Companies Amendment Regulations 2023: promulgated and effective from 24 May 2023
31 May 2023
Accounting
South African Accounting Academy
The amendments to the Companies Act are in relation to beneficial ownership and gives the CIPC a mandate to request companies to file and update Beneficial Ownership information, as and when applicable.
This led to the issuing of Guidance Note 2 of 2023 on Beneficial Ownership filing requirements.
Relevance to Auditors, Independent Reviewers & Accountants:
The Companies Act and Companies Amendment Regulations is yet another piece of legislation that your clients must comply with, and which you must assess compliance with. If they don’t comply with the relevant laws and regulations, you have certain reporting obligations in terms of NOCLAR (NOn-Compliance with Laws And Regulations) – this could include reporting to management, qualifying your audit opinion, reporting a Reportable Irregularity, etc.
As an auditor and independent reviewer, you need to be aware of legislative changes like the Companies Amendment Regulations 2023.
As an auditor, independent reviewer and accountant, you also need to monitor your client’s compliance with the Companies Act and all relevant notices/enforcements/practice notes/customer letters issued by CIPC as the regulator.
Where you perform these compliance tasks on behalf of your client, you need to ensure that you comply with all relevant notices/enforcements/practice notes/customer letters issued by CIPC as the regulator – especially with regards to additional information that you may need to collect from your clients, e.g. mandate letters.
Your clients will also have to comply with the resultant General Laws (Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Terrorism Financing) Amendment Act regarding anti-money laundering measures to be taken.
As an auditor, independent reviewer and accountant you need to consider the impact of the Companies Act Regulations on your service offerings, as well as on your client’s beneficial ownership filing obligations.
Relevance to Your clients:
An entity (company or close corporation) has a duty to comply with the Companies Act, and all relevant notices/enforcements/practice notes/customer letters issued by CIPC as the regulator.
Your clients will also have to comply with the resultant General Laws (Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Terrorism Financing) Amendment Act regarding anti-money laundering measures to be taken – and more specifically, the Beneficial Ownership filing requirements.
Your clients should to be aware of legislative changes like the Companies Amendment Regulations 2023.
To stay current with all the latest changes and updates subscribe to our Monthly Compliance and Legislative Update series for R 250.00 per month. This gives you access to a monthly 2-hour webinar and monthly newsletter: https://accountingacademy.co.za/profession/monthly-legislation-update
Get all your CPD online. SA Accounting Academy (SAAA) offers Subscription Plans, Live Webinars, Webinars On-Demand, Access to Experts, Courses, Articles and more: https://cpd.accountingacademy.co.za.
The SA Accounting Academy (SAAA) Technical Resource Centre is constantly updated by our team of experts to help you stay compliant and informed.
The Technical Resource Centre service is free for all SAAA Designation CPD subscriber members to use.