KPMG’S OVER E400 000 TO AUDIT SWACAA

MBABANE – KPMG stands to enter into a contract valued at over E400 000 for the provision of audit services to SWACAA.

Results published by the Swaziland Public Procurement Regulatory Agency (SPPRA) which were issued by the Swaziland Civil Aviation Authority (SWACAA) reflect that the leading audit firm scored 83.7 per cent during evaluation to emerge as the best evaluated tenderer. This led to the subsequent publication of the intention to award a contract which was issued by SWACAA in line with the Public Procurement Act of 2011.

The company outsmarted PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and Kobla Quashie & Associates who both surpassed the 60 per cent mark during evaluation exercise. KPMG, whose proposed contract price was placed at exactly E427 000, was closely followed by PwC who amassed 74.43 per cent points during tender evaluation. Meanwhile, Kobla Quashie and Associates scored 60.43 per cent.
It was reported that Ndallahwa & Company and Joseph Botti & Associates were disqualified for reasons that were not stated in the public domain. It should be mentioned that there is no mandatory audit firm rotation (MFR) in Eswatini.
Mandatory audit firm rotation requires companies to rotate audit firms periodically.

Swaziland Institute of Accountants Executive Director Barnabas Mhlongo explained that other jurisdictions do have MFR requirements such as the European Union (EU).
He mentioned that Independent Regulatory Board of Auditors, (IRBA) in South Africa had also announced a timetable for new MAF rotation requirements. MFR will come into effect in South Africa in 2023.
“In Eswatini, audit committees are allowed to exercise their own judgment,” Mhlongo clarified.

Mhlongo explained that in terms of section 232 (1) of the Companies Act, “Every company shall at the annual general meeting appoint an auditor to hold office from the conclusion of that meeting, until the conclusion of the next annual general meeting.”
The SIA director said there’s no law relating to mandatory partner rotation.

He said the Independent Ethics Standards Board for Accountants Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (“IESBA Code”) which binds members of SIA, in section 290, deals with the familiarity threat that may arise through using the same senior personnel on an assurance engagement over an extended period of time and the safeguards that can be put into place to address such threats (such safeguards usually include rotating the senior personnel on the audit or requiring an engagement quality control review).

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