The SA Institute of Chartered Accountants (Saica) is gearing up to investigate all members implicated in the report by the Zondo commission on state capture, the accounting body said.
Part 1 of the incriminating report that was publicised on Tuesday, slams the lack of accountability and transparency in accounting practices displayed by trusted gatekeepers at state owned entities during former president Jacob Zuma’s years in office.
Consulting firms such as PwC have also been flagged in the report for poor auditing practices alongside banks, law and audit firms who made a mint from years of grand corruption.
Former SAA board member Yakhe Kwinana, who is a chartered accountant, is among those named and shamed for enabling plunder and causing “sustained damage” to the national carrier where she was a board member and ally of Dudu Myeni and chair of SAA Technical (SAAT).
Kwinana’s testimony before the commission shook South Africans after she infamously used an analogy of fat cakes to justify cancelling an R85m tender and handing it to subsidiary Air Chefs without proper tender processes being followed — a decision she boldly said was one of the best she ever made at SAA.
It found that Kwinana and Myeni bullied officials into unlawful conduct while their combined management style enabled acts of fraud and corruption to engulf the entities, highlighting that Kwinana probably received “corrupt payments”, which she tried to cover up, that “were made in exchange for decisions” in which she was involved. It concluded that she displayed a fundamental lack of appreciation of conflict of interest policies and processes.
In a media statement, Saica said it would be investigating allegations against all members mentioned in the Zondo report, adding that investigations against Kwinana were already under way.
Saica said it had already afforded Kwinana an opportunity to make representations to it after she appeared before the commission in November 2020 but “to date no such response has been received”.
“All members who are found to have contravened Saica’s code of professional conduct will be held accountable without fear or favour, including all members mentioned in the comprehensive Zondo [report] when all three parts have been released,” said Saica CEO Freeman Nomvalo.
Saica represents more than 50,000 members and associates who are chartered accountants, associate general accountants and accounting technicians.
“The chartered accountancy profession is undergoing a period of profound reflection encompassing debates on how to maintain professional independence,” Nomvalo added.
Owing to poor auditing of state-owned companies, Zondo called for the office of the auditor-general to be better resourced, recommending that state-owned enterprises (SOEs) be audited exclusively by the auditor-general’s office.
Zondo’s report has been divided into three parts with the second expected in late January, and the final one in late February.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.