VALUE-CREATED
Rewarding performance (Remuneration Report)
SAICA’s remuneration philosophy is to offer sector market-related compensation in order to attract, motivate and retain the necessary talent required to successfully execute the SAICA strategy and ensure sustainability. This report seeks to ensure that members gain an insight into how remuneration decisions are made, enabling them to assess the outcome of those decisions.
The alignment of remuneration to the long-term strategic goals of SAICA to deliver sustainable performance remained a key focus during the year. Remuneration practices were aligned with our performance and strategic objectives set for the 2023 financial year.
The Board reviewed the Remuneration and Reward Policy in April 2023. After the feedback received at the 2023 AGM, additional consultation with the members was required to solicit further input. Member input received during the 2023 CEO roadshows and responses received from the additional communiques in January 2024 were considered by the Board.
Similar to many other organisations, and as part of enhancing its employee value proposition, a hybrid way of working has remained an effective model post the COVID-19 pandemic. The well-being of employees and the tools required to ensure productivity and high performance are continuously being monitored by SAICA. To further enable a seamless and sustainable organisational performance, talent management and organisational culture amongst others remain the key enablers in embedding the hybrid working model.
REMUNERATION GOVERNANCE
SAICA has sought to align its practices to good governance regarding remuneration, which in South Africa, is primarily informed by Principle 14 of King IV.
The Human Resources and Remuneration Committee comprises at least three members of the Board with relevant experience. The chairperson of the committee is Ms Thandi Thankge and the company secretary is the secretary of the committee. The executive directors / management are not members of the committee but attend meetings by invitation only and recuse themselves when conflicts arise, particularly when their performance and remuneration are discussed.
REMUNERATION ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The committee’s main purpose is to ensure that SAICA’s remuneration practices and policies are aligned with good corporate governance. The committee acts as a formal sub-committee of the Board and has the power to recommend to the Board for approval a developed strategy and supportive policies for the acquisition, management, retention and fair and responsible remuneration of talent in accordance with statutory regulations, governance requirements and best practice. The functions of the committee include, but are not limited to:
The committee also oversees the overall governance of human capital management, overseeing the setting of a remuneration policy framework and strategy at SAICA and provides the Board with assurances in this regard. The committee seeks to assist the Board to ensure that an appropriate remuneration policy and philosophy that is aligned with its long-term strategy, objectives and risk appetite are in place, with a specific focus on ensuring that:
The chairperson of the committee reports to the Board on the activities of the committee at board meetings. For the period under review, the committee is satisfied that it has fulfilled all its statutory duties assigned by the Board.
REMUNERATION PHILOSOPHY
SAICA subscribes to the belief that great people are the foundation of our success. SAICA recognises that without the contribution of highly engaged high-performing employees, its strategic objectives cannot be achieved. It is therefore critical for the sustainability of SAICA that it continuously attract, develop, engage and retain high-performing employees by providing a compelling value proposition to prospective and existing employees.
At the centre of the SAICA employee value proposition is the remuneration and reward strategy that balances market competitiveness and affordability.
REMUNERATION STRUCTURE
It is the committee’s opinion that SAICA should continuously strive to transform to a broader definition of reward – that of total rewards – in order to achieve the balance between strategy and various demands of employees. The enabling Remuneration and Rewards Policy leverages the proper mix of rewards that satisfies the personal and financial needs of current and potential employees given existing operational conditions and constraints.
COMPENSATION
SHORT-TERM INCENTIVES FOR PERFORMANCE
TO ACHIEVE THIS, SAICA INTEGRATES TWO KEY REWARD ELEMENTS:
SAICA, being a non-profit membership-based organisation, does not offer long-term incentives (LTIs). However, to ensure SAICA’s ability to attract and retain capable talent, implementing several non-financial retention measures as well as recommending improvements of the short-term incentives (STIs) to the Board were explored. The STI recommendations were externally benchmarked against similar institutes and the sector. Further, the employee recognition scheme was reviewed and relaunched in line with the organisational values.
In creating and sustaining a high-performance culture, SAICA has reviewed its Performance Management Policy with emphasis on organisational alignment that enables managers to get the most out of their team and for each individual to thrive within SAICA, thus inculcating a culture of accountability. Together these outcomes contribute to the overall enhanced performance of SAICA.