Overview  

SARS, CIPC, the Hawks, client's attorneys, and professional bodies are increasingly asking accountants and auditors for access to their working papers. What are your rights to refuse access and how do you protect against being sued by clients for giving access? How do you make sure the request is lawful, reasonable, procedurally fair?

Join this webinar as we empower you to protect your working papers from unwarranted access, and explain under what conditions you will have to give third parties access. 

The working papers are crucial to understanding the clients business model and contain sensitive information about the client and explains the motivations and reasons for entering into a transaction. Was it a business reason or was the aim to evade tax or mislead directors and lenders? 

Accountants, auditors and accounting officers should in light of this new focus on working papers understand their rights and obligations when it comes to proprietary working papers information . 

This webinar answers all these questions and presents more information contained in the SARS and IRBA Guides. 

Learning objectives 

By the end of the webinar the participant should have full knowledge on: 

• Ownership of working papers;
• Responsibility for granting access to working papers;
• Circumstances where access to working papers is required by law;
• Circumstances where access to working papers is in compliance reporting standards (ISA, ISRE, ISRS, and accounting officer);
• Circumstances where the practitioner is contractually bound to provide access to working papers; and
• Potential risks when granting access to working papers to third parties, including SARS, SAPS, CIPC, client's attorneys, professional bodies) 

Course content 

The following topics will be covered in detail during the event:

• Who owns your working papers?
• How to balance the clients right to confidentiality and request from third parties for access to working papers.
• When and how to deny access to your working papers. 
• Circumstances where access should be granted to third parties: 
  • Access required in terms of the Tax Administration Act, POPI, court proceedings, SAPS investigations, CIPC, foreign jurisdictions. 
  • Access required in compliance with International Standards and the Code of Professional Conduct for IRBA, SAICA, SAIPA, and SAIBA.
  • Access required by internal staff and successor practitioners.
  • Access requested in terms of a contractual agreement.
• Potential risks when granting access to working papers to third parties.
• Policies and procedures regarding access to working papers:
  • Engagement letters. 
  • Internal procedures to handle the request for access.
  • Client authorisation letters.
  • Third party acknowledgements ("Hold harmless letters")
• Extracts from sections 176, and 213 of the Companies Act, 2008.
• Extracts from section 46 and 241 of the Tax Administration Act, 2011. 

Obtaining your CPD certificate

Attendance of this 2-hour webinar will accrue 2 CPD hour for members of a relevant professional body such as ACCA, SAICA, AAT, SAIPA, SAIBA, IAC, CIS, ICBA, LSSA, FPI, and the IBA. The SAAA CPD policy is compliant with IFAC IES7 and is recognised by SAICA, AAT, SAIPA, SAIBA, IAC, CIS and others.

Who should attend

The following persons will benefit from attending this webinar:

• Registered auditors, RA(SA).
• Accountants in Practice: CA(SA), PA(SA), BAP(SA), ACCA, CIMA, IAC, AGA(SA), CIS, ICBA. 
• Tax practitioners
• Company secretaries; and 
• Accounting officers.
• Price:                    

Additional material 

BY attending this webinar you will be provided with:

• The IRBA guide for providing access to working papers.
• The SARS guide for providing access to working papers. 
• Summarised slide presentation, detailed course material and reference documents.  
• You can ask questions during the webinar via the online portal, and you will also have access to me the presenter via e-mail after the webinar.