The disciplinary committee of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (Saica) is expected to release its decision on charges of misconduct against Robert Newsome, a chartered accountant and former director of PwC, within two weeks.
If found guilty, Newsome faces a five-year suspension from Saica and may have to pay R100,000 towards the institute’s legal costs.
At a hearing on Friday, Saica outlined sections of the code Newsome allegedly breached. These included provisions relating to conflicts of interest, the requirement to act in the public interest and to act with integrity, objectivity and professionally.
Saica’s charges stemmed from a complaint lodged by Simon Mantell in August 2017. Mantell’s complaint was prompted by Newsome’s handling of a disciplinary hearing following an investigation by the Institute of Internal Auditors SA (IIA SA) into the behaviour of South African Airways executive Siyakhula Vilakazi.
Vilakazi is chief audit executive of SAA and Newsome was the chairman of the IIA SA disciplinary committee.
The IIA SA investigation related to SAA’s handling of a tender awarded to Mantelli’s Biscuits in February 2014, which was subsequently withdrawn without adequate explanation. Mantell’s efforts to get an explanation resulted in a number of critical investigations into SAA’s tender procedures, including one by the Treasury.
Despite damning evidence against Vilakazi, in April 2017, the IIA SA disciplinary hearing found there was insufficient evidence to charge him. Newsome said that as chairman of the disciplinary committee he had "carefully considered all the facts presented by the complainant, the respondent and the investigation committee and concluded that there was insufficient evidence to warrant a contravention of the IIA SA code of ethics by the respondent". Newsome closed the case.
Mantell later discovered that Newsome was a director of Orca, which had an eight-year contract to supply SAA subsidiary Mango with internal audit services. That contract expired at the end of October 2016. Newsome joined Orca on August 1 2016 when he retired from PwC, which had been SAA’s main external auditor.
Mantell’s complaint to Saica was based on Newsome not having disclosed a conflict of interest at the time he chaired the disciplinary inquiry.
During Friday’s hearing, Newsome indicated his frustration at the process, stating he was "the good guy who catches the bad guys".
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