The following elements are measured to calculate an entities’ BEE score:

• Ownership – is the percentage of black ownership in a company, which ownership is directly involved in the strategy and leadership of the company along with their financial compensation. The ownership element accounts for 25 points of a BEE score.

• Management Control – represents the amount of black people across junior, middle and senior management levels of a company as a percentage of all managers. It accounts for 19 percent of the total score. Management control also measures the number of disabled employees in a company.

• Skills development – Skills Development consists of training, mentoring, learnership programmes, bursaries and internal company training for previously disadvantaged employees. It must be noted that these training programs and initiatives must fall within the guidelines of the BEE outlines to qualify. Implementing learnerships, apprentices and bursaries will also benefit companies with tax concessions and a large amount of funding can be claimed from the various SETA’s. 20 BEE points can be earned on skills development.

• Supplier and Enterprise Development – Supplier and Enterprise Development represents the number of black owned enterprises supported by your business. A company needs to buy products from a company that has a high BEE rating. It has great value for the economy as it creates a chain reaction for businesses to support BEE compliant companies. 40 points are available for this element.

• Socio-Economic Development – A business’s social responsibility is also a consideration in BEE scoring. BEE points are earned based on the percentage of black recipients that will benefit from the company’s donations. 5 points are available in terms of this element.