A regional grouping of African audit regulators said on Thursday it had made significant progress in its efforts to boost collaboration among members.
A two-day meeting of the African Forum of Independent Accounting and Auditing Regulators (AFIAAR) in Mauritius this week heard that work was underway to align legislation, regulation and information-sharing across the region regarding the oversight of auditors and accountants.
Mauritius’s minister of financial services and good governance Dharmendar Sesungkur told the conference that investors wanted a global product, making audit quality an important matter of public interest.
“Audit quality issues transcend continental barriers and impact public confidence, either building confidence in capital markets when it is high, or negatively when quality is poor,” he said.
“As we have seen, just one audit failure, or one errant auditor can taint the entire profession and create barriers to investment for our continent.”
Established in March 2018, AFIAAR is a pan-African forum of audit and accounting regulators representing 11 countries currently with the aim of supporting audit and accounting organisations to build capacity.
AFIAAR chairman Admire Ndurunduru of the Public Accountants’ and Auditors’ Board in Zimbabwe said the organisation had made significant progress during the year.
“A number of the member regulators reported that they have worked closely with one another. This has assisted members through, for example, hosting representatives of their organisation in the areas of inspections and investigations,” he said.
“This is key as we build regulatory capacity across the region and start to align and strengthen inspection and investigation methodologies across the continent.”
AFIAAR meets twice a year to discuss issues affecting auditing and accounting in member jurisdictions.
Source: ANA|COMPATRIOT MAGAZINE