Cipro woes smack bean counters

Johannesburg - The accountancy profession is increasingly hamstrung by problems at the Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office (Cipro).

Madelein Burger-van der Walt, a partner at legal and consulting firm Webber Wentzel, told Fin24.com of the long delays she suffered when trying to register company names.

Burger-van der Walt and her colleagues have also struggled to lodge special resolutions, including share repurchases, increasing issued share capital and amendments to the company's articles of association.

These have an impact on mergers and acquisitions, she said.

In a recent press statement Minister of Trade and Industry Rob Davies said he would "leave no stone unturned" in tackling allegations of fraud and corruption at Cipro, which have been cited in a report.

"Upon assessment of the report, I will announce the course of action to be taken and will also refer any matters that may require criminal prosecution to the relevant enforcement agencies," he said.

Last week, Cipro warned that its website will only be available intermittently until technical problems with a corrupted server have been resolved.

Computer chaos

Cipro spokesperson Elsabe Conradie acknowledged that Cipro's infrastructure and systems have been causing "major frustration" for customers since December 2009.

A solution was found and the website was stabilised until two weekends ago, when the network system was upgraded.

Cipro has previously said that its website is not used to the traffic volumes it faces, particularly when it receives a deluge of filings at the end of the year. This, however, rings hollow as accusations of mismanagement of a major IT contract swirl around.

The counter-argument made by the industry is that Cipro should be aware of how many companies are registered and should plan accordingly.

"I don't understand how an organisation like the South African Revenue Service can get their e-filing system so right and yet Cipro cannot get their online offering working," said one accountant who spoke to Fin24.com.

"It's taking between three and five weeks just for Cipro to approve or reject name reservations - and that's if you can even access the site to file the CM5 in the first place," said another.

One suggestion made was that Cipro should look at a website dedicated to annual returns and a separate site for other functions.

- Fin24.com