Black talent needed

Industry lags behind in inclusion of black auditors

The Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (IRBA) is not satisfied that enough has been done towards the transformation of the auditing profession in SA.

Only 10,5% of the registered auditors in SA are black African, while 74,8% are white, according to IRBA CEO Bernard Agulhas.

“We understand that audit firms have invested in interventions to transform the profession, however, we are not sure how successful these interventions have been, because we are still looking at numbers that are not really satisfactory at this stage,” he says.

“We are not at the level of transformation that we would have liked to see the profession at so many years after the democratisation of SA.

“Transformation in the auditing profession is not merely concerned with deracialisation, which is mostly about the quantitative measures of increasing the number of black auditors, but also with financial inclusion, ownership, broadening access to the market and increasing opportunities for advancement by ensuring there are more long-term prospects for black auditors, equivalent to that of their white counterparts.”

According to a recent IRBA survey, the regulator is still receiving feedback that black clerks are not receiving the same opportunities and access to audit that other trainees are, and they still report the experience of racism and the lack of racial equality in the opportunities provided to them.

“If auditing firms want to retain their black staff members they need to respond to these concerns. Auditing firms need to give their black staff members greater access to the more responsible functions within the firm,” says Agulhas.

He contends that transformation in the auditing profession requires a more inclusive approach that will provide black accountants with a more positive experience at auditing firms and result in a higher retention of black auditors.

“More focus should be given to their long-term career prospects, including equity partnerships and senior management and executive responsibility,” says Agulhas.

He says another area of auditing which does not reflect satisfactory transformation is the exposure of black-owned firms to the auditing of Jse-listed companies, which is minimal, with up to 94% of the market capitalisation of the JSE being audited by the “Big Four” audit firms comprising Deloitte, KPMG, EY and PWC.

What it means: More inclusion and bigger role should be played by black auditing firms in the industry