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Auditing Profession Act, 2005 (Act No. 26 of 2005)

Notices

Regulatory Strategy for Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors

Foreword

 

The Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (IRBA) was established in terms of section 3 of the Auditing Profession Act, 2005 (Act No. 26 of 2005) (APA), and it came into effect on 1 April 2006. The objects of the Act, as set out in section 2, are as follows:

 

• To protect the public in the Republic by regulating audits performed by registered auditors;

 

• To provide for the establishment of an Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors;

 

• To improve the development and maintenance of internationally comparable ethical standards and auditing standards for auditors that promote investment and as a consequence employment in the Republic;

 

• To set out measures to advance the implementation of appropriate standards of competence and good ethics in the auditing profession; and

 

• To provide for procedures for disciplinary action in respect of improper conduct.

 

The recent promulgation of the Auditing Profession Act Amendments, in April 2021, has further strengthened the IRBA’s independence and powers to deliver more effectively on its mandate. Consequently, this regulatory strategy – which should be read with our most recent five-year strategy – defines our regulatory philosophy and actions to enhance our effectiveness as an internationally recognised audit regulator that is best positioned to fulfil its mandate of serving the interest of the investing public.

 

External auditors remain a key stakeholder in protecting the interests of the investing public. Worldwide, there is broad consensus among regulators, investors and stakeholders that further interventions are necessary to enhance the financial reporting and governance ecosystem, including the auditing profession, to respond to investor risks and needs.

 

As a founding member of the International Forum of Independent Audit Regulators’ (IFIAR) since 2006, the IRBA adopted the IFIAR Core Principles on audit oversight.

 

Therefore, through more collaboration with key stakeholders, the IRBA will continue to focus on further strengthening the regulator and the auditing profession, in addition to influencing reforms in the financial reporting and governance system in South Africa.

 

 

Fulvio Tonelli

Chairman of the Board