Contribution of record-keeping to audit opinions: an informetrics analysis of the gerenral reports on audit outcomes of the Auditor-General of South Africa
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Authors
Mpho, Ngoepe
Patrick, Ngulube
Issue Date
2013
Type
Article
Language
en
Keywords
Audit reports , document management , internal controls , records management , record keeping , Auditor-General of South Africa
Alternative Title
Abstract
At the end of every audit cycle the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) publishes consolidated general reports on audit
outcomes (GRAOs) for all municipalities, government departments and public entities. GRAOs of AGSA identify broad
themes (e.g. document management, asset management, risk management, etc) and highlight specific trends that were detected
during an audit cycle. These reports induce discourse on the audit findings. This article partly reports on the findings of a
doctoral research project (Ngoepe 2012) aimed at developing a framework for embedding the records management function into
the auditing process. In this study a total of 15 Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and Municipal Finance
Management Act (MFMA) GRAOs for the 2005/06 to 2009/10 financial years were reviewed using an informetric
content analysis to identify the types of audit opinions issued, the frequency and contextual usage of the keyword “record” and
its contribution to the audit opinion. The study revealed that the root cause of qualified and adverse audit opinions was in most
cases a lack of proper record-keeping. In addition, auditors had to contend with delays or government bodies' inability to
provide records, which lead to disclaimer opinions. The study recommends that records management should be embedded into
the auditing process of governmental bodies. It is concluded that government bodies will continue to obtain disclaimer opinions
and that government's 2014 clean audit target will remain a mere mirage if this is not implemented.
Description
Citation
Mpho Ngoepe, Patrick Ngulube 2013. Contribution of record-keeping to audit opinions: an informetrics analysis of the gerenral reports on audit outcomes of the Auditor-General of South Africa Vol 32
Publisher
Esarbica
License
Journal
Volume
Issue
PubMed ID
DOI
ISSN
2220-6442