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23 November 2015

The Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB) internally reviewed the MyEAAB Auditors Portal (the Portal) as part of its efforts to enhance efficiency and effectiveness. In addition, EAAB also sent out evaluation forms in July 2015 to auditors who used the Portal during the 2015 audit cycle.

EAAB is pleased to communicate the following enhancements to the Portal arising from both the internal review and the valuable inputs received from auditors of estate agents.

Enhancements to the MyEAAB Auditors Portal

The following enhancements became effective on 4 November 2015:

  1. Auditors of estate agents who were registered on the Portal before 4 November 2015 will be requested to update the information of the individual designated registered auditor when they log-in again on the Portal. This information of the individual auditor will be validated against the register of auditors maintained by the Independent Regulatory Board of Auditors (IRBA) before the update of information can be successful.
  1. The landing page of the Portal has been revamped and auditors of estate agents are now able to specifically access information, including answers to frequently asked questions, that is of relevance to audits of estate agents and use of the Portal. New information of relevance to auditors will be added to this Portal as and when it is available.
  1. Auditors of estate agents can now open, save and print the submitted audit report of their estate agency by using the “View Audit Report Summary” functionality.
  1. Auditors of estate agents can now select the appropriate status of the trust accounts linked to the estate agent and add new trust accounts that were audited but are not linked to the estate agent.
  1. The confirmation of successful submission at the end of the submission process, as well as the email confirmation sent to the auditor and the principal(s) of the estate agency firm, has been enhanced to indicate the name of the estate agency, the financial year, the name of the auditor and the date and time of submission.

Verification of submitted audit reports

The most important enhancement to the Portal that directly affects principals of estate agency firms is the automated generation of the Preliminary Verification of Audit Report Letter emailed to the principal(s) of the estate agency firm in real time after online submission of audit report.

The following non-compliance issues which can be raised by the auditor during the online submission of an audit report will automatically result in additional information being requested from the principal(s) through a Preliminary Verification of Audit Report Letter that will be sent at the same time that the email confirmation of submission is sent out:

  1. Contraventions of section 32(1), 32(2) and 32(3) of the Estate Agency Affairs Act;
  1. Qualified, adverse or disclaimer of opinion;
  1. Incorrect Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) registration number;
  1. Contravention of section 28 of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act;
  1. Interest on trust funds not agreeing to accounting records; and
  1. Trust bank accounts closed, not audited or opened during the financial year.

The Preliminary Verification of Audit Report Letter is self-explanatory and estate agencies are requested to submit the documents requested in the letter to the email indicated in the received letter.

The Preliminary Verification of Audit Report Letter is sent out even if the audit report was submitted within the prescribed period of four months after the estate agent’s financial year end.

The Preliminary Verification of Audit Report Letter is separate from the section 27 process and if audited financial statements are requested, this is not for purposes of late submissions or levying penalty. This is part of the verification of the audit report. By requesting audited financial statements or additional information, the estate agent is not accused of being non-compliant or of being disqualified or of having submitted the audit report late.

Conclusion

EAAB would like to thank the auditors of estate agencies for the valuable input received on the Portal. EAAB would also like to thank the estate agents for embracing the Portal and complying with the pronouncement of 1 March 2015 on the online submission of audit reports.

AUDIT COMPLIANCE DEPARTMENT ESTATE AGENCY AFFAIRS BOARD Email: audit@eaab.org.za Telephone: 087 285 3222

 

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