Speaking at the Southern Institute of Government Auditors (SAIGA) virtual conference, Inspector of Intelligence Dr Setlhomamaru Dintwe said auditors should be beyond reproach at all times.
“Any unprofessional or improper conduct places the spotlight on the integrity of auditors, the Supreme Court institution that they represent, and the quality and value of the audit work in an unfavourable position and may raise doubts about the viability and details of the site,” he says.
During his opening remarks, Dintwe explained that government auditors or internal auditors in general should be able to assist the management in organisational performance. This is the reason why he says auditors make recommendations or their site is at the end of the report, whether it’s an unfairness or whether it’s a positive and so forth.
But this role is consistent with the second part of notice petition which postulate that at the end internal audits provide a mechanism for monitoring the implemented implementing benefit for the long term.
“So, if you take a deep look at this role, you will see the synergy between the beginning, the end, the watchdog as well as providing assistance to management in this role. The role of auditors is not contested in the judiciary, except for the contention that most auditors seem to be neglecting other roles such as that of being a watchdog,” he says.
Dintwe adds: “I cannot overemphasise the role of professional bodies, but the role of professional bodies is that if there is an in-balance or if auditors government voters tend to neglect their watchdog role, because they want to be loved and appreciated by the management that could actually be the transgression of the codes or some kind of code, whether it’s a code of conduct or a code of discipline of the professional body, and then they come there because an auditing professional bodies are expected to develop standards of auditing code of conduct or incident rules and are also expected to deal with discipline in the profession, as well as development of monitoring arrangements.”
SAIGA CEO Russel Morena said that the main objective of her address was to provide a platform for accounting and audit professionals to engage on various topics which are impacting the industry.
“The conference is part of the SAIGA vision 2023 strategy. Part of the focus will be on strengthening capacity building in the public sector. There is also a need to expand the SAIGA footprint in the African continent and globally.”