21 May 2010

In terms of the Attorney's Act, No. 53 of 1979 and the current Rules of the Provincial Law Societies, auditors are required to report to their client firms of attorneys, the relevant Provincial Law Society and the Attorneys' Fidelity Fund on their audit of attorneys' trust accounts within six months after the attorneys financial year end.

The Revised Transitional Assurance Report that was approved by the respective Councils of all the Provincial Law Societies and the Attorneys' Fidelity Fund became effective from the 2008 financial year. This report remains effective for the 2010 financial year. The Supplementary Schedule of Interest Payments that is included on page 6 of the assurance report is NOT subject to the auditor's assurance engagement and therefore no assurance is expressed on that schedule.

Ongoing discussions have been held amongst the parties to consider possible changes to the engagement. The SAICA Guide SAICA Guidance for Auditors: The Audit of Attorney's Trust Accounts in terms of the Attorney's Act, No 53 of 1979 and the Applicable Rules of the Provincial Law Societies' is out of date and will be withdrawn when replaced with the new IRBA Guide: The Assurance Engagement on Attorneys' Trust Accounts to assist registered auditors in applying the International Standards on Auditing and Assurance in the conduct of such engagements. The issue of the IRBA Guide has been delayed in anticipation of changes arising from the pending consolidation of the various Provincial Law Societies Rules into Uniform Accounting Rules for all Law Societies, which is now expected will take some time to finalise. The IRBA Guide will be issued later this year.

Should you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact us. The revised transitional report may be downloaded here: (MS-Word DOC / PDF)

Should you experience any technical difficulties in downloading the report please contact Standards Department on +27 87 940 8800 or send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Sandy van Esch
Director: Standards

About the IRBA

The objective of the IRBA is to endeavour to protect the financial interests of the South African public and international investors in South Africa through the effective and appropriate regulation of audits conducted by registered auditors, in accordance with internationally recognised standards and processes. The CFAS assists the IRBA to develop and maintain auditing pronouncements which are internationally comparable.