IRBA Newsletter Issue 50

Issue 50 | April - June 2020 3 importantly, focus is required to attract inclusivity to our register. The work starts with all of us working together to attract people as early as in high school and motivating them to engage with what we offer as the profession. We need to partner with the universities and the firms to influence the CA curriculum and make it more appealing to young people. As the IRBA, we are embarking on a number of initiatives to relaunch the RA brand and the Audit Development Programme (ADP Reloaded) will be our flagship project for driving transformation in the profession. Testing the veracity of the accreditation model will also be on the cards as we begin the journey to consider other professional accounting bodies. - Ensuring that standards are pragmatic o Two of the biggest expectations from the public relate to the role of auditors in identifying fraud and the issue of ethics in the profession. The lack of clarity in this domain has prevailed for far too long. As standard setters, we should engage on whether the standards respond adequately to the challenges and address the expectation gaps. - Resetting the relationships o We will collaborate with our stakeholders, without compromising the independence of the regulator. It is, therefore, important to work on lessons learnt through the audit failures of the past few years and address the implications of issues in the public discourse on the role and value of auditors. To emerge stronger as a profession, we need to collaborate in our efforts to restore confidence, understand the root causes and address the damage done. - Auditing Profession Amendment Bill o We plan to engage in constructive dialogue with National Treasury on impending legislative changes and shape internal transitional arrangements to accommodate these changes. The IRBA is indeed an organisation in transition, but the team is committed to making a difference. As I continue in my engagements with stakeholders, I remain confident that cohesive, collaborative actions will uplift the profession and restore the much-needed confidence in the ecosystem, thereby protecting the financial interests of the investing public. We must remain cognisant that the new normal is indeed challenging; however, reimagining resilience will grant us the capacity to turn these challenges into opportunities. It is vital that we engage with clarity, conviction and commitment so as to take the profession forward by inculcating a culture that binds likeminded people to achieve the common objective of protecting the public. I look forward to working with you all. In the meantime, be safe and remain focused on the end goal. Jenitha John Chief Executive Officer