Cape Town – The chairperson of an independent inquiry investigating alleged misconduct by KPMG employees will clarify the terms of reference next week.
That was revealed by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) on Friday, which is funding the investigation into SAICA members employed at KPMG.
This follows a probe by KPMG International, which found that its audit teams failed to apply sufficient professional scepticism and to comply fully with auditing standards with regards to work done for the Guptas and SARS.
It requested an independent investigation to “determine if there is any evidence to suggest KPMG South Africa partners or staff were complicit in illegal activities by the Gupta family and their businesses, and whether there were any failings or collusion in the work performed and conduct of KPMG South Africa in relation to the SARS report”.
On Friday, SAICA CEO Terence Nombembe said in a statement that the independent inquiry will not be conducted by SAICA, but by an independent judge or senior counsel who will act as its chairperson.
“At the time of this announcement it was expected that more elaborate details pertaining to the independent inquiry would be announced on 12 October 2017 by the chairman of the independent inquiry,” said Nombembe.
“I am reliably assured that the independent inquiry chairman is finalising the terms of reference including timelines, the methodology and the regulations that will guide the panel’s processes.
“Further, the chairman is finalising the composition of the Independent Inquiry panel. The chairman will announce the details of the Independent Inquiry in a week’s time.”
“The outcomes of the independent inquiry will inter alia feed into SAICA’s disciplinary processes to restore the public trust in the CA(SA) profession as a vital ingredient in re-establishing investor confidence in the capital markets as well as service delivery within the public sector in South Africa,” said Nombembe.
SAICA said its board decided that the funding of the inquiry will be provided by SAICA even though SAICA will have no involvement in the work of the panel. This is to ensure the independence of the investigation.
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