Row over new audit boss

PROBE: MINISTER ASKED TO HALT APPOINTMENT OF EX-TONGAAT CHAIR

Glaring conflict of interest after official implicated in financial reporting irregularities, says Outa.

Finance minister Tito Mboweni has been asked to halt the appointment of former Tongaat Hulett audit and compliance committee chair, Jenitha John, as Independent Regulatory Board of Auditors (IRBA) boss and probe her background – including reasons why her track record was not taken into account.

The agri processing and property giant, Tongaat, has been rocked by scandal after it reported that its 2018 financials could not be trusted and that there was an overstatement of R4.5 billion in assets, with the findings by a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) forensic probe implicating 10 executives.

John stepped down in May last year in a wave of key resignations, including that of Peter Staude, then CEO, who reportedly took early retirement.

In a letter to the minister, Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) has pointed out that as chairperson of the audit committee, she was responsible for oversight of the company’s financial reporting at the time of the findings.

The organisation also argued that a PwC report on the Tongaat Hulett financial reporting irregularities has indicated that John will be investigated.

Wayne Duvenage, Outa chief executive officer, said the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants was the body responsible for investigating chartered accountants implicated in business

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