Auditor-General (AG) Tsakani Maluleke has called on auditors and accounting professionals to monitor public finance in order to ensure that wasteful expenditure that does not benefit the public is highlighted.

“I believe we ought to build that data and we need to start by restoring trust in our country. We, therefore, need to act in the public interest and we need not abandon our golden goal of living up to that noble aspiration. We need to live up to the expectation that society has on us,” Maluleke said on Monday.

Addressing auditors and accounting professionals at the Southern African Institute of Government Auditors (SAIGA) virtual conference, she said she strongly believes that the auditing and accounting professionals have to be key role players in ensuring the effective and efficient use of public funds.

“We need to be central to the journey of building the capability of the State and need to ensure that public institutions systematically build strong systems that consistently build their ability to deliver on their mandate,” Maluleke said.

She said the world is looking at the auditing and accounting professionals to improve accounting mechanisms in government.

“In fact, to better enable accountability, Auditor General South Africa (AGSA) was granted the highest powers through the amendment of the Public Audit Act in 2019. Many people expect this to translate into stronger accountability for transgressions and misuse of public funds, and I think this is a reasonable expectation,” Maluleke said.

SAIGA’s virtual conference, which is currently underway in Centurion, north of Johannesburg, is taking place under the theme, ‘Citizens Come First’. It will conclude on 17 November.

Source: South African Government News Agency