management report and process clarified
23 May 2007
To help clarify any possible misunderstandings on the eNatis management
report and process, the Auditor-General (AG) would like to clarify the contents
of a letter he gave to Transport Minister Jeff Radebe yesterday, 23 May
2007.
Attached to the letter was a copy of the management report on the Systems
Development Life Cycle (SDLC) review/audit that was conducted by information
systems audit specialists from the AG's office. This is the report the media
has recently reported widely on.
In the letter the AG clarified the following issues:
1. The audit process for SDLC
The SDLC special audit was requested by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of
the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), Mr Thabo Tsholetsane.
RTMC is a public entity connected to the Department of Transport. The audit
commenced in January 2006.
A draft management report was issued to Mr Tsholetsane for management
comment on 22 December 2006. The AG requested RTMC management to submit their
reply to the management letter by 2 February 2007 and if no reply was received
by that date, the AG would consider the draft report as accepted by RTMC
management.
The AG did not receive a response to the draft management report by 2
February 2007. Another reminder was then sent to Mr Tsholetsane on 2 February
2007 giving him a further extension to make his comments before 31 March
2007.
As no comment was received by 31 March 2007, the draft management report was
considered to be the final management report.
In his letter the AG attached correspondence sent to Mr Tsholetsane at RTMC
dated 22 December 2006 and 2 February 2007 respectively.
2. Status of management report
Having received the management report, the next step would have been for the
responsible accounting officer, in this case the CEO of RTMC Mr Tsholetsane, to
consider the report and risks identified by the auditors and to develop an
action plan to implement the recommendations made by the auditors and then
present these to his accounting authority, the board of RTMC and eventually to
the Minister.
Management reports are the medium the AG uses to communicate its findings to
auditees, in this case RTMC. These management reports are also confidential and
not in the public domain.
3. Media reports
In his letter to the Minister, the AG also referred to recent media reports
which incorrectly stated that the SDLC eNatis management report was issued to
the Minister and/or Director-General (DG) of the Department of Transport.
The AG highlighted the fact that there was more than one report related to
eNatis. Other than the SDLC audit and management report referred to above, the
AG has also audited and issued management reports on two other aspects of the
eNatis namely the network audit and the general control audit:
* The management report on the network audit was indeed issued to the DG of the
Department of Transport on 21 February 2007 and we are awaiting her comments on
this report.
* The draft management report on the general control review (audit) was sent to
the Department's Chief Financial Officer (CFO) on 24 April 2007 and we are
awaiting his comments on this report.
These two management reports should not be confused with the widely reported
SDLC report that was issued to Mr Tsholetsane of RTMC.
The fact that there is more than one report on eNatis could have contributed
to the slight confusion as to which report had in fact been issued to the DG of
the Department of Transport.
It is in this context that the AG offered his sincere apologies for any
inconvenience this may have caused the Minister, his DG or his Department.
4. Next audit process
In line with the AGs PFMA auditing process during June/July 2007, the AG's
audit team will follow up on the SDLC report with RTMC and where necessary,
report on such progress in the audit reports of the RMTC and/or the Department
of Transport.
Material and significant unresolved issues contained in the management
reports are generally included in the audit reports of the entities.
It is only in this reporting phase that the Minister would have received a
formal and direct report from the AG.
Only after tabling is an audit report in the public domain.
Contact:
Africa Boso
Media Liaison: Auditor-General
Tel: 012 426 8273
E-mail: africab@agsa.co.za.
Issued by: Auditor-General South Africa
23 May 2007
Source: Auditor-General South Africa (http://www.agsa.co.za/)
