stakeholders
1 June 2006
Pretoria - The Auditor-General (AG) today released its activity report for
the financial year 2004/05. The report which is submitted to National Assembly,
serves as an accountability tool by providing a balanced view of the South
African audit officeâs performance during the year.
The report is compiled in compliance with the Public Audit Act, 2004 (Act 25
of 2004). In terms of the Public Audit Act (PAA), the AG must annually submit a
report to the National Assembly on his or her activities and the performance of
his or her functions.
The activity report highlights the audit services rendered during the year
and the standards applied to these services and it also identifies the key
organisations with which the AG co-operated.
The AGs performance is assessed in terms of stakeholder satisfaction,
quality, cost and timeliness.
* Stakeholder satisfaction: During an independent survey the AG scored an 86
percent satisfaction rating from the standing committee on public accounts and
the provincial public accounts committees who are its key stakeholders.
* Quality control: According to the Public Accountantsâ and Auditorsâ Board
(PAAB), which conducts an annual review of the AGs internal quality control
process, the planning stage of the AGs audits remained satisfactory during
2005; there were improvements in the fieldwork stage; while the quality of the
completion stage showed deterioration. Since the completion of the report, PAAB
has now been renamed as the Independent Regularity Board for Auditors
(IRBA).
* Cost: Overall the AGs audit fee for national departments represented 0,18
percent of their total expenditure (without transfer payments), while
provincial departments paid 0,12 percent of their net expenditure.
* Timeliness: There was an overall deterioration in the timely submission of
the audit report by the AG which was largely caused by the auditeesâ late
submissions of audit evidence. Initiatives to overcome this problem are part of
a discussion forum that has been set up with the national and provincial
treasuries.
The activity report lists other types of audits such as specialised audits
and agreed upon procedure audits performed in 2004/05. The term âspecialised
auditsâ refers to performance audits and special investigations, whereas
âagreed upon procedure auditsâ are performed to provide specific assurance on a
project or programme, e.g. to a donor asking for assurance on a donation made
to a department for a specific activity. The AG issued 50 reports on
specialised audits to management and 16 audit reports were tabled in the
relevant legislatures. 16 agreed upon procedure audits were performed.
A comprehensive description of the audit process in the report aids
stakeholdersâ understanding of the AGs core business and its activities. The
AGs role in the accountability process is also explained.
The report provides, as annexure one, a list of entities audited by the AG
and these are categorised by the various responsible audit business units. This
list of national and provincial government departments, local governments,
listed public entities and other entities provides a comprehensive overview of
government structures.
âDevelopments are in place for working more closely with National Treasury.
This represents a growing maturity and understanding that the role of National
Treasury in setting frameworks and policies for public sector entities must be
consistent with the rationale behind the audit process.
Identification of key areas to assist the public sector and the role to be
played by both organisations is therefore an initiative I support,â AG Shauket
Fakie said.
The AGs audit report may be viewed at: www.agsa.co.za. You will find it
under âour reportsâ.
Contact:
Adri van der Merwe
Business Executive: Reputation and Stakeholder Management
Tel: (012) 426 8175
Cell: 082 787 5291
E-mail: adrivdm@agsa.co.za
Issued by: Auditor-General of South Africa
1 June 2006
Source: Auditor-General of South Africa (http://www.agsa.co.za/)
