CIPRO and SAICA bury the hatchet

CIPRO and SAICA act in the interest of the customer

Pretoria, 3rd February 2011 - The Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office (CIPRO) and the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), agreed on a joint team to explore ways in which the two organisations can work together to enhance services to the business community in the country.

Following various media reports regarding the purported refusal of CIPRO to accept assistance from SAICA, the two organisations met on Wednesday 2^nd February 2011 to discuss the assistance refered to in the reports. Both organisations were led by their respective CEOs and accordingly agreed to the roles of their organisations in the economy of the country. As SAICA did not have a proposal at the time of the meeting, it was agreed that a team of four people from both organisations will explore the ways in which the two organisations can work together.

CIPRO Acting CEO, Mr Lungile Dukwana, highlighted the efforts that have been made since June 2010 in stabilising and improving CIPRO's systems and controls, reducing backlogs, and improving customer service.

"SAICA remains one of our key stakeholders in rendering our services and as such servicing the business community which is the back bone of our economy." said Dukwana.

Many SAICA members are customers of CIPRO and therefore can play a crucial role in the fight against fraud and corruption. SAICA confirmed their support in acting against any member who is not following its Code of Ethics and promoting values that are against the Code.

Mr Matsobane Matlwa, CEO of SAICA, explained: "We are in the process of making a special request to all our members to urge them to ensure they provide CIPRO with only correct data and follow established processes".

Both CEOs further agreed on the need to share information on any fraudulent activities that come to the attention of either organisation.

Joint statement issued on behalf of CIPRO and SAICA by Dr Elsabé Conradie, February 7 2011

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After offers from the accountants had been rebuffed for months, Saica senior executive Ewald Muller said for the first time in five years Saica had finally received a letter from Cipro saying that it needed to go through the Public Finance Management Act procedures of procurement. Saica had repeatedly offered to provide assistance free of charge to Cipro, which processes company registrations and changes of information. Muller said if there was a change of directorship, for instance, which could not be registered, it made it difficult to change signatories on bank accounts which had obvious ripple effects on a business."

Business Report, January 31 2011

 

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