The Draft Public Audit Bill – the weakest link in the accountability chain

Abstract

This article cannot discuss in detail the many shortcomings that makes the Draft Public Audit Bill (Version: June 2003) the “weakest link in South Africa’s public accountability chain”. Four of the most crucial flaws of the Draft Bill are highlighted in this article. Flaw One: Allowing the public sector auditor to provide both audit and other services to the same institutions Flaw Two: Overlooking the Registered Government Auditor profession and abetting the private sector audit industry Flaw Three: Making the audit of the performance information, as required by the PFMA, optional Flaw Four: Introducing the Auditor-General as player, coach, referee, time keeper, selector, administrator, and writer and interpreter of the rules of the game