Vash Singh - Xcelerate Verification Agency Celebrates Ten Years Of Service Excellence In BBBEE Ratings
2017-08-25
Xcelerate Verification Agency is proud to announce the achievement of a significant milestone, being their 10 year anniversary in business, after having started off as Izikhulu BEE Ratings. We were part of the first batch of agencies accredited by SANAS in 2009 and have operated successfully as a BBBEE verification agency since then, enjoying growth and recognition on the journey. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank our valued staff, clients and associates who have supported us and played a significant role in bringing us to this point.
In June 2016, Izikhulu BEE Ratings and ex-IRBA approved auditor, CPG Consulting merged their operations to give rise to the rebranded “Xcelerate Verification Agency – Driving business growth through excellence!†Our Company Vision is “Unsurpassed passion, ethics, expertise and attention to boost our customers’ transformation and growth aspirationsâ€. Clients can rest assured that we advocate the core principles of transparency, responsibility, professionalism, confidentiality and impartiality. We are a Level 1 BBBEE company, accredited on all gazetted Sector Codes and have serviced companies from multinationals, state-owned entities, corporates, privately owned large and medium-sized business as well as SMMEs. Visit our website www.xcelbee.co.za for more information.
Our Directors are professionally educated in engineering, chartered accountancy, finance and business management, hence aimed to deliver at the highest level. Vash Singh, Managing Director of Xcelerate holds a BSc. Engineering (Chemical) from the University of Natal, a MSc. Engineering Business Management from the University of Warwick (UK) and a MDP on BBBEE from UNISA. Selvan Pillay, Director of Xcelerate and CPG Chartered Accountants holds a B.Com, Hons B Compt, Chartered Accountant (SA) and is a registered auditor. He has also completed the BBBEE MDP course, and been an IRBA-approved auditor for four years.
Achieving your targeted level on the New BBBEE Codes
The Revised BBBEE Codes was gazetted in 2013 and has been effective for almost a year. Most companies have now been assessed on these Codes and unfortunately many are not scoring well (Non-compliant to Level 7), due mainly to ineffective preparation for the challenging differences from the prior set of Codes. Xcelerate Verification Agency has been successfully assisting clients to pro-actively target their levels on the New BBBEE Codes through various offerings, viz:
1. Training, workshops and capacity-building
2. Setting targets, scenario planning and tracking of outcomes
3. Use of an effective software tool for self-management and scoring
4. Reviewing progress at critical times during the financial year so implementation is monitored
5. Advisory and support services
Kindly note that we cannot consult to and verify the same company for impartiality reasons.
Top 10 Scoring Opportunities on New BBBEE Codes
From our experience, we have summarised the list below to assist companies in implementing those tactics that have the most impact:
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Initiatives towards the three elements that carry the most points (Skills Development, Enterprise & Supplier Development [ESD], Socio-economic Development) must be implemented in the financial year that will be used for the verification. No random 12 month period is now allowed.
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The pre-requisites to obtain points on Skills Development and Management Control (annual WSP/ATR/Pivotal Reporting and Critical Skills implementation, and Employment Equity reporting to Department of Labour) are vital to obtain any points in these elements – for QSEs and Generic companies.
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At least 40% of points for the Priority Elements of Ownership, Skills Development and ESD must be obtained to avoid dropping 1 level on the Generic Scorecard, or Ownership and either 1 of the others for QSEs. If a company does not have black ownership, they should aim to achieve the highest level on the other elements to cater for this fall in level.
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For the DTI Codes, a 10% black ownership is the minimum requirement to avoid dropping a Level.
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Under Skills Development, training and development of any black person can be claimed – not just staff.
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Formal learnerships, internships and apprenticeships gain the most points under skills and there are many cost-effective ways of implementing these for any company. Contact us to find out more.
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Utilise the EME and QSE affidavits for suppliers that meet this profile, as these are easy to obtain and provide high levels that boost procurement scores.
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Be mindful of new requirements under Enterprise Development and Supplier Development e.g. limitation of early payment terms, bonus points, qualification of beneficiaries, etc.
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Maintain records of all initiatives as they are being done to reduce workload and risk at time of verification. If suitable evidence can’t be provided, points unfortunately cannot be awarded.
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Be aware of the specific requirements of Sector Codes should they be applicable to you. The Amended Codes for Forestry, Tourism, ICT, Property, MAC and Mining have already been gazetted while Transport, Construction, Finance and Agriculture are still in draft format but can be finalised at any time now.
Contact Xcelerate Verification Agency to guide you further on achieving your targeted BEE level – call us on 0861 505 555 or email info@xcelbee.co.za.