South Africa will count on the support of the business sector to enable the country to realise its plans to cut carbon emissions as part of a government response to climate change, International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana -Mashabane said on Monday.

The countdown to this year's United Nations Climate summit in Durban has begun, with exactly 100 days left before the 20 000 expected delegates descend on the city for one of the biggest gatherings on climate change in history.

Des Squire says that true leadership inspires others and motivates teams to work toward an objective, he stresses that the need for authentic, valid and genuine leadership at all levels is a growing concern as employees become more interested in their roles and contributions within the organisation.

At a time of unprecedented societal transformation, the need for problem-solving and innovation within the organisation has grown exponentially and Liza van Wyk discusses how to improve this life skill by applying a few basic guidelines.

Accounting and financial skills shortages are currently estimated at around 22 000 and according to the new Head of ACCA SA Nadine Kater these statistics are likely to impact negatively on business in general as 'all projects need strong financial management skills.'

Gordon Cook, who is set to launch a strategic brand marketing course at the UCT Graduate School of Business shares his views on reputation as a metric, being more important than profit; and the importance of brand and marketing strategies in the present business and consumer environments.

Unemployed citizens hoping to claim UIF should steer clear from a group calling itself the UIF Administrator of Fund warned Commissioner Boas Seruwe, who says the syndicate is circulating forms to businesses and ordinary people, and claiming to offer asistance with the recovery of 'unclaimed monies.'

Global Business Solutions a national BBBEE and EE consultancy highlights the challenges and implications of the new and final Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act (PPPFA) by reviewing the impact that this new policy will have on business.

Hillary Magede highlights achievements in the risk management field in SA by relating them to international standards, while raising pertinent questions about this system, on the heels of an economic nightmare that has left many doubting the effectiveness of local risk management practices.

Wage negotiations which result in costly settlements 'inevitably lead to job losses as most employers will not be able to pass this cost on to their customers' says labour law specialist Jonathan Goldberg in his comparative analysis of industrial action in 2010 and 2011.

Skills development should begin at school level if SA hopes to combat skills shortages in the country according to Mashumi Tutu, who says that business must partner with educators to 'address the core competencies and leadership skills necessary for economic growth'.

Imagine the person who runs your accounts department is off sick. Would this be a problem for your company? No one else knows how to do the work without making mistakes. It’s month end and the account run must be completed or there will be chaos. Does this sound familiar? How often do we hear of work not being done because the responsible person is off sick or otherwise unavailable?

A lot seems to be going around which one might interpret as negative regarding transformation in South Africa. Are there motivating stories about tarnsforming achieving its goals? My real question is: What can you share about any emerging and existing success stories that you know across race and gender lines post-‘94 about organisations in South Africa overcoming challenges in transformation?

I have been a fully accredited provider with ETDP Seta for some years now and I have successfully presented developed and aligned learning programmes. I have regularly negotiated the increasingly bureaucratic quality assurance system to upload learners with success. But I am having so many problems this year that I am feeling like giving up!

Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba has called on state owned enterprises to 'increase the participation of black people in the mainstream economy' making it clear that companies owned by the state have a responsibility to help government achieve its socio-economic goals.

Are you aware that as an employer you are responsible for the damage caused by your employees? A court can find you "vicariously liable", and this can result in you being sued for damages. Ivan Israelstam explains how this can happen, the employer's duty, and how to manage this risk.

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu has made a controversial speech where he called for a tax to be placed on white South Africans because they benefitted so much from apartheid, whether they supported it or not. View the video of his full speech here.

Anja Hartman-Weitz talks about what it takes to keep employees interested and loyal during tough economic times. Using recognition programmes that reward employees for excellent work is one way of meeting employee needs and enhancing job satisfaction.

Many companies have not woken up to the reality that lack of commitment to Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE), as required by the new procurement regulations, could result in the loss of business from government and its agencies.

Information technology specialists and medical professionals are in demand the world over and school leavers are being urged to move away from traditional jobs when choosing their career path and rather consider some unusual professions that will never go out of fashion.

Fasset has decided to fund candidates on the PPE Repeat Programme in order to fulfil its responsibilities within the financial sector by increasing the auditing talent pool, and has already financed 603 of the 1 206 candidates, who have successfully completed the programme.

Employment opportunities in the financial sector has driven recruitment company Communicate Personnel to establish a finance niche in its operations, growing it's database of quality, screened candidates who are primed for general and specialist finance postions, from entry to executive level.

Provinces have increased their spending by 10.8% which translates to R8.1 billion compared with the same period last year, while education remains the biggest item on provincial budgets reaching a total of R37.9 billion of the R154.2 billion combined education budgets.