Background 1
There is a sanctimonious attitude in the auditor profession, generally. It is well earned, and indeed, advertised by SAICA:
- Years of study.
- Stringent examination.
- Long hours of apprenticeship.
- Big pay cheques – commensurate with experience, dark suits, green pens, and the ever-present gravitas.
- Non-auditor CA(SA)s take up the lion’s share of CEO positions in JSE listed companies.
They are apparently beyond reproach.
The trust placed in the auditing profession is borne of its rise to excellence, welded to its strict code of conduct, compliance with regulations, and sheer earning power.
By way of illustration on this “earning power” subject; please remember KPMG was paid R23M to “cut” from Tom Moyane’s list of requirements in his brief to the auditor:
- the required findings, and
- the names of who’s careers to destroy,
- which facts to create, and
- what recommendations to publish…
…and paste those emissions as their own.
(Tom Moyane was also the guy who signed the release from prison of Shabir Shaik, on medical parole, shortly before his unconsummated death).
Background 2
The KVI approach to business valuations and evaluations (and due diligence studies) is based on a potentially exhausting series of probing questionnaires which are scored on
- Sliding scales
- Nine box grids
- Yes / no binaries
- Weighted averages
- Vector resultants
- Answer clouds and
- Common sense
The outcome is a series of scores which identify the effect of exposure to inherent business risks, balanced against mitigation by imperatives, and the importance of each indicator in
- The market
- The industry
- The geolocation and
- Any particular point in time.
Background 3
With the “new” Companies Act being enacted in line with the requirements of similar legislation of our trading partners, and international norms, South African companies are increasingly able to compare themselves in performance and value to their international counterparts.
South Africa has a range of reporting requirements, dependent on public interest scores (PIS), Memorandums of incorporation (MOI), and industries and stakeholder requirements.
- There are various PIS levels.
- The MOI of the company may require it to be audited.
- Some industries insist on audits for their members – the estate agents and lawyers, for instance.
- Investors and lenders may require an audit as part of their covenants.
Background 4
In the sale of a business I brokered about 15 years ago, the target had been well audited, and the buyer was well versed in audit requirements. As part of the negotiation, the new owner asked the auditors to remain on, post deal. The buyer’s thinking, he explained to me, was that the continuity of audit practice gave him comfort in the veracity of the accounts used as a basis for valuation.
In that deal, the purchaser was happy to pay full value and even higher. He knew that the auditor was on the line.
Summary, so far
- Auditors are held in high regard. They are trusted.
- Each business has its own DNA, expressed through a variety of key valuation indicators (KVIs).
- Auditors, although trusted to give veracity to the numbers, are not always required.
- Where auditors have their round bits on the line, the numbers can be relied on, as a basis for value.
This rather long post serves as background for the developing requirements in business valuation standards. We have always looked at the requirements of various compliances. The adherence to those requirements as a single KVI among many, determines the nature of the valuation method, its multipliers, discounts, and sums.
In the days leading up to the sudden resignations of the leaders at KPMG in South Africa, I was quizzed on the valuation of a business for which I had led a valuation a few months back. The base figures were audited by KPMG. This was the problem. The valuation technique was not being called into question; but rather, the auditors report. “Do you have any idea of what is coming here?” said my critic. I did not.
I do now.
KPMG has taken a small slice of your pension away from you
Which brings me to KPMG and the value of your business
The cynic might suggest that by subjecting his business to an audit, the business owner is purchasing value. By subjecting his company to an audit, conducted by a premier league auditor is no cheap affair, but it does give gravitas to the financial statements and lightens the due diligence expectation in a sale. At an honest level, this is indeed so; the company pays to demonstrate its integrity. But we have to expect that at that honesty level, integrity is also present.
In the cold light of the dawn following the KPMG-SARS cut and thrust paste revelation, there may be several dusty mirrors wedged in the fat, smoky invoice.
{Ed- how the heck does one itemise an invoice over four pages, to the cent in each item, and come to EXACTLY R30,000,000-00? And then you have the friends at SARS to ensure that this amount spent on a family member’s wedding, is written off as a business expense!}
Since the first exposure of KPMG’s nefarious dealings with SARS, I have had two separate and independent parties question the validity of our valuations – not for reason of our methods, which are well regarded, but because the underlying financial information was green penned by KPMG.
Imagine THAT happening before Zuma came to power. Oh, wait… there was Arthur Anderson. Remember them? The consulting and audit firm collapsed worldwide. The local chapter was bought by… ah yes… KPMG. I really should spend some time penning my views on the merging of cultures in mergers, acquisitions and disposals.
Where once subjecting financial reporting to the rigours of an audit gained KVI points, well, for the time being, that is going to be diluted by the criminal actions of KPMG.
#TheMostRobustAuditRegimeInTheWorld – South Africa
It gets more complex
Zuma, the man who would be king, and president of the country for the time being, having admitted via his legal counsel that he has been stringing us all along for fools, for almost a decade, now wants to make representations to Shaun the shawned wether, as to why he should not be tried for corruption.
We can all be quite sure that the veracity of the corruption report used in Shaik’s trial will on the agenda. That report was authored by … KPMG.
Any more of the current nonsense and South Africa will be downgraded further. And that WILL destroy further value in your business, regardless of who the auditor is.