IRBA Newsletter Issue 49

EDUCATION & TRANSFORMATION

The transformation of the RA profession is also a key institutional responsibility of the IRBA.

A CONTEXTUAL OVERVIEWOF THE DEPARTMENT’S RESPONSIBILITIES Introduction The reputation, relevance and value of the auditingprofessiondepend on the ability of its members to continually meet the expectations of stakeholders and provide a service that is appropriate to the needs of the South African economy within the global context. The IRBA, therefore, has a duty to ensure that all registered auditors (RAs): o Have the necessary professional competence on entering the auditing profession to serve the public interest and the needs of the economy; and To this end, the Auditing Profession Act No. 26 of 2005 prescribes specific functions for the IRBA with regard to the education, training and professional development of RAs. These functions comprise: o Requirements relating to the accreditation of professional bodies, including the recognition of educational qualifications or programmes and the prescription of training requirements; o Further develop and maintain their professional competence after registration.

To fulfill these functions, the Act prescribes the establishment of an education, training and professional development committee, and delegates powers and duties with regard to the education, training and professional development of RAs to this committee. The mandate and work of EDCOM and its sub-committees are detailed below. The Education and Transformation Department’s (ET) work streams are aligned to the education functions set out in the Act, and they entail, among others: o Developing and maintaining the Competency Framework required for RAs; o Developing and maintaining the Accreditation Model for professional bodies to be accredited with the IRBA;

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Accrediting and monitoring professional accounting organisations/professional bodies; Developing and administering the Audit Development Programme (ADP); Developing and maintaining the requirements for RAs in relation to Continuing Professional Development (CPD), and monitoring a sample of RAs against these requirements; and Facilitating the transformation of the auditing profession.

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The prescription of requirements relating to the nature and extent of continued education, training and professional development; and The prescription of competency requirements.

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Figure 1: EDCOM and its sub-committees.

Education, Training and Professional Development Committee (EDCOM) About the committee EDCOM was established in terms of Section 20 of the Act. The committee currently has eight members, with representation from both large and small audit firms, academia, commerce as well as the accredited professional body, the South African Institute of

Chartered Accountants (SAICA).

The committee’s responsibilities, which are delegated to it by the IRBA Board, include formulating and recommending to the Board: o Minimum requirements for the accreditation of professional bodies, including relevant educational qualifications or programmes and professional development programmes;

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