It goes without saying, but let’s say it anyway: one does not expatriate to Africa lightly! There are many examples of candidates who have made plans before rushing back to their point of departure, illusions lost and morale dented. Choosing to work in Africa cannot be improvised: before being a professional opportunity, it is above all a personal life project, even a family project that should be considered with the utmost seriousness, beyond the tourist postcard or the fantasy of a wild life, fed by years of wildlife reports or genre films… If there is no question of denying them, the financial attraction and the “career booster” effect cannot alone be the triggers of such a choice, under penalty of sometimes cruel disillusionment.

Must read: Africa EOR

So, before packing your bags and “living the adventure of a lifetime”, you need to structure all the components of your project… including your return! This is the only way to put all the chances on your side and make a success of the adventure.

1) Are you cut out for expatriation to Africa?

Once again, we don’t go to work “on the other side of the world” like we go on vacation. You leave for a long period of time, to live and work 100% in a country with a climate, seasons, habits, traditions, culture, way of life, food, sometimes religion and language, different from anything you may have known before. Purely technical skills are not the only prerequisite. You must ask yourself about your psychological, social and moral abilities to face this new and unknown world.

If your family must accompany you, you must also ask yourself the same questions for your partner and for the children when there are some. The living environment, the school, the leisure activities, the vacations, the health context are all questions to be taken into account and to be settled even before the departure. And if your family does not leave with you, will you be able to accept the situation and the distance?

2) The contract, the whole contract, nothing but the contract

Even more than a classic contract, the expatriation (or secondment) contract must take into account the future chronology of your career. In other words, while it must obviously indicate the factual elements that will border your expatriation itself (working conditions, hours, vacations, salaries, bonuses, benefits, relocation, local housing, return trips to the country of origin at least twice a year, etc.), it must also address the post-expatriation period, namely

the conditions under which you will return to your country of origin. This includes, first and foremost, the city where you will be posted and, if possible, your future position and job profile.

3) Long live the happy expatriation!

In order for your expatriation to be a success that you will remember with happiness for the rest of your life, you must avoid the two main traps into which the majority of expatriation candidates fall:

• Staying among “uprooted” expats, in a sort of luxury ghetto away from the local population (it is sometimes difficult to do otherwise, as the employer groups, for organizational and/or security reasons, all of its expatriate employees in a single area…).
• As is often the case, the best solution is the middle way: to blend in without dissolving… To immerse oneself in the host country to the point of adopting its rhythms and customs, while keeping one’s original cultural references (the return will be all the less traumatic). Become an actor without losing sight of the fact that the role will come to an end one day and that, in a few months or years, you will have to return to “your life before”.

4) To go back in your career or to go forward?

In most cases, the return is often problematic, because it is not a good experience. In order for the end of the expatriation not to be synonymous with a return to square one (the hierarchical promotion experienced as an expat is rarely ratified upon return to the country), or with defeat or depression, the return must, as we have seen, be anticipated even before the departure. In this way, expatriation will be understood as part of a controlled career sequence, and not as a parenthesis that will close one day with no future other than a “return to the past. The corollary of this is a situation of stress or depression and/or the desire to “go expat” in order to regain the paradise lost with all the related advantages: this is the professional expatriation syndrome.

As businesses continue to digitalise and transform in Asia (and globally), so has the incentive for malicious actors to hack into systems to gather and steal data. In January of 2021, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) provided new rules for those in the fintech industry and financial institutions.

MAS stated that as financial institutions adopt new technologies, they have become highly reliant on third party providers. However, working with an external vendor can come with significant risks to the banking systems. This has also made having a Data Protection Certification and Advanced Certificate in Governance, Risk Management and Data Compliance increasingly important.

With skills gained from Data Protection Certification and Advanced Certificate in Governance, Risk Management and Data Compliance, the DPO or compliance officer can identify the weaknesses arising when working with third party providers. The gap could be from any of the following:

• Management of the vendors. This can include control on the vendors and risk assessment.
• Selecting the right service provider based on their strengths.
• Third parties may avail of subcontract solutions and specifications and requirements can become lost in translation.
• Adequacy of contract specifications to control and enforce specifications.
• Communication and translation of requirements in the scope of contract.
• Awareness of the data protection risks and regulatory requirements when personal data are involved.

In other words, third party management is crucial—from accurately specifying the requirements to identifying vendors that are strong in the requirements and working with their strengths.

When vendors work under the constraints of tight deadlines and limited resources, they can overlook the info-security of third party tools. They might also “over-provide” certain features that can be considered data protection risks.

The following are the inclusions in the revised Technology Risk Management (TRM) guidelines:

1. Screening of component suppliers is now spelt out clearly. It also covers a vast range of topics so firms in the finance industry can fob off and recover from system failures and cyber attacks even if due diligence on technology vendors was already considered a must.
2. Financial services firms need to vet entities that have access to their application programming interfaces (APIs) by looking at cyber security posture, track record, industry reputation, and the nature of their business. They also need to encrypt sensitive data and secure the development of APIs to prevent hackers from injecting malicious codes.
3. Senior management and the board of directors in financial institutions should vet and approve key cyber-security and technology appointments.

The revision also took in expert engagements and other feedback from the public consultation done last 2019.

The guidelines also tackle the mandatory requirements that were set out in the MAS TRM notice. A fine of up to $100,000 was set for non-compliance under the Banking Act. If there is a continuing offence, a fine of up to $10,000 daily may be levied.

Nowadays, businesses are operating in an increasingly interconnected world, sharing access and sensitive data with third parties. While this has made many processes easier, it also increases the levels of risk that originate from their parties.

It is considered imperative to have capabilities at hand to be able to continuously manage and monitor third party performance and risks.

The organisation on the other hand needs to identify and assess data risks since they are accountable for the protection of the data they hold. Organisations also need to conduct compliance assessments that relate to data protection and manage the contract.

In line with this, teams in financial institutions need to maintain their upskill and maintain their knowledge with the latest development. Privacy and security are not interchangeable and app developers (whether outsourced or in-house) need to be aware of the differences when developing the app.

Bookkeeping is among those business operations that are highly paradoxical. Despite being extremely vital to managing finances, the task is so repetitive in nature that it threatens to hamper growth.

Businesses in their fledgling stages may do well with the owner also donning the hat of a bookkeeper. However, as the company progresses up the corporate ladder, bookkeeping San Francisco County, CA, maybe the only viable choice.

Are you running a business in San Francisco that is growing rapidly? Perhaps you’re unable to keep up with the growing demands? Here are a few signs indicating your urgent need for a professional bookkeeping service.

1. You’re Spending Way Too Much Time on Bookkeeping

In the upcoming week, keep track of the hours you spend simply on bookkeeping. Whether yours is a startup or a business in its challenger stage, you should not spend a significant portion of your time on finances.

If bookkeeping is occupying more time than is devoted to strategizing, marketing, funding, and other core operations your business needs you for, it’s time to outsource bookkeeping services. Once you do, focus more on core activities.

You’re Slacking in Updating Financial Records

Your business’s financial health depends upon maintaining accurate balance sheets and P/L statements. Ideally, you should update financial records at the end of each month. This way, it’s easier to keep track of finances, identify unnecessary expenses, and compare profits.

If that’s not the case and you’re slacking in updating records, it’s best to opt for a trustworthy company for bookkeeping in San Francisco County, CA.

Your Cash Flow is All over the Place

Having a clear idea about your business’ cash flow helps you meet current financial obligations and plan for the future. One sign that your cash flow is all over the place is not remembering the amount to be spent on inventory or paying the staff.

In such a case, a reliable, professional bookkeeper can bring financial organization.

You’re Unprepared for the Tax Season

A business with updated records need not fear the upcoming tax season. Unpreparedness will show itself in the form of uncategorized transactions, negative numbers, non-reconciled accounts, and a balance sheet that doesn’t balance.

Plus, there could be more subtle signs like your books missing vendor names, payroll being non-reconciled, and a P/L statement that doesn’t match. Instead of trying to take more on your plate, hire a professional bookkeeper.

Despite Higher Sales, There’s No Increase in Profit

The biggest problem with not maintaining a budget and financial records are that your money goes without you knowing where. An increase in sales should naturally lead to higher profits, but money won’t seem to stay even then because you haven’t set proper boundaries.

A bookkeeper will maintain accurate financial records. Organizing all your finances in a single place will help you increase your profit margin.

Less Stressing, More Outsourcing

Setting up a company is stressful enough. But, the upward climb brings with it even more responsibilities and challenges. Instead of donning too many hats, relay recurring tasks like bookkeeping to the professionals.

Through thorough research and comparison, ensure you choose a reliable bookkeeping in San Francisco County, CA company. Then, concentrate your efforts on growing your business while the bookkeeper works behind the scenes to maintain a solid financial foundation.