IRBA NEWSLETTER ISSUE 47

Issue 47 | July - September 2019 13 The committee ordered that a summary of the facts of the case, its findings and sentence, including the practitioner’s name and her firm’s name, be published in IRBA News. In addition, it ordered that its decisions on the merits and sanction be brought to the attention of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants and any other regulatory institution(s). African Bank This matter relates to the audit of African Bank, which was placed under curatorship during 2014. The hearing commenced in 2018 and remained part-heard. The committee reconvened for 11 days during the reporting period, with the matter once again remaining part-heard. The committee is now scheduled to resume, for the final leg of the merits hearing, in October 2019 and will continue up to December 2019. The expectation is that a decision on the merits of the matter will be handed down by the committee in 2020. REPORTABLE IRREGULARITIES The IRBA received 164 reports on Reportable Irregularities (RIs) for the period under review. (Note that RIs are reported on quarterly in arrears) At the end of the reporting quarter, 109 second reports were received, of which: RIs were continuing 42 RIs were not continuing 58 RIs did not exist 9 Of the 42 continuing RIs received, the top six types of RIs most frequently reported, categorised by nature, were: (Note that in many cases a second report received would identify more than one RI) Unlawful Act or Ommission Reporting Frequency Regulator(s) Informed Tax and VAT-related contraventions, e.g. non- submission of tax returns, failure to register for tax, non-payment of PAYE, etc. 27.12% South African Revenue Service (SARS) Various Companies Act Contraventions, e.g. reckless trading, breach of directors’ fiduciary duties, irregular financial assistance to directors, AGM-related irregularities, etc. 23.73% Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) Financial statements not prepared/not approved within the alloted timeframe as well as a lack of accounting records kept. 13.56% CIPC and SARS Contraventions of the Estate Agency Affairs Act, i.e. entities operating as estate agencies without valid fidelity fund certificates, moneys received in business bank accounts as opposed to trust accounts, etc. 6.78% Estate Agency Affairs Board Contraventions of the Sectional Title Schemes Management Act, i.e. failure by the bodies corporate to take out adequate insurance, failure to prepare maintenance, repair and replacement plans for common property, etc. 5.08% Community Schemes Ombud Service Suspected fraud and/or theft, and contravention of the Prevention and Combatting of Corrupt Activities Act. 3.39% Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, Financial Intelligence Centre Other, e.g. contraventions of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange Listing Requirements, the Housing Development Schemes for Retired Persons Act, the South African Schools Act, etc. 20.34% Johannesburg Stock Exchange, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Basic Education, etc. LEGAL cont.