KPMG reported 'no irregularities' in decade-long Gupta audits

13 April 2018 - 13:04
By Hanna Ziady
KPMG reported 'no irregularities' in decade-long Gupta audits.
Image: 123RF KPMG reported 'no irregularities' in decade-long Gupta audits.

KPMG raised no red flags with the audit regulator over VBS Mutual Bank and it did not report any unlawful practices during its decade-long audit of Gupta-family companies.

Auditors are required by law to blow the whistle on "reportable irregularities"‚ which are unlawful acts committed by management that could cause material financial loss to an entity‚ are fraudulent or represent a breach of fiduciary duties. They do this by filing a report with the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (Irba).

Despite VBS’s curator being unable to confirm the existence of R900m in deposits and flagging related-party fraudulent transactions‚ KPMG‚ which signed off on VBS’s accounts for the year to March 2017‚ had not filed any "reportable irregularities" with Irba‚ the regulator confirmed on Thursday.

The partner on the VBS audit‚ Sipho Malaba‚ had been suspended pending the outcome of an investigation‚ said KPMG.

This was the latest blow to hit the big four audit firm‚ which is the subject of Irba-initiated investigations into its work for Gupta family companies and the South African Revenue Service.

Business Day