Provincial Records management seminar : Status of records in Gauteng

Transcription

1 Provincial Records management seminar : Status of records in Gauteng Date: 2 June 2016 Venue: Emperors Palace Presented by: Dumisani Cebekhulu (Acting Business Executive: Gauteng Business Unit)

2 Reputation promise/mission The Auditor-General of South Africa has a constitutional mandate and, as the Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) of South Africa, exists to strengthen our country s democracy by enabling oversight, accountability and governance in the public sector through auditing, thereby building public confidence. 2

3 What is records management? Records management is a process of ensuring the proper creation, maintenance, use and disposal of records to achieve efficient, transparent and accountable governance. Sound records management implies that records are managed in terms of an organisational records management programmegoverned by an organisational records management policy. 3

4 Of all our national assets, Archives are the most precious; they are the gift of one generation to another and the extent of our care of them marks the extent of our civilization. (Arthur G. Doughty, Canadian Archivist) 4

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6 Advantages of effective records management A well-organised file plan enables an organisation to find information easily. Records that are correctly filed and stored are easily accessible, and this facilitates transparency, accountability and democracy The orderly and efficient flow of information enables the organisation to perform its functions successfully and efficiently Authoritative and reliable records are created and maintained in an accessible, intelligent and usable manner to support the business and accountability requirements of the organisation A retention and disposal programme ensures that the organisation maintains only those records it really needs for functional purposes Controls are exercised to ensure that only authorised persons have access to the information, thus preventing information and/or the records themselves from being stolen or damaged. This ensures the protection of privacy and confidentiality, and prevents the inappropriate disclosure of information that could harm the organisation 6

7 What is an audit? An audit in its simplest form is determining whether there is evidence for the information reported 7

8 Audit Impact of poor record keeping Delays and corrections equal additional work and time Poor record keeping result in delays or non-submission of information for audit purposes Misstatements (Errors) identified due to poor record keeping result in additional time spent by auditee to correct entire population Increased Audit Costs Errors identified require further audit work to be performed to validate accuracy of corrected population Additional time spent result in increased audit fees Negative Audit outcomes Where evidence is not provided or errors not corrected this can lead to Qualified, Disclaimer or Adverse opinions on the financials In addition to the above financial opinions, poor record keeping may lead tofindings (on compliance and/or predetermined objectives) which will prevent the attainment of a clean audit i.e. unqualified with no findings 8

9 MFMA Status of internal controls - Proper record keeping Fifteen auditees (45%) also required material corrections to their financial statements in some cases as a result of inadequate record management processes which resulted in transactions not been included in the financial records submitted for audit. Similar 20 (61%) auditees required material adjustments to their annual performance reports, in part due to poor record management of performance information In certain instances, management of source documentation was inefficient as evidenced by the length of time taken to respond to requests for information, as well as audit issues raised. Auditees who are struggling in the field of record managements are encouraged to embrace and replicate the best practices of those auditees who have attained clean audits by institutionalising basic disciplines of internal control relating to record keeping. 9

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11 Reflection Records are corporate memory. Everything else is anecdote. 11

12 On a lighter note TILLIS' ORGANIZATIONAL PRINCIPLE: If you file it, you'll know where it is but never need it. If you don't file it, you'll need it but never know where it is. Moving piles of paper keeps you in shape. MURPHY'S UNAVOIDABLE LAW OF THE OFFICE: Copy machines mangle only important documents. COROLLARY: If a machine goes wild and runs off 180 copies, it will do so when you are copying a personal letter. 12

13 How to get in touch with the AGSA Auditor-General of South Africa Follow the AGSA on Twitter: 13

14 Thank You 14