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Marcus Botha
Director: Head of Corporate Tax Consulting at BDO
Professional Background
Marcus Botha is an esteemed financial consultant with 17 years of rich experience in the tax industry, particularly known for his exceptional contributions in tax strategy management and integrated reporting across Africa. His extensive career has involved collaborations with various sectors, such as Financial Services, where he has an acute focus on collaborating with banks and asset managers, in addition to his work with clients in Retail, Construction, Mining, and Telecommunications. Marcus has established a robust reputation for creating best practices in tax strategy, serving both in a consulting role and within corporate settings.
As the current head of Corporate Tax Consulting at BDO, Marcus leads his team to deliver specialized, boutique solutions that aim to create tax value for both internal and external stakeholders. His commitment to fostering strong relationships with key entities—ranging from governmental bodies to regulators—exemplifies his dedication to effective consultation in a constantly evolving tax landscape. Previously, Marcus held significant leadership positions, notably as the South African Leader of Tax Reporting & Strategy at PwC and as the Head of Tax Risk at Nedbank, where he assured tax risk management protocols were met to a high standard.
Beyond his corporate roles, Marcus engages in academic contributions as a guest lecturer at prestigious institutions, namely the University of Johannesburg, University of Pretoria, and the University of the Witwatersrand. He imparts his valuable insights on Tax Risk Management, particularly as part of Honours and Masters programs, thereby shaping the next generation of tax professionals.
Education and Achievements
Marcus Botha boasts an impressive academic background, shaped by a strong foundation in accounting and taxation from the University of Johannesburg. He earned a Master of Commerce (MCom) with a specialization in South African and International Taxation, further complemented by a Bachelor's Degree in Commerce (BCom) in Accounting, a Bachelor of Commerce Honours (BCom Hons) in Accounting, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Accounting Science (CTA). Additionally, he strengthens his credentials with a Post Graduate Certificate in Mining Tax Law from the University of the Witwatersrand, showcasing his commitment to specializing in diverse areas within the tax sector.
His qualifications reflect a deep understanding of accounting principles, bolstered by advanced tax education that enables him to provide insightful guidance in tax risk management and internal controls.
Achievements
- Extensive experience spanning 17 years in the field of tax consultancy, having worked with various high-profile clients across multiple sectors.
- Spearheaded tax strategy and risk management initiatives in prominent organizations, enhancing the efficiency of tax processes and compliance protocols.
- Played a key role in guiding clients through complex tax regulations and reporting requirements, helping them mitigate risk effectively.
- Successfully led teams at BDO, PwC, and Nedbank to not only meet but exceed client expectations and regulatory requirements.
- Engaged in academia by taking on lecturing roles at respected universities, providing mentorship and academic support to postgraduate students.
- Served as an External Assessor for the Masters in Tax Program at the University of Johannesburg, contributing to the academic rigor of tax education.
With such a wealth of experience and dedication to enhancing best practices in the ever-evolving realm of tax, Marcus Botha is not just a consultant but a true pioneer in creating robust tax strategies that foster stakeholder trust and financial integrity.
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Clay works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Clay offers several powerful features including:
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- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
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Clay is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Clay is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Clay offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Clay offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Clay for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Clay accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
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Clay is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Clay stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Clay excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
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Clay offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Clay's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Clay has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Clay is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Clay beneficial.
Clay offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Clay offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Clay's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
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Yes. Clay offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
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