SAICA Media Release on the Audit and Review of Legal Practitioners’ Business Accounts
On 14 March 2024, the Gauteng Division of the High Court handed down an order in a matter between the Law Society of South Africa (LSSA) and the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC). The matter related to the audits and independent reviews of law firms as envisaged in the Companies Act. The court order came to SAICA’s attention on various public platforms, and SAICA was not a party to the court action.
SAICA approached the CIPC, LSSA, the Independent Board for Auditors (IRBA), and the Legal Practitioners and Accountants Committee (LPAC) to seek clarity on the implications of the court order, on behalf of its members, with no results as yet.
The effect of this order is that the business accounts of personal liability law firms are exempt from being audited or independently reviewed.
The CIPC have indicated that they intend to appeal the decision, which would in the interim suspend the operation of the order.
More information is available on the SAICA website: