Regulator gets tough on companies

Business Times says the regulator is investigating 502 irregularities reported by auditors against companies, covering 32 offences, from reckless trading and fraud to tax irregularities, inappropriate accounting practices and breaches of the companies, micro-financing, and pension laws. Kariem Hoosain, the head of the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (IRBA), said stringent new laws were starting to pay off, and the profession was getting better at detecting irregularities. However, she noted there probably were a lot of irregularities slipping through the cracks because some auditors still don’t understand what was required of them and how to go about reporting the irregularities. More worrying is that most companies are not acting on the reported irregularities. The regulator has found that 271 of the total number of cases are instances in which the offences have continued. In these cases, the auditors have had a second look at the issue, and have confirmed that the irregularity is continuing in spite of it being previously reported by the auditor. Full Business Times report