International Fraud Awareness Week, November 12-18th was initiated by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, where hundreds of organisations around the world come together and pledge to spread fraud awareness in their companies and their communities. Many South African Companies and Medical Schemes are actively part of that pledge.
At Aquilla Financial Solutions we are actively involved in educating and encouraging our clients not to commit fraud and create fraud awareness, especially within the medical scheme claims area.
Did you know that healthcare fraud can contribute directly and indirectly to the rise of your medical costs, including your membership contributions? You, as a member or a service provider, have the power to help us prevent fraud for the greater good of all medical scheme members and providers.
What are common examples of medical aid fraud?:
- Falsified or altered invoices.
- Member and healthcare provider conspiring to submit false claims and sharing the money paid by the Scheme.
- Members use their membership for individuals who are not dependents.
- Claiming for original medication but dispensing generic substitutes.
- Claiming for unnecessary services.
You might ask how you can help. There are a number of things that you and I can do:
- Check your claim statements carefully and ensure that you received the services that the service provider is claiming. Be aware that some providers might use your medical scheme details to submit false claims.
- Ensure that your membership card and number are protected at all times. For some criminals, it might be like an ATM card.
- Don’t accept cash from a service provider in exchange for a medical aid claim. The changes are good in that they will put through a highly inflated claim to get back their cash
I want to encourage you to make use of any of the medical schemes' dedicated Whistleblower hotlines reporting channels to report any suspected medical aid fraud.
You are welcome to contact me if you want advice on your decision to change your medical scheme. We can do no-obligation comparisons for you between your different scheme options or between different medical schemes.
Remember that you have to make your option changes before the medical scheme due date.
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For a very long time, I have been wondering about the increasing use of digital media in our lives. Almost anything that we can think of has some form of digital interaction.
Just think for a moment what you are currently busy doing on your phone. Many people are doing almost all electronic interactions on their cell phones. Maybe it is easier to ask what they are not doing on their cell phones. I am a bit more conservative in this regard since I do not want my hundreds of work email messages coming to my phone. I want to choose when I want to or can answer these emails.
The demand to answer all questions instantly at any time of night and day brings with it an enormous amount of stress to the individuals not even touching on the possible addictions that might be experienced if not managed well.
Let us talk a bit about what is considered digital assets.
Computer Weekly have created a base definition for what a digital asset might be. What do you consider digital assets in your environment?
Computer Weekly proposed the following definition for digital assets: Digital Assets = Data (which is in files) + Content (which is in the form of metadata). Another definition from The Balance is: “Digital assets are items you can buy, sell, and hold online, but typically can’t physically see or touch” and “Digital assets are anything that can be stored and transmitted electronically through a computer or other digital device and are associated with ownership or use rights”. This is quite a wide definition but so are the numerous variations of types of digital assets.
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When you want to register a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) you have a number of options:
- Register with CIPC as a Non-Profit Company (NPC) registration:
You can register as an NPC with CIPC with their standard Memorandum of Incorporation (MOI) or create a customised MOI in conjunction with your attorney or auditors. - Create a Voluntary Association (VA):
You will create a constitution for the Association reflecting all the relevant information and aligning with all legislation and requirements for your type of entity. - Register as a Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) with the Directorate of Non-Profits:
You can also visit the Directorate of NPOs website and download their documentation to register with them as an NPO. - Create a Trust:
Through your attorneys, you can also create a non-profit trust to achieve the philanthropical goals of your organisation.- Details
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Click to Continue Reading: Important Changes to Non-profit Organisations (NPO) Act
The CIPC has enhanced the Compliance Checklist, which can be accessed by logging on to the CIPC’s E-Services platform, clicking on TRANSACT and then on the Compliance Checklist icon.
From the 5thof March 2020:
- It is mandatory for the following types of companies, i.e. Incorporated –Inc. (21); Proprietary Limited –(Pty) Ltd (07); Limited –Ltd (06); State Owned Company –SOC (30); Non Profit Company –NPC (08) to confirm if the company’s annual financial statements are audited or independently reviewed.
- If you have confirmed “no”that your company’s annual financial statements are not audited or independently reviewed you will not be required to complete the Compliance Checklist. An email will be sent to all active directors and to the person who submitted this information confirming this.
- If you have confirmed “yes”that your company’s annual financial statements are audited or independently reviewed you must complete the Compliance Checklist.
- Upon submitting the Compliance Checklist, an email will be sent to all active directors and to the person who submitted the Compliance Checklist confirming the information sent on behalf of the Company.
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While doing research for my wife, my daughter found the term wantrepreneur. This word made me think about the many questions I received from clients over my 32 years in the financial services industry. "I am about to retire, must I buy a franchise with my lump sum?”
There is in essence nothing wrong with the question. The counter question that I would normally ask is, why do you want to do that? The answer on this question will determine the outcome and success or failure of their venture.
I truly believe that once someone has made up his or her mind to do something, everything will start to take shape to make it possible. It is as though the whole universe will work together to make it possible.
I found that the word wantrepreneur have been around since 2011. There are some debate on who actually first coined the word. Some writers ascribe the word to Noah Kagan the founder AppSumo. Others say that it was Neville Medhora and Noah Kagan.
There is a definition for wantrepreneur:
· Someone who “is going” start a business.
· Someone who “will find the right idea some day”.
· Someone who wants to “act” like an entrepreneur.
· Someone who “thinks about starting a business” all the time.
Kylie Ora Lobell have written an article about the 5 major differences between an entrepreneur and a wantrepreneur. She describes wantrepreneurs as individuals who wants to rise to the top, but they are not willing to sacrifice anything, to make this dream come true.
To become a successful entrepreneur you need an unrelenting devotion to fulfil the goals you have set yourselves. You must have the ability to get past your fears. Self-doubt and feeling like an imposter is your biggest battle to make a reality of your dream to have your own business.
Lobell listed the five things that will guide the wantrepreneur to a justifiable calling and an entrepreneurial success. If you can monitor the five major differences between wantrepreneurs and entrepreneurs, you can implement the necessary changes and achieve success.
1. “Entrepreneurs are prepared and willing to give up their personal lives at first, where wantrepreneurs are not. “
You need to choose between having fun or study and reskill yourself and work on your business. Most entrepreneurs put in at least 60 plus hours a week at the beginning of their business life cycle. In the long run this should be merely a short term sacrifice that needs to be made. However, it is important that you plan your time with your family and friends.
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Read more: The Maze of Doing Business: Wantrepreneur or Entrepreneur?
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