HOW WE CREATE VALUE

Disciplinary matters 2023

One of the primary objectives outlined in the SAICA constitution is to uphold the highest standards of ethics and competence among the Institute, its members, associates, and prospective members. This includes safeguarding the integrity of respective designations and training contracts and actively promoting the profession’s reputation.

The SAICA Disciplinary Code and disciplinary processes are methods used by the organisation to achieve this objective. The Disciplinary Code was amended in 2023 to include streamlined processes for certain types of non-compliance cases (complaints for late submissions of declarations of tax practitioner members and for general CPD non-compliance up to 1 March 2023).

Between 2015 and 2019, a significant backlog of disciplinary issues arose when nearly 3,000 members registered as tax practitioners failed to respond to requests for information needed by SAICA to report to SARS. These delays triggered disciplinary processes in 2020, raising concerns among members. To address this backlog and improve efficiency, the Board appointed an ad hoc committee in 2022 to review the disciplinary process. Following consultations with members, the Board approved a new procedure in March 2023 to expedite these cases. This streamlined process is currently being followed by the Legal department.

SAICA investigates all complaints of punishable conduct without fear or favour. Upon obtaining sufficient evidence, SAICA puts the complaint to the respondent and ultimately enrols the complaint before one of the independent committees, appointed by the Board for adjudication, namely the Professional Conduct Committee and the Disciplinary Committee.

Further information on the SAICA complaints procedure and Disciplinary Code are available on the SAICA website.

REPORT ON CASE MANAGEMENT

NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS RECEIVED

Disciplinary summary 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
Number of cases reported# 715 666 1 000 476 247 248 229 507
Cases referred to IRBA* 2 1 24 38 34 35 42 24
Cases finalised** 190 218 281 143 184 128 235 162
- Through the Professional Conduct Committee (PCC) 184 207 279 137 173 119 229 142
- Through the Disciplinary Committee (DC) 1 2 2 6 11 9 6 20
Breakdown of total cases reported 715 666 1000 476 247 248 229 507
Cases against members and associates (AGAs) 560 569 883 414 171 190 177 136
Cases against trainee accountants 143 83 67 41 39 15 38 38
Cases against non-members*** 12 14 50 21 19 43 14 3
APC matters**** - - - - - - 2 330
  • #Does not include first offence tax practitioner / CPD non-compliance cases referred by Member Compliance to Discipline Unit to issue a notice of reprimands.
  • *Where complaints are audit-related, complaints against members who are registered auditors are referred to the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors for investigation.
  • **Cases may also be closed outside of committees where complainants fail to provide complaint affidavits and/or sufficient information for SAICA to pursue an investigation. In 2023, there were five such cases.
  • ***Complaints are lodged against persons who are found not to be members/associates of SAICA (12 such cases in 2023). Of the complaints lodged in 2023, eight cases constituted ‘holding out’ matters where SAICA investigates possible contraventions of the Chartered Accountants (Private) Designation Act 67 of 1993.
  • ****Going forward, any APC-related cases will be reported within the cases against trainee accountants.

The 560 cases lodged against SAICA members/associates are broken down into −

  • 103 general cases
  • 14 non-audit-related complaints referred to the IRBA but involving individuals who hold/held concurrent memberships with SAICA and the IRBA
  • 2 complaints which were audit-related and which SAICA referred to the IRBA for investigation due to the members holding concurrent registration with the IRBA, and
  • 415 minor cases for non-compliance with SAICA requirements for tax practitioners and for CPD. SAICA has employed additional fixed-term staff to assist in finalising the large number of minor non-compliance cases

In 2023, the Discipline Unit finalised 190 cases through the PCC, the DC and internally, where applicable.

PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT COMMITTEE (PCC) MEETINGS IN 2023

Drop us a Message