Auditors should see Madonsela as a role model

THE auditing profession in South Africa has justifiably been placed under the spotlight following the KPMG scandal.

The honesty, integrity and transparency once associated with audits, are now being questioned, especially in relation to all levels of government services and SOEs.

The rampant corruption and self-enrichment through office in the public service appears to have contaminated the once honourable auditing profession.

Public concern is that the audit profession appears to have been quiescent to allow corruption to thrive.

Other than for the odd brave professional.

We are aware that the Zuma regime has asserted its manipulative control over the public service and parastatals, enabling it to sidestep or ignore negative audit findings.

The KPMG exposures confirm this. The current debate around the role of the auditing profession is thus urgent and essential.

This debate has exposed how extensive the ineffectiveness of auditors to limit the damage to the economy is.

It has revealed the decay in the moral and ethical standards that once made the audit profession highly honourable and respected. No more.

KPMG revelations have exposed the extent of manipulation of audit results behind the scenes.

Our trust in the audit profession to keep business and government clean and honest has gone. Much as they try to tell us, we don’t understand!

The reality of corruption is that billions of rands are being siphoned off by politicians, public servants, SOEs , the business community and others for self-enrichment.

That is money that should have been used for the upliftment of the people of South Africa, not for the well positioned.

The public expect auditors to expose all this rottenness in the “books”. No longer. There appears to be dirty conniving behind the scenes between officials, business people, et al, with the auditors apparently participating to protect their own interests.

Thuli Madonsela in her role as public protector earned the respect of the public due to her courageous conduct without fear or favour.

She should be a role model for the auditing profession. RON LEGG

Hillcrest