Search powers ‘extreme, unconstitutional’ – auditors

The auditing profession is up in arms over what it says are extreme, unconstitutional powers of search and seizure that proposed legislative amendments would give to the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (Irba). A Business Day report notes the proposed amendments to the Auditing Profession Act form part of the Financial Matters Amendment Bill, which was the subject of public hearings by Parliament’s Finance Committee yesterday. The amendments would allow Irba’s investigating committee to enter premises with prior consent, but without any consent if there is a warrant for the purposes of conducting a search. Irba argues that it needs these powers to be able to complete investigations as quickly as possible while following due process. Auditing firms Deloitte, PwC and EY and the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants (Saica) all said in their submissions to the committee that the proposal goes too far and would undermine the constitutionally enshrined right to privacy. Finance Committee chair Yunus Carrim said, in principle, he has nothing against search and seizure because it will not be opposed if the person had nothing to hide. However, Saica CEO Freeman Nomvalo said the proposals seem very extreme and noted that the proposed entry to premises would only be for the purposes of investigation without any proof that an offence had been committed. ‘The rights to enter and search are normally included in criminal cases investigated under the Criminal Procedures Act and not for other types of offences,’ Nomvalo noted. He suggested that existing measures requiring auditors to provide relevant information be strengthened.

Full City Press report