Reports that enable accountability and
oversight
Paul Mosaka, Business Executive
14 April 2010
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A. General Reports of the AGSA
The AGSA annually produces the following transversal or general
reports that present the consolidated results of regulatory audits in
all three spheres of government:
The General Reports on the consolidated audit outcomes of –
– National government departments, public entities and
constitutional institutions
– Provincial departments, public entities and other entities
– Municipalities and municipal entities
We believe that the consolidated Provincial and Municipal
General Reports are very useful documents of for NCOP
committees such as the SC on Finance and SC on
Appropriations to enable well-informed oversight
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A. General Reports of the AGSA
(Transversal reports that present the consolidated results of
regulatory audits)
1. General Report on consolidated provincial audit outcomes
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AUDIT OUTCOMES FOR 2008-09
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KEY SYSTEMIC ISSUES
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Status of completion of audits
Five year review of audit outcomes
Audit outcomes: Provincial legislatures, departments, public entities and other
provincial entities
Impact of commitments and initiatives of the executive
Impact of initiatives of other role players
Accounting reforms
ANALYSIS OF AUDIT QUALIFICATIONS AREAS AND ROOT CAUSES
WARNING SIGNALS REQUIRING ATTENTION
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General Report on provincial audit outcomes (cont.)
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RESULTS OF AUDITS OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS
SIGNIFICANT FINDINGS FROM AUDITS OF HR MANAGEMENT & COMPENSATION OF
EMPLOYEES
AUDIT OF PERFORMANCE INFORMATION
CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
STATUS OF TABLING OF ANNUAL REPORTS
STATUS REPORT ON PERFORMANCE AUDITS, INVESTIGATIONS & SPECIAL AUDITS
ANNEXURES TO GENERAL REPORT:
– Annexure 1: Listing of areas qualified in financial statements of legislatures, departments
and entities
– Annexure 2: Listing of legislatures, departments and entities with emphasis of matter and
‘other matter’ findings
– Annexure 3: Listing of five year audit opinions
– Annexure 4: Listing of audits finalised late or outstanding
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General Reports of the AGSA (cont.)
2. General Report on consolidated municipal audit outcomes:
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AUDIT OUTCOMES FOR 2008-09
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REMEDIAL ACTION TAKEN ON AUDIT OUTCOMES OF PRIOR YEARS
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Audit outcomes for municipalities, including the metro and municipal entities
Status of completion of audits
Five-year overview of audit outcomes
Initiatives by strategic role players to address past audit outcomes
Key internal focus areas that should be addressed to improve audit outcomes
Future commitments to achieve clean audit opinions
ANALYSIS OF CURRENT YEAR AUDIT OUTCOMES: Analysis of audit areas
qualified and root causes
WARNING SIGNALS REQUIRING ATTENTION
OTHER REPORTING RESPONSIBILITIES
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Introduction
Performance information
Status of performance audits, investigations and special audits
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General Report on municipal audit outcomes (cont.)
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CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND TABLING OF ANNUAL
REPORTS
CONCLUSION
ANNEXURES TO GENERAL REPORT:
– Annexure 1: Listing of audit outcomes for municipalities, including the metro and
municipal entities
– Annexure 2: Listing of five-year audit opinions
– Annexure 3: Listing of municipalities, including the metro and municipal entities with
non-compliance findings
– Annexure 4: Material losses/impairments, unauthorised expenditure, fruitless and
wasteful and irregular expenditure, including material under-spending of budgets
and unspent government grants
– Annexure 5: Listing of municipalities with non-compliance findings related to
performance information
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B. The annual report as key accountability
instrument
Sections 92 and 133 of the Constitution require of
executive authorities in the national and provincial
cabinets to provide the legislatures “with full and regular
reports concerning matters under their control”
Annual reports of municipalities are required in terms of
the section 127 of the MFMA
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Structure of an annual report
• Structure must be consistent with Strategic Plan
• Contents (proposed by the National Treasury), for
example
• General Information
• Department / Programme Performance
• Service Delivery Improvement Plans
• Human Resource Management
• Finance
• Statutory Bodies
• Organisational Structure
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Part 2: Reporting on programme
performance
• What to look for?
– Did the department achieve the objectives it commitment
to achieve in its strategic plan and budget?
– Are the explanations (“comments”) for non-achievement
acceptable / credible?
– Do actual achievements reported reconcile with
information on what is happening on the ground within
constituencies, or from the perspective provided by the
AGSA or other reporting agencies
(Whether the objectives were SMART needs to be
established when the strategic plan and the budget
is tabled in Parliament for approval.)
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Part 5: Finance
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Accounting Officer’s Report
Audit Committee Report
Report of the Auditor General
Appropriation Statement and notes thereto
Statement of Financial Performance (previously Income Statement)
Statement of Financial Position (previously Balance Sheet)
Statement of Changes in Net Assets
Cash Flow Statement
Accounting Policies
Notes to the Annual Financial Statements
Disclosure Notes to the Annual Financial Statements
Annexures
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Pratical exercise to follow……
Discussion & Questions?
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Reputation promise/mission
The Auditor-General has a constitutional mandate
and, as the Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) of South
Africa, it exists to strengthen our country’s
democracy by enabling oversight, accountability and
governance in the public sector through auditing,
thereby building public confidence.
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