The profession of forensic auditing has in recent weeks been in the headlines again due to the murder of forensic auditors, who were killed in the line of duty.
With this in mind, the Department of Commercial Accounting (DCA) at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) hosted a public lecture titled; ‘The Role of Forensic Auditing in tackling Fraud and Corruption in SA’ . The lecture was delivered by Tholakele Ndlazulwana, a forensic auditor and Acting Business Unit Leader for Investigations at the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA).
The public lecture was held at the Ubuntu Chambers, at the UJ Auckland Park Kingsway campus. Senior lecturer in the DCA, Philani Thusini, was the MC of the proceedings. Thusini shared the purpose of the day by giving a bit of background on what makes the topic so timely.
He shared that while South Africa celebrates its 31 years of democracy and has seen significant gains and achievements, corruption remains a stumbling block in the country’s story.
“This year South Africa celebrates 31 years of democracy and significant achievements and milestones have been reached in changing the social and economic landscape of our country. However, fraud and corruption remain as some of the challenges faced by our country that can undermine our democratic values, accountability, the Batho Pele principles, the foundation of good governance and sustainable development,” he said.
Thusini added that due to the nature of the crimes created by fraud and corruption, the importance of auditors is continuously highlighted.
“Fraud and corruption are prevalent in both the public and private sectors and often the first question that is asked when these are uncovered is ‘Where were the auditors?’ Today’s public lecture titled ‘The Role of Forensic Auditing in tackling Fraud and Corruption in SA’ will help deepen our understanding of the role played by forensic auditors, the tools and technologies they use in the fight against fraud and corruption and the strives that have been made to protect public interest”.
Professor Ben Marx, head of the School of Accounting (in which the DCA resides at the College of Business and Economics) said the public lecture is an example of the innovation that exists at the University.
“Today’s public lecture is an example of the innovation that is key at UJ. It brings together the public sector or industry, to education. It highlights that it is possible to live and thrive in a society where bribery and corruption are combated by exceptional wisdom and expertise like we have with our distinguished speaker today,” he said.
Ndlazulwana’s talk covered a variety areas, moving from setting the scene of how corruption and fraud continue to cripple the country, and in particular its fiscus, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), its grey listing of South Africa and the strategic role played by forensic auditing to change this, the role off forensic auditing in fighting corruption, the efforts of the AGSA, what role community plays and ended of with a call to action.
In her characterization of corruption and fraud, Ndlazulwana highlighted that these can take a variety of shapes and forms, with perhaps the smallest being the ‘cold drink” offered to law enforcement officers as away to avoid punishment for road and traffic infringements, all the way to the deliberate misappropriation of funds and state resources. These resources she highlighted are more often than not aimed at empowering our society’s most vulnerable citizens. Ndlazulwana emphasized that corruption happens also in the private sector, citing Steinhoff as an example of this.
“Corruption is the abuse of power for private gains. We’ve spoken this morning about bribery, which is the ‘cold drink’ given to law enforcement, kickbacks, procurement fraud, nepotism and cronyism. In the news of late, we’ve seen how politically connected individuals are linked to certain irregularities, this is part of corruption and fraud, as well as embezzlement. Now embezzlement is taking money meant for another purpose, for personal gain. One of the easiest examples that showcase this is Steinhoff. A lot of us lost money in the Steinhoff matter because our pension funds were invested in Steinhoff. This is also to show that as much the spotlight is on the public sector because of fraud, this also happens in the private sector. This [fraud and corruption] is an encompassing problem in South Africa,” she said.
Ndlazulwana’s lecture was equally beneficial to the students in the audience because it gave them the opportunity to see some of the concepts they learn in class reflected in reality. She further gave them the opportunity to engage on how they see the profession of auditing, with someone like her who is already in industry.
Head of Department (HOD) of the DCA, Boitumelo Khuzwayo in her closing remarks hailed Ndlazulwana as one of the leaders in her field. She highlighted that following an engagement she had with the Audit 3 class, it was fitting that she delivers this public lecture.
Khuzwayo then reflected on the wide and debilitating reach of corruption: “Corruption affects all of us. The one thing that is important [in combating it] is that we need to be active citizens. Corruption stifles our growth as a society, and speaking out, even on the little things, adds up as a collective and over time,” she said.
Watch the full lecture here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-V6R_QfhFmg&t=411sx
