Clean audit – What it takes.

The Auditor-General audits municipalities annually and releases a consolidated report which includes insights of municipalities and their entities, and shares information, statistics and tells a story on the state of local government.

“The Auditor-General’s report is accessible to the public which we welcome as communities served by municipalities get an objective view on how their funds are being managed. The report is also important for potential investors into your region because it talks about performance culture, accountability, transparency and institutional integrity”, says Weskus Distrik’s Manager: Internal Audit Manager Karel Frans.

“An audit examines how public money has been spent but within this, a key component is the planning behind that spend. For example, funds may have been correctly and fully deployed, but the project might have been delayed for a long time or the quality of the product might be lacking. This points to poor project management which can be as damaging to service delivery as misdirected funds”.

Karel insists that achieving a clean audit is not rocket science.

“First, we have a common purpose. All officials – whether managers, directors or the executive team – have a direct or indirect influence on the audit results. We all feed off and into each other’s roles, and therefore the common purpose of service delivery binds us”.

The second aspect is personal and organisational pride. The more the team strives to be the best it can be, the better for the community that it serves. Each day, you must perform because when you slip, service delivery suffers and your community’s heads drop.

A third aspect is having qualified and experienced staff.

“When you’re talking about infrastructure – roads, water, energy among others – you need suitably qualified people. And then there’s financial management, supply chain management, audit management, and the Accounts function among others – all within a regulated environment. The performing municipalities all have committed, qualified and trained people and they pursue continuous growth and development”.

Karel Frans
Manager: Internal Audit