Report of the auditor-general to Parliament on the South African Local Government Association
Annexure – Auditor-general’s responsibility
for the audit
1. As part of an audit in accordance with the
ISAs, I exercise professional judgement and
maintain professional scepticism throughout
my audit of the financial statements, and
the procedures performed on reported
performance information for selected
objectives and on the entity’s compliance
with respect to the selected subject matters.
Financial statements
2. In addition to my responsibility for the audit
of the financial statements as described in
the auditor’s report, I also:
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identify and assess the risks of material
misstatement of the financial statements
whether due to fraud or error, design and
perform audit procedures responsive to
those risks, and obtain audit evidence
that is sufficient and appropriate to
provide a basis for my opinion. The risk
of not detecting a material misstatement
resulting from fraud is higher than for
one resulting from error, as fraud may
involve collusion, forgery, intentional
omissions, misrepresentations, or the
override of internal control.
obtain an understanding of internal
control relevant to the audit in order
to design audit procedures that are
appropriate in the circumstances, but not
for the purpose of expressing an opinion
on the effectiveness of the entity’s internal
control.
evaluate
the
appropriateness
of
accounting policies used and the
reasonableness of accounting estimates
and related disclosures made by the
accounting authority.
conclude on the appropriateness of the
accounting authority’s use of the going
concern basis of accounting in the
preparation of the financial statements. I
also conclude, based on the audit evidence
obtained, whether a material uncertainty
exists related to events or conditions that
may cast significant doubt on the South
African Local Government Association’s
ability to continue as a going concern.
If I conclude that a material uncertainty
exists, I am required to draw attention
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in my auditor’s report to the related
disclosures in the financial statements
about the material uncertainty or, if such
disclosures are inadequate, to modify the
opinion on the financial statements. My
conclusions are based on the information
available to me at the date of the auditor’s
report. However, future events or
conditions may cause an entity to cease
to continue as a going concern.
evaluate
the
overall
presentation,
structure and content of the financial
statements, including the disclosures,
and whether the financial statements
represent the underlying transactions
and events in a manner that achieves fair
presentation.
Communication with those charged with
governance
3. I communicate with the accounting authority
regarding, among other matters, the planned
scope and timing of the audit and significant
audit findings, including any significant
deficiencies in internal control that I identify
during my audit.
4. I also confirm to the accounting authority
that I have complied with relevant ethical
requirements regarding independence, and
communicate all relationships and other
matters that may reasonably be thought to
have a bearing on my independence and
here applicable, related safeguards.