasingly creating values for oragnisations that harness them across the world.

    Speaking in Lagos during a one-day Data and Analytic conference, organised by PwC Nigeria, the leading professional services firm, Lundia, highlighted the potentials, possibilities and opportunities that lie in business data assets.

    He said: “A series of trends are creating opportunities for companies to create value through data and analytics. PwC has responded to these by building a robust data and analytics apps market place.”

    Also speaking on the occasion, Partner, Data and Analytics, PwC West Africa, Femi Osinubi, said: “Every organisation has the opportunity to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of analytics for growth. However, building analytics capabilities requires strong leadership, sponsorship and proactive change management. Best in class companies harmonise internal and external data sources, setting the stage for new data applications.

    “Exemplars strategically invest in technology that enables the right analytics and makes data available to the right people. Organisations need to update business and data governance processes to align analytics, IT and business.”

    The panel team consisting the Chief Information Officer, Flour Mills, Ebenezer Onwuama, Chief Information Officer and Head, IT Services, Diamond Bank, Lanre Bamisebi and Head, Retail Banking Business, Robert Giles, said data can improve customer experience as well as drive commerce.

    They said when the business community fully realises this fact, they  will be on the right track in monetising data.

    “In terms of big data we could gather more, we could expand data by gathering data from unstructured sources. It is important to set very high standards for the way data is shared and use data for very specific purposes

    “The public sector should be engaged to develop smarter ways of using data in an intelligent manner and PwC is already doing a lot in this regard by creating awareness about the importance of data,” the panelists said.

    The forum featured other leading data and analytics experts and business leaders among whom were Director of Marketing and Operations, Microsoft Nigeria, Ade Ajayi, represented by Ola Oladiran of the same firm.

    Othere are Transformation Director, Union Bank, Joe Mbulu and top executives, consultants and stakeholders.