African Journal of Public Affairs Volume 7, Number 3 (2014)http://hdl.handle.net/2263/599102024-03-28T21:47:13Z2024-03-28T21:47:13ZFront matter, African Journal of Public Affairs, Volume 7, Number 3http://hdl.handle.net/2263/581352017-04-11T07:44:22Z2014-01-01T00:00:00ZFront matter, African Journal of Public Affairs, Volume 7, Number 3
Cover, table of contents, rights information, manuscript specifications and editorial message.
2014-01-01T00:00:00ZStakeholders’ view on the contribution of public sector internal auditing to enterprise risk managementCoetzee, Philnahttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/581332022-04-08T22:45:12Z2014-01-01T00:00:00ZStakeholders’ view on the contribution of public sector internal auditing to enterprise risk management
Coetzee, Philna
Although risk management is not a new phenomenon, enterprise risk management
(ERM) is a relatively new concept in the business environment. In a very short time,
ERM has established its worth in all sectors. This article investigates the views of
chief audit executives (CAEs), the chairs of audit committees (CACs) and accounting
officers (AOs) with regard to the contribution that the internal audit function (IAF)
makes to ERM in the public sector. This contribution is considered in the context
of existing ERM structures and the level of coordination between ERM and the
IAF. Results indicate that the CAEs have very different views from the other two
categories of respondents, and that the existence of ERM structures has very little
effect on how the contribution of internal auditing to ERM is perceived.
2014-01-01T00:00:00ZPerceptions on internal audit function contributions in South African national government departmentsErasmus, Lourens J.Fourie, Houdinihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/581312022-04-08T22:45:12Z2014-01-01T00:00:00ZPerceptions on internal audit function contributions in South African national government departments
Erasmus, Lourens J.; Fourie, Houdini
In terms of the Public Finance Management Act, Act 1 of 1999 and Treasury
Regulations, it is compulsory for national government departments in South Africa
to establish an effective and efficient internal audit function (IAF). An effective IAF
can help achieve the policy objectives of the government, which promised that big
strides would be made in the social and economic development arena. The question
then arises whether, two decades later, key stakeholders believe that the mandatory
IAFs are living up to expectation. Hence, the objective of the study reported in
this article was to determine whether selected stakeholders were satisfied with the
IAFs’ contribution on selected activities. The findings and conclusions are based
on a quantitative analysis of the data. Responses to structured questionnaires
were collected from chief audit executives (CAEs), accounting officers (AOs) and
chairpersons of audit committees (CACs) in South African national government
departments. The findings show that all three categories of stakeholders expect
more from IAFs, but only the CAEs believed IAFs were currently contributing well.
The AOs and the CACs did not regard the IAFs’ current level of contribution as very
high. These findings should assist stakeholders responsible for the functioning of
internal auditing in the South African public service.
2014-01-01T00:00:00ZStaffing of public sector internal audit functions at national departments in South AfricaErasmus, Lourens J.Fourie, Houdinihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/581292022-04-08T22:46:18Z2014-01-01T00:00:00ZStaffing of public sector internal audit functions at national departments in South Africa
Erasmus, Lourens J.; Fourie, Houdini
Governance codes in public sector legislation in South Africa have contributed
considerably to accelerated growth in public sector internal auditing in national
departments. In consequence, accounting officers (AOs), who are the heads of
department (HoDs) of national departments, have been tasked with establishing
and/or improving the staffing of public sector internal audit functions (IAFs), in
order to enable the IAFs to fulfil the role of public sector internal auditing, as
stipulated by South African legislation and professional standards.
The objectives of the study reported in this article were to determine the staffing situation
in public sector IAFs, and whether there was a statistically significant gap between the
numbers of filled internal auditor posts by staff level, compared to the ideal number
of internal auditors’ posts at these public sector IAFs, as perceived by the chief audit
executives (CAEs). The research methodology followed was a quantitative descriptive
method combined with statistical analysis to analyse and interpret the data. The research
instrument used to obtain the research data was a quantitative research questionnaire
distributed to the CAEs of national departments of the South African government.
The survey revealed that the number of internal auditors’ posts filled (staffing
levels and posts) at public sector IAFs was inadequate, according to CAEs perceptions
regarding the ideal number of posts to be filled. However, when the perceived ideal
staffing complement was compared to the approved staffing complement of public
sector IAFs, no significant difference between the two variables was found. The
article concludes that deficiencies in the current staffing complement of public
sector IAFs can be attributed to a lack of human resources planning, particularly in
respect of succession planning, as shown by the large percentages of vacant internal
auditors’ posts at three of the four internal auditor levels.
2014-01-01T00:00:00Z