22 December 2011

Johannesburg / 22 December 2011

The Committee for Auditing Standards (‘CFAS’) a statutory committee of the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (‘IRBA’) approved the release of this Proposed South African Auditing Practice Statement (SAAPS) 3 (Revised), Illustrative Reports in November 2011, for exposure for public comment by 24 February 2011. The Proposed SAAPS 3 (Revised) may be modified in light of comments received before being issued in final form and will replace the existing SAAPS 3 Illustrative Reports, that will be withdrawn on issue of SAAPS 3 (Revised).

This proposed SAAPS 3 (Revised) has been revised to take account of the changes to the reporting standards arising from the clarity project of the International Audit and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) and subsequent revisions of the International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) and International Standards on Review Engagements (ISREs), and changes to comply with the requirements of the Companies Act, 2008 (as amended) (Companies Act), and the Companies Regulations, 2011, pursuant thereto.

The Proposed SAAPS 3 also incorporates, for the first time, the reporting requirements of the Public Audit Act (PAA) and the applicable requirements of the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA).

The South African guidance in Part A sets out an illustrative auditor’s report (based on ISA 700) and an independent reviewer’s report (based on ISRE 2400) on a complete set of general purpose financial statements prepared in accordance with a fair presentation framework and the requirements of the Companies Act, and the ISA 700 report to be used where the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) has opted not to perform the audit of a public sector entity.

The illustrative reports in Part B have been substantially increased and include reports that do not appear in the ISAs while excluding reports that are included in the ISAs.

The Proposed SAAPS has been developed by the CFAS Reports Standing Committee established for the purpose of developing new SAAPS, Guides Circulars etc. affecting reporting implications for auditors.

How to Comment
To ensure that all relevant stakeholders are consulted and to streamline the consultation process, interested and affected stakeholders are invited to submit written comments to the IRBA. All comments will be considered a matter of public record.

Written comments should be submitted to the IRBA by 24 February 2012 preferably by email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or on computer disk in MS Word format to:

Mrs SD van Esch
Tel: +27 87 940 8871
Fax: +27 86 575 6535 Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Or to:

Ms N Simons
Tel: +27 87 940 8862
Fax: +27 86 578 0146
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

A copy of the exposure draft is available in PDF format and may be downloaded from the IRBA website in the new year. Should you have any other queries or experience any technical difficulties in downloading the documents please do not hesitate to contact the Standards Department at +27 (0)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
Download the document in (Doc | PDF) format.

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.