Good afternoon, hon Speaker and colleagues. I am here on behalf of the Standing Committee on the Auditor-General to introduce my committee's report on the annual report of the Auditor-General for the financial period 2010-11.
I just want to start by once again congratulating our supreme audit institution in South Africa, which is one of over a hundred institutions that belong to an international organisation called the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions, Intosai, for the sterling work that they have done.
They have passed the test with flying colours by firstly ensuring that they themselves continue to produce clean audit reports, and therefore lead by example. It would be a sad day if the Auditor-General in this country could not itself produce a clean report when it is charged with the responsibility to monitor others - the over 800 auditees that they audit - to ensure that they comply with the audit standards set in this country.
Let me just indicate, as colleagues are aware, that as a committee we have a responsibility to exercise oversight over the institution. This we do by ensuring that we receive their annual report; and scrutinise it. We also receive and examine the audited financial statements and reports of the Auditor-General, which are produced by independent auditors.
In fact, the independent board of auditors also monitors the Auditor- General in its discretion to ensure that the standards that are upheld by the Auditor-General are compliant with the general auditing standards that are applicable both nationally and internationally.
So we are really proud of the kind of performance that they have been able to achieve over the years, including the award that they received for excellence from Intosai in 2010, when they hosted the 20th Congress of the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions in Sandton in Johannesburg. We are really pleased with all their achievements.
We are also pleased with the contribution that they continue to make in other areas, which are indirect benefits that they have been able to give to this country. One of the areas relates to the production of auditors for South Africa. They remain the largest single entity that produces auditors and chartered accountants in this country.
In this regard, we are also pleased that they have been able to achieve black economic empowerment, BEE, targets. They also ensure that there is transformation within the institution, and currently the majority of trainees are young black women who are enlisted under their auditor training scheme. We are also pleased with the improvement in the completion rate that they have been able to achieve.
The result is that people who start the training programme end up - at least over 30%, approximately 36%-38% of those students or trainees - with full qualifications as auditors and chartered accountants, compared to the general average which is between 5% and 8%.
The only thing as a committee that we would want to emphasise in our recommendations is that auditees should pay their audit fees timeously, especially municipalities. We understand that there are certain municipalities which are small and do not have enough capacity to generate their own revenue.
Thus we urge institutions such as Treasury, and others who work with local government, to ensure that such municipalities are assisted, so that they are not disqualified purely because of their inability to generate sufficient resources to meet their obligations.
On that note, I would like to move on behalf of the committee that our report be adopted. Thank you. [Applause.]
There was no debate.
Hon Speaker, I move:
That the Report be adopted.
Motion agreed to.
Report accordingly adopted.