New legislation for private auditors - concerns are increasing …

Abstract

The passage of the Draft Accountancy Profession Bill has not been a harmonious or happy one. The proposed legislation is developed to replace the current Public Accountants' and Auditors' Act (Act 80 of 1991). The memorandum to the Draft Accountancy Profession Bill claims that the process of developing a new Act started in 1991 when the Public Accountants' and Auditors' Board (PAAB) initiated the FAESA project (Future of Accounting Education in South Africa). The fact that almost a decade later a Draft Bill has only just been issued for comment, let alone tabled in Parliament for discussion, gives testimony to the flawed process and lack of relevant focus which has characterised this self-regulatory effort.