© 2008 NABC
The
NABC is an independent body organised to support and develop the BEE
consulting industry and to promote good practice, ethics and high
standards among its members.
Members of the NABC are practicing professional consultants in the field of Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment.
We add and receive value in regular cooperation with the DTI team and with ABVA (the Association of Verification Agencies).
Background
It is generally agreed that the process of equalizing and
integrating economic participation for all in SA is enormously
important. It is therefore essential that the design and management of
the process be of high quality. There are three groups of persons
professionally involved in the BEE transformation process, namely:
- The staff of the DTI;
- Verification agents (members of ABVA etc.); and
- BEE consultants
The complexity of the BEE codes makes it impractical if not
impossible for most small and medium sized businesses to organise their
own BEE affairs and it is clear that this was an area where the
services of consultants are needed.
When the BEE process started, a number of reputable persons from
various existing professions such as lawyers, accountants and business
consultants set up their own services to assist businesses in
developing and assessing their BEE status. Unfortunately, for some
others it became purely a money-making opportunity to be exploited by
them, because there was no coordination, no training and no attempt at
quality assurance. As a result some clients were severely misled and
some also lost money. The public image of BEE suffered damage and it
became clear that a self-regulating association was badly needed.
The NABC was therefore formed to introduce coordination, training,
information and a measure of quality assurance to our members and their
clients as well as to protect the BEE process and its important
economic objectives for the country.
Some of our activities to date:
- Giving advice to persons who plan to become BEE consultants.
- Liaising with ABVA, inter alia to bring clarity to the complementary roles of verification agencies and BEE
consultants.
- Bringing clarity to the question of the acceptability of
‘self-assessments’, whether assisted by consultants or not. The NABC
has issued a provisional position statement on this question.
- Reacting to business practices regarded as unfair, such as procurers requiring verified scorecards only.
- Reacting to verification practices regarded as impractical or
unnecessarily onerous, i.e. where some verification agencies refused to
use management accounts for verifications.
- Our disciplinary committee has been active in addressing complaints against members as well as non-members.
- Clarification of interpretations of the Codes are undertaken as soon as questions arise in practice.
Organisational structure
The Executive Committee of the NABC consists of 9 elected members. For more details on the Executive Committee, click here.
Our internal BEE policy is that our Exco should, as far as
possible, reflect our membership profile, with a minimum of 25% of Exco
members preferably being black persons. We currently exceed both these
requirements.
