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requirements of an assignment, carefully, thoroughly and on a
timely basis.” Auditors are therefore advised to conduct their
taxation services with caution, be mindful of SARS deadlines
and communicate sufficiently and timeously with clients who
have incurred or whomight incur interest and penalties.
RegistrationwithCIPC as Company Secretary
In the CompaniesAct of 1973, Section 275(3) allowed auditors
of private companies to perform secretarial duties, if all
shareholders agreed to this in writing. As a result, numerous
auditors of private companies went so far as to have their
clients register the auditor/audit firm as the company secretary
at CIPC.
However, with the introduction of the CompaniesAct of 2008, it
is imperative that those auditors ensure that their clients
update their CIPC records and remove the name of the
auditor/audit firm as the company secretary because this is
now prohibited, among other things, by Section 90(2) of the
CompaniesAct of 2008.
verification certificate, which contained material errors,
together with an unmodified assurance conclusion.
The respondent was sentenced to a fine of R60,000, of which
R30,000 has been suspended for three years on condition that
the respondent is not found guilty of unprofessional conduct
committed during the period of suspension, no costs order and
publication in general terms.
Matter 15
– With respect to two unrelated clients, the
respondent prepared incorrect B-BBEE scores and status
levels on behalf of those clients in that the relevant sector
codes were not applied by the respondent. The respondent
then issued the B-BBEE verification certificates, both of which
contained material errors. In addition, the respondent did not
include the prescribed content for certificates as set out in
SASAE 3502.
The respondent was sentenced to a fine of R40,000, of which
R20,000 has been suspended for three years on condition that
the respondent is not found guilty of unprofessional conduct
committed during the period of suspension, no costs order and
publication in general terms.
Three matters were referred to the Legal Department for
disciplinary hearings.
Use of the IRBALogo
We continue to find that auditors are making use of the IRBA
logo on B-BBEE verification certificates. Please note that the
IRBA does not permit the use of its logo by anyone. Refer to
pages 7-14 in the
Manual of Information
for more details on
this matter.
Increase in TaxMatters Referred for Investigation
We have identified that there is an increase in the number of
tax matters referred for investigation. These matters mainly
relate to late submissions, which result in interest and
penalties being incurred by clients without their knowledge. In
this regard, we draw your attention to paragraph 130.4 of the
Code of Professional Conduct which states: “Diligence
encompasses the responsibility to act in accordance with the
Decisions to charge and matters referred to disciplinary
hearing
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Issue 33 January - March 2016
Jillian Bailey
Director Investigations
Telephone: (087) 940-8800
E-mail:
investigations@irba.co.za