107672 IRBA NEWSLETTER

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STANDARDS
THE FOLLOWING TOPICS ARE DISCUSSED IN THIS
ISSUE:
• Important information for Tax Practitioners registered with the
IRBA.
• Draft Guidelines for Preparation of Public School Financial
Statements.
• Standards:
o Revised Guide for Registered Auditors: Access to
Working Papers.
o Proposed Revised Guide for Registered Auditors:
Assurance Engagements on the Annual Financial
Statements and Annual Statutory Returns of a Medical
Scheme.
o Illustrative engagement letters, assurance reports and
related guidance notes – sustainability engagements.
o Revision of the Guide for Registered Auditors: Auditing
in the Public Sector Vol 1.
o Webpage repository on documents related to the assur-
ance of integrated reports.
o Survey on the IAASB’s future strategy.
o IAASB projects in progress.
• Ethics:
o Proposed Revised and Restructured IRBA Code of Pro-
fessional Conduct.
o Proposed IESBA Strategy and Work Plan 2019-2023.
o IESBA Consults on Professional Scepticism.
o IESBA projects in progress.
Important Information for TaxPractitionersRegistered
with the IRBA
From our ongoing liaison with the South African Revenue Service
(SARS), we would like to make tax practitioners (TPs) aware of the
following matters:
Tax compliance
SARS is concerned about the increasing number and growing trend
of TPs that are themselves not tax compliant. TPs should ensure
that their tax affairs are up to date. Further, in the 2018 budget,
National Treasury proposed an amendment to the tax legislation to
deregister TPs who continuously fail to be tax compliant and who
do not correct their behaviour after being notified by SARS.
IRBA Code of Professional Conduct for Registered
Auditors (the Code)
TPs registered with the IRBA must comply with the requirements of
the Code. Failure to comply with any requirements in the Code may
be regarded as improper conduct and may be investigated; and, if
appropriate, the TP might be charged with improper conduct.
A SARS official in terms of the Tax Administration Act may lodge
a complaint with the IRBA if a TP has, in the opinion of the official,
conducted himself/herself improperly or behaved unethically.
Examples of improper conduct include claiming fraudulent Value
Added Tax (VAT) refunds or withholding a client’s tax profile due to
unpaid fees.
Further, SARS is also in the process of establishing formal disciplinary
processes to take action against TPs that are unethical.
Auditing of Public Schools
Draft Guidelines for Preparation of Public School
Financial Statements
The Department of Basic Education (DBE) raised concerns
regarding the audit of schools, and in particular the perceived lack
of consistency in scope and audit quality between the provinces,
the lack of segregation of duties between the auditor and the
bookkeeper, and audit reports. The DBE recently issued Draft
Guidelines for public comment by 31 July 2018. Registered
auditors and others are encouraged to submit comments on the
Draft Guidelines to the DBE. The Draft Guidelines are available
on the All comments should be submitted to
SAICA is also involved in this area. Please refer to its communications
in this regard.
Please note that the IRBA was not involved in the preparation of the
Draft Guidelines.
Committee for Auditing Standards (CFAS)
Revised Guide for Registered Auditors: Access to
Working Papers
The CFAS approved the issue of the Revised Guide for Registered
Auditors: Access to Working Papers (this Revised Guide) in May
2018 for issue.
This Revised Guide deals with the circumstances in which
registered auditors (auditors) or firms are requested or required to
grant access to working papers to the client, to another auditor or
to a third party that support an auditor’s opinion, conclusion and/
or report on financial statements or other financial or non-financial
information, where such engagements are governed by auditing
pronouncements, as prescribed or issued by the IRBA and which
include the Standards of the International Auditing and Assurance
Standards Board (IAASB).
Guidance is provided in respect of access requested or required in
the following circumstances:
1. Access required by law.
2. Access required in compliance with International Standards
on Auditing (ISAs) and International Standards on Assurance
Engagements (ISAEs), or the IRBA Code of Professional
Conduct for Registered Auditors (the Code) and any other
auditing pronouncements prescribed or issued by the IRBA, by
the group engagement partner or component auditor in a group
audit engagement; and by a successor auditor/s where there is
a change from the predecessor auditor/s.
3. Access requested in terms of a contractual agreement.
In summary, this Revised Guide has been updated for the following:
1. Changes to legislation.
Issue 42 | April - June 2018 3