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)
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.
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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
programme governed by an organisational
records management policy.
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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)
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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
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What is an audit?
An audit in its simplest form is
determining whether there is evidence
for the information reported
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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 to findings (on compliance and/or predetermined
objectives) which will prevent the attainment of a clean audit
i.e. unqualified with no findings
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MFMA 14-15 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.
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Reflection
Records are corporate memory.
Everything else is anecdote.
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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.
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How to get in touch with the AGSA
www.agsa.co.za
Auditor-General of South Africa
Follow the AGSA on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuditorGen_SA
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Thank You
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