IRBA Newsletter Issue 53

Issue 53 | January-March 2021 23 EDUCATION & TRANSFORMATION AUDIT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME SHOWS SOME STEADY, THOUGH SLOW, GROWTH At the close of the period under review, the Audit Development Programme (ADP) had recorded a total number of 464 candidates since its inception. The programme is an 18-month period of specialisation undertaken by professional accountants who want to become registered auditors (RAs). Through the ADP, registered candidate auditors (RCAs) are given the opportunity to specialise as RAs by gaining exposure to a broad range of issues faced by RAs in practice. The overall aim is to help them develop and enhance their professional competence and judgement, ethical values as well as lifelong learning skills and attitudes. On completing the ADP, RCAs are expected to have acquired and demonstrated competence to a level expected of an RA. ADP REGISTRATIONS TO DATE 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2019/2020 2020/2021 TOTAL Opening 0 0 28 172 288 425 455 0 Additions 0 28 157 134 170 81 82 652 Deregistration 0 0 -11 -9 -2 -18 0 -40 Completed 0 0 -2 -9 -31 -33 -73 -148 Total RCAs at Year-End 0 28 172 288 425 455 464 464 Registrations in 2020/2021 During 2019 and through our research programme, several challenges that had a negative impact on the number of people registering on the ADP were noted. As a result, the Education and Transformation (ET) Department has embarked on the new and improved ADP Reloaded, to address the areas of development and challenges noted in the current ADP. COVID-19 had an impact on the firms’ administrative processes that were in place to facilitate registration on the ADP. Some of the big four firms had seconded their managers abroad and those firms were busy with repatriating their staff due to COVID-19 disruptions. As such, there was limited time to process ADP applications. On a positive note, the number of registrations overall has been consistent with the previous financial year; and, most importantly, there were no de-registrations in the 2020/2021 financial year. Completion Rate in 2020/2021 The ET department has embarked on a drive to provide more support to RCAs in terms of the internal review of the RCAs’ Portfolios of Evidence (PoEs). This is being done through one- on-one interactions, a detailed internal review process, additional customised guidance, support and tracking of RCAs’ progress, to encourage them to successfully complete the ADP. The process for reviewing portfolios has also been improved by reducing the turnaround time for the PoE panel members to provide feedback. This now includes increasing the number PoE panel members on the ADP database so that more portfolios can be reviewed. In the first quarter of the 2021/2022 financial year, the following changes will be phased in: • Anewand improvedPoE structure and format will be introduced. RCAs will be provided with guidance and training on how to use the newly improved PoE templates. Communication on this will be issued at the beginning of the next quarter. • Digital content to support RCAs and oversight registered auditors in effectively carrying out their roles on the ADP will be available. The content will be accessible via the ADP website. Look out for more communication as we embark on this exciting journey of change to further strengthen the ADP. Accreditation Committee The Accreditation Committee (ACCOM) was established as an ad- hoc subcommittee of the Education and Transformation Committee to evaluate the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants ’ application for accreditation. The implementation of the project plan is currently underway through ACCOM and its subject matter experts, to assess the application against the requirements of the IRBA’s Accreditation Model. A recent advert for additional subject matter experts has been published and is available on the website . Transformation The transformation activities for the quarter, and as highlighted in the graph below, relate to the overall transformation strategy and the planned transformation projects, as contained within the 2020/2021 transformation strategy.