Second consecutive unqualified audit

Kouga Municipality has received an unqualified audit from the Office of the Auditor General for the second consecutive year.

The audit report for the 2014/2015 financial year -1 July 2014 to 30 June 2015 - was tabled at a special Council meeting on Friday, 29 January. It forms part of the draft Annual Report for the same year.

The public will now have the opportunity to peruse and comment on the report as part of the oversight process, driven by the Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC).

According to the website of the Office of the Auditor-General, an unqualified audit is the second-highest audit opinion that can be achieved and is one step away from a clean audit. It is awarded to institutions whose financial statements contain no material misstatements but where findings were raised on either reporting on predetermined objectives and/or non-compliance with legislation.

Kouga Municipal Manager Sidney Fadi said staff were thrilled with the audit outcome.

“We didn’t have a Chief Financial Officer for most of the year under review, as well as for the period when the audit was conducted. I think what made us succeed was teamwork and diligence from everyone. Officials, even junior ones, took ownership of the audit process,” he said.

He said areas that needed attention were performance management, leadership and compliance with legislation.

An action plan has been drawn up by the municipality’s management to address concerns raised in the audit report. The action plan has also been included in the draft Annual Report.