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This study explores the relationship between gender diversity in South African audit committees and financial reporting quality (FRQ) of non-financial companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange from 2020 to 2024. A quantitative approach was employed to investigate these relationships, utilising an ex post facto design to collect data from the Osiris database and integrated annual reports. Gender diversity within audit committees was assessed using several measures: dummy variables indicating whether an audit committee had one female director (ACFD1) or two or more female directors (ACFD2), as well as the proportion of females on the committee (ACGD) and its square (ACGD²). FRQ was assessed using earnings management (EM), evaluated through accrual earnings management (AEM) and real earnings management (REM). The study applied both linear and curvilinear models, using fixed-effects models and Two-Stage Least Squares to test the hypotheses. The regression results revealed that ACFD1 had an insignificant negative impact on AEM and an insignificant positive impact on REM. In contrast, ACFD2 showed a significant negative impact on both AEM and REM. Additionally, ACGD had a significant positive impact on AEM, while ACGD² exhibited a significant negative impact. For REM, ACGD also had a significant positive effect, whereas ACGD² demonstrated a significant negative impact. These results indicate that audit committee gender diversity has an inverted U-shaped effect on both AEM and REM. The study's inverted U-shaped results align with critical mass theory, which suggests that a balanced representation of female directors (between 40% and 60%) can reduce earnings manipulation and enhance FRQ. Furthermore, these results provide a strong business case for increasing female representation to critical-mass levels, thereby minimising EM. Theoretically, this research underscores the importance of critical mass and collective action when examining the economic benefits of gender diversity in audit committees. Regulators are encouraged to consider audit committee gender diversity beyond mere numbers.

The study investigates governance challenges in South Africa’s state-owned entities (SOEs) by assessing disclosures provided in SOEs’ annual reports and financial statements regarding fraud, unauthorised expenditure, irregular expenditure, and fruitless and wasteful expenditure between 2022 and 2024, in line with section 55 of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) No. 1 of 1999. Adopting an interpretivist research philosophy, the study utilizes qualitative methods through a content analysis of the annual reports and financial statements of the five sampled SOEs. The analysis revealed that, although the selected SOEs demonstrated partial compliance with Section 55 of the PFMA, significant governance and reporting shortcomings persist. While most SOEs maintained records and produced financial statements, none provided evidence of submitting these reports within the required timeframes, and one entity had not produced its 2024 reports by the cut-off date of 10 October 2025. The financial statements frequently lacked a fair and accurate reflection of each SOE’s financial position and performance. Disclosures related to financial misconduct were particularly weak and inconsistent, with irregular, fruitless, and wasteful expenditure reported more often than cases of fraud or unauthorised expenditure, which were largely omitted. These disclosure shortcomings suggest that compliance among SOEs remains superficial and procedural rather than substantive, undermining accountability, transparency and the overall integrity of financial reporting.

The Republic of South Africa (RSA) adopted the move to accrual-based accounting in 1999, and the implementation of GRAP standards by the Municipalities has been affected since 2006. The expected benefits were improving transparency, accountability, quality, and efficiency of municipal financial reporting. The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of GRAP standards on the quality of financial reporting in RSA municipalities during the period of Pre-GRAP (2005/06 to 2009/10) compared to Post-GRAP (2010/11 to 2015/16).   This study employed a quantitative approach wherein secondary data was sourced online from the National Treasury database. A panel dataset split into two subpanels (pre and post), drawn from a sample of 125 municipalities, was used to test the study’s hypothesis.  The data were winsorized to eliminate outliers, and a multicollinearity test was conducted to identify and eliminate variables that could have resulted in model misspecification. A Hausman Test was used to select the study’s regression model, which was estimated using the STATA 15 software. The residuals of the regression model were used as a measure of accrual quality and, hence, financial reporting quality. A larger standard deviation of residuals indicates poorer accruals quality and financial reporting quality. The findings indicated a standard deviation of 0.061 (pre-GRAP) and 0.084 (post-GRAP) for the adoption periods, which indicates higher financial reporting quality. These relatively unchanged standard deviation results suggest that GRAP did not significantly improve the quality of financial reporting by municipalities after its adoption.

This research investigates Computer-Assisted Audit Techniques (CAATTs) within the Internal Audit Unit at the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM). The study explores the extent to which CAATTs are utilized, the challenges faced in their implementation, and their impact on the efficiency and effectiveness of internal audits. Data was collected through a mixed-methods approach, including surveys and interviews with internal auditors. The findings reveal that while CAATTs, primarily TeamMate, are increasingly being used to automate audit processes, their adoption is hindered by limited access, insufficient training, and high costs. Despite these challenges, CAATTs have been shown to improve audit accuracy and efficiency, contributing to more timely and reliable audit outcomes. The study highlights the need for enhanced IT infrastructure, greater executive support, and comprehensive training to optimize the use of CAATTs. Based on these findings, the research provides several recommendations, including expanding the use of diverse CAATTs, investing in IT support, and fostering a culture of innovation to maximize the benefits of these technologies in internal auditing. This study contributes to the growing body of knowledge on CAATTs and offers practical insights for municipal internal audit units seeking to enhance their audit capabilities through technology.

Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) are essential to the South African economy.  The corporations Act of South Africa (71 of 2008) mandates that corporations adhere to either complete International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) or IFRS for Small and Medium-sized Entities (SMEs).  The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) established IFRS for SMEs in 2009 as an alternative framework for qualifying firms, providing an option in lieu of the comprehensive IFRS standards.  Notwithstanding its deployment, the impact of IFRS for SMEs on financial reporting quality (FRQ) in South Africa has not been extensively examined.  The research involved a sample of twenty accounting firms, with five businesses chosen from each municipality to manage Annual Financial Statements (AFS) for five SMEs each, culminating in a total of 100 SMEs.  Due to the absence of a universally accepted metric for evaluating FRQ, the study utilised three previously established measures together with an aggregate measure.  The research employed Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) Regression analysis to investigate trends in FRQ over two time periods: 2010-2014 and 2015-2019.  Findings demonstrate no substantial enhancement in FRQ among Vhembe SMEs over time.  Discretionary accruals exhibited stability, indicating consistent reporting quality.  The results underscore the significance of accrual accounting and standardised methodologies, enhancing the quality and dependability of financial data for stakeholders.  This research offers essential insights for accountants, business proprietors, investors, and regulatory entities, highlighting the beneficial effects of IFRS for SMEs on the quality of financial reporting among South African SMEs.

Despite anecdotal evidence indicating that a lack of management support towards internal audits (IAs) affects their efficacy, only a few studies have been conducted on the topic in a provincial government (PG) context. Besides, studies on the lack of management support towards IA efficacy lack theoretical grounding. This research aims to address this knowledge gap. The paper applied principal–agent theory to identify barriers to efficient management support towards the IA role within PGs, using the case of the Western Cape Government (WCG). Initially, questionnaires were sent to 260 WCG participants. The results revealed that management has a bad perception of IA as adding value to the organisation and does not take timely corrective actions based on audit findings and recommendations. The study adds to the limited knowledge about management and the IA relationship within PGs.

The study aimed to design the auditing framework for the audit of the chairperson’s statement. The chairperson’s statement is one of the most read narrative disclosure statements in the integrated report. Non-financial information has become twice as important as financial information yet, it is not required by the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS). The chairperson’s statement is not audited and this leads to the use of impression management tactics. This study answers the call from different scholars who have called upon the audit of the chairperson’s statement to curve the use of impression management tactics. The mixed method is used for data analysis. Perception of external auditors is sought through the Likert scale and interviews to ensure triangulation. Descriptive statistics, correlation, and thematic analysis are used to analyze the data. The study found that auditors are aware of the existing concern about the use of impression management in the chairperson’s statement. In this regard, an audit of the chairperson’s statement is deemed appropriate and long overdue. External auditors are the most suitable experts to audit the chairperson’s statement and issue reasonable assurance. Secondly, auditors believe that the reliability of the chairperson’s statement is crucial and to ensure credibility, the company must have strong internal control, and report accurate and complete information in the chairperson’s statement. The auditing framework is designed and shown through an integrative conceptual model. The results are consistent with previous studies that emphasise the need for the assurance of non-financial information in the integrated report. This study triggers debates amongst accounting firms, standard setters, and policymakers on the adoption of the auditing framework for the chairperson’s statement to give assurance to the users. The study contributes to the body of knowledge with an auditing framework to audit the chairperson’s statement, the first of its kind. Lastly, the study adds to the developing debate on the assurance of narrative disclosure parts of the integrated report.

This paper aims to evaluate the different financial reporting guidelines used by governing bodies in public schools across 9 provinces. Therefore, developing an integrated financial reporting framework to improve accountability by SGBs that can be used by public schools in South Africa. This situation motivates the researcher to explore the lack financial reporting by SGBs in section 21 schools. The study also aimed to make recommendations to all stakeholders on how integrated financial reporting can promote accountability and transparency. The target population consisted of 56 section 21 schools in KwaZulu Natal province. A mixed methods approach was employed, and a questionnaire was developed and sent to participants using monkey survey. In addition, principals were interviewed one on one online using Microsoft Teams. SPSS version 25 was used to analyse the data, generating table and bar graphs. The findings revealed that the department of basic education should formulate the audit committee to monitor and evaluate financial statements of section 21 schools. The independent auditors should report back to the department of basic education not to the SGB to promote transparency and accountability. The study recommends that the current financial reporting structure can be improve by adopting integrated financial reporting framework where all stakeholders are actively involved. The Auditor General should audit the independent audit that are auditing section 21 schools and give an annual report on their performance.

Stakeholders receive a comprehensive message that includes financial information, non-financial information, and a forecast for the future. Chairman’s disclosure is susceptible to manipulation by directors resulting to less transparency and thereby misleading the stakeholders. An evaluation of the chairman's messages in relation to financial performance is conducted in this study. The study examined the top 40 listed companies on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange for the year 2021, using the Gunning Fog Index as a measure of readability of the chairman's statement and Return on Equity (ROE) as a measure of financial performance. In order to determine the relationship between the chairman's statement readability and the company's financial performance, multiple linear regression was applied. This study found that as company performance increases, readability becomes more difficult. In contributing to existing literature, the study examines how the chairman's statement is correlated with financial performance from a South African viewpoint.

The aim of this study is to examine the effect of abnormal accruals on abnormal tone in the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) statements of South Africa’s (SA) top 40 Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) listed businesses in the 2021 financial year.  This study employs the quantile regression analysis and the generalised linear regression model.  For this evaluation, the Top 40 JSE-listed firms' integrated annual reports (IARs), which include the annual financial statements and CEO statements, were extracted from the companies' official web pages.  Findings revealed that abnormal accruals have a negative relationship with the abnormal tone used in the CEO statements of the top 40 JSE-listed companies. i.e., anomalous accruals and irregular tone move in different directions, as abnormal accruals increase, the abnormal tone in CEO statements decreases.  This suggests that abnormal accruals and abnormal tone do not co-occur and that companies with abnormal accruals do not conceal them using abnormal tone in their CEO statements.  We recommend that the amount of flexibility and judgment given to preparers of annual financial statements be reduced to lessen the use of earnings management practices.  The research adds to the sparse literature on tone management and earnings management in developing nations, particularly SA.

The IAF assists organizations in achieving accountability and integrity, enhancing the implementation of organizational programs, fostering public confidence, and mitigating the risk of mismanagement of public funds. Even though the significance of internal audit functions has been acknowledged and recognized in South Africa, the South African public sector is plagued by numerous issues resulting from the IAF's poor performance. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that influence the efficacy of the internal audit function (IAF) within the Department of Defense (DoD). The investigation employed a qualitative methodology. Twenty-five professionals were interviewed in-depth, and the data were subjected to thematic analysis. Five factors have been identified as affecting the performance of the IAF within the DoD: limited resources, outmoded data collection techniques, a lack of automated data analytics software, the inaccessibility of audit records, and a lack of support from senior management. This article suggests that upper management invests in hiring competent and qualified personnel to automate its data collection and in purchasing data analysis software such as iAuditor, SAP, and TeamMate. It is recommended that audit records be well managed and securely stored and that internal auditors have complete access to information for conducting audits in all DoD sectors. The budget of the IAF within the DoD must be increased.

Several business failures culminated in the necessity to improve overall risk management for different corporates. Educational organisations also began to realise the exigency for efficient risk management in the sector and embarked on tracking Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) related advances in the corporate world and seeking ways to apply these for higher education. This study sought to assess the involvement of internal auditors in ERM in Zimbabwean public universities. This study is quantitative and employed a survey to collect data from heads of internal audit sections in public universities. The main findings of the study indicated that 64.78 percent of the internal auditors were performing their core and permissible roles as promulgated by the Institute of Internal Audit in risk management while 35.22 percent were performing some prohibited roles. The study recommends engaging qualified internal auditors who are aware of their specific roles in risk management or providing some training for the officers in the internal audit sections. The study further recommends that these universities should institute risk management sections headed by qualified Chief Risk officers to complement internal auditors’ efforts and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of ERM in Zimbabwean public universities. Chief Risk officers should become champions of risk management in these institutions to avoid tempering the internal auditors’ objectivity.

In recent years, most South African (SA) municipalities still need to produce clean audits. In 2018 and 2019, most municipalities in SA needed better-quality financial statements and performance reports. Misrepresentation of financial statements in audit reports is linked to inadequate governance, misappropriation of public funds and poor public service delivery. It is upon this background that this study aimed to: (i) assess perceptions of municipality middle management employees on factors affecting auditing, (ii) evaluate the differences in perceptions among municipality middle management employees on factors affecting auditing, (iii) measure the effect of factors affecting auditing on overall clean audit and (iv) establish the effect of clean audit on service delivery at two municipalities in Mpumalanga province. Using a structured questionnaire, a quantitative descriptive approach methodology was employed to collect data from a minimum sample of 294 employees in the middle management category working within the accounting and finance department at two municipalities in Mpumalanga province, SA. SPSS v28 was used to conduct descriptive and multivariate analyses, including mean, analysis of variance (ANOVA), correlation, and regression analysis. Results indicated that employees from the clean audit municipality had positive perceptions of factors affecting clean audit, while employees from the municipality with an unclean audit had negative perceptions. It was also concluded that factors affecting auditing had a statistically significant positive effect on clean audits. The findings in this study led to significant implications for theory and practice.