The Chairperson of Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts said auditing firm KPMG must account to Parliament over its role in the investigation into the so-called SARS rogue unit.
The international firm dropped a bombshell on Friday when it announced that it had withdrawn its findings in its rogue unit report and the work it did for the controversial Gupta family.
Scopa chairperson, Themba Godi, said on Monday that “if KPMG is to continue doing business with government departments and state-owned-enterprises, it must provide clarity about various reports on its behaviour that have appeared in the media and which have led to a serious crisis of confidence in its credibility.”
“KPMG’s unexplained withdrawal of a South African Revenue Service report and its work in the integrated financial management system (IFMS) project, in which it was paid almost R5 million before delivering on the contract raise questions about its integrity,” Godi said.
He said Scopa intended to call KPMG to clarify its conduct and to justify why it should continue doing business with the state. “Scopa has always warned against the heavy reliance on consultants,” he said.
“Private audit firms must demonstrate that they have integrity and work in the public interest, beyond simply making a profit. Scopa will not hesitate to call on government not to use certain audit firms if they are found to be unethical,” Godi said.
