"While regulation exists for the audit regulator, none exists for professional accountancy organisations," the bank found in a 2013 report on SA's accounting and auditing standards.
A regulatory body was needed to define the education and training requirements for different accounting services, as well as accredit and monitor professional accounting bodies, the bank said. Irba, which regulated 4,500 registered auditors, already had a strategy in place to regulate all professional accounting bodies, said CEO Bernard Agulhas.
That SA had maintained the top position for strength of auditing and reporting standards in the World Economic Forum's rankings was testament to the strength of monitoring and compliance processes by the board, Agulhas said.
The processes held auditors to high levels of ethical and professional conduct, he said.
SA has more than 10 professional accounting bodies representing about 56,000 professional accountants, most of whom belong to the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (Saica).
Saica declined to comment on Irba's proposal. Professional bodies had principally agreed with the need for an overarching regulator, but the manner in which the regulator would function was the subject of debate, said Rashied Small, executive for education, training and membership at the South African Institute of Professional Accountants. Professional bodies all operated under different rules and common standards were needed, Small said.
A single regulator for the accounting profession would drive efficiency, but it needed to be separate from the audit standard setter and the professional body to avoid conflicts of interest, said Erna Swart, CEO of the Accounting Standards Board.
The board sets financial reporting standards for the public sector.
Swart cautioned against overregulation, which she said would place additional red tape on small businesses.
Irba did not have members (as with a professional body) but registrants, who registered with the body to receive a licence to audit, said Agulhas.
Its funding came from registration fees, inspection fees and the government, he said.
"As part of our efforts to be independent from the profession, we are currently working on becoming self-funded," Agulhas said.
Possible funding sources included accounting bodies and listed companies, which could pay their external audit firms an additional levy that would be passed on to Irba, he said.
The Treasury said that it had engaged with interested parties following the bank's report.
Proposals were subject to consideration by the minister of finance, it said.
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