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Law amendments will strengthen IRBA's mandate

18 Apr 2018

Since the scandals around the accounting and auditing profession erupted last year, the parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance (SCoF) had recognised the need to strengthen the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (IRBA) oversight powers, so that the regulator can respond robustly to any failures and improprieties committed by auditors.

Law amendments will strengthen IRBA's mandate

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The IRBA confirms that amendments to the Auditing Profession Act, 26 of 2005 (APA) were submitted to National Treasury on 15 December 2017. This followed commitments from the SCoF in October 2017 that these changes would be prioritised for consideration by Parliament in the first half of 2018.

A follow up meeting with National Treasury on February 7 this year agreed that the amendments should be submitted to National Treasury for tabling in Parliament.

The chairman of SCoF, Yunus Carrim, confirmed to IRBA on 17 April 2018 that he had written to National Treasury on 16 April regarding the submission of the APA Amendment Bill and the Postbank Bill, both of which were anticipated by SCoF.

The APA Amendment Bill seeks to strengthen the IRBA sanctions in line with those pursued by other international audit regulators; furthermore, the amendments will look to strengthen the IRBA’s powers in its investigations process, and simplify the complexity of disciplinary hearings, ensuring that outcomes can be achieved more speedily while remaining within the boundaries of a fair and due process.