Page 22 - The Corporate Report Pack

markets and keep them up to date with legislative developments and market best practices With the launch of Strate e-Tutor, stakeholders have their training requirements at their ngertips, via a computer, tablet or smartphone, 24/7 It is o ered free of charge and available at: http://wwwtrainingstratecoza
I am so excited that Strate is actively engaging to understand this technology and, more importantly, understand the impact on current and future projects; and possibly even re-engineer our core and ancillary services to embrace our full potential Over the years, we have embarked on a number of projects and innovative
We rmly believe that education is one of the most important investments that can be made to secure a brighter future for a country and its people.
Looking ahead, our most exciting research initiative currently underway is ‘blockchain’ technology, better known as the technology underpinning the cryptocurrency called bitcoin A blockchain is a data structure that makes it possible to create a digital ledger of transactions and share it among a distributed network of computers It uses cryptography to allow each participant on the network to manipulate the ledger in a secure way without the need for a central authority
As bitcoin became popular, the blockchain technology has been shown to have the potential to be customised and utilised in a variety of other domains such as, for example, in the nancial markets At a time when companies face new challenges in data management and security, it’s emerging as a way to let them store assets and verify transactions and transfer of ownership on a network instantaneously Today, more than 40 top nancial institutions and a growing number of rms across industries are experimenting with distributed ledger technology as a secure and transparent way to digitally track the ownership of assets, a move that could speed up transactions and cut costs while lowering the risk of fraud Strate is no exception!
Innovations like these have the potential to disrupt and revolutionise many industries, including the public sector (managing public records and elections), healthcare (keeping records anonymous but easily available), retail (handling large-ticket purchases such as auto- leasing and real estate), and, of course, all forms of nancial services Indeed, some banks are already exploring how blockchain might transform their approaches to trading and settling, back- o ce operations, and investment and capital assets management
solutions that facilitate risk management within the market and add value to the market, however, I nd this the most exciting of all!
By contributing to the digitisation of South Africa’s nancial markets and through the innovations we bring, we have played an important role in contributing to the country’s robust and sophisticated nancial services system and will continue to do so into the future
Monica Singer is a chartered accountant
(SA) and a Fellow of the Institute of
Directors. She is the rst CEO of South
Africa’s Central Securities Depository (CSD),
Strate, which she set up in 1998. Strate has
grown to provide electronic clearing,
settlement and depository services for all
listed companies on the JSE as well as for bonds and money market instruments. Strate also provides services in Swift, Gateway, corporate actions and investor information.
The company provides one of the most robust IT infrastructures for CSDs in the world and achieved an AA-rating from Thomas Murray, a UK-based rating agency. Strate’s IT infrastructure consistently maintains an average uptime of 99.995% on all IT services. Today, Strate has grown to a company employing over 130 staff members and is a multiple winner of various categories in the Deloitte’s Best Company to Work For competition.
Monica holds numerous board and advisory positions. She is the vice president of the African Middle East Regional Association of CSDs (AMEDA) and a member of the Association of CSDs in the Americas (ACSDA) and the World Forum of CSDs (WFC). She is also involved in a number of charitable organisations including Strate Charity Shares and Ma-Afrika Tikkun.
Monica previously worked at the World Bank in Washington DC and was the technical director of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) from 1990 to 1996. She has a BAcc in Accounting and Auditing from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. She is uent in English and Spanish and has two children, Stefanie (25) and Jonty (31).
Author
30 The Corporate Report
Where to next for South Africa’s nancial markets?