As you may know already, an external financial audit is very much a public interest function. Audit therefore is a legal requirement for all publicly traded companies, banks, insurance providers, other public interest entities and also for non-exempt private or proprietary limited companies. However in your case it does not have to be like that. You may choose audit voluntarily. Either way, we make sure that we not only comply with quality requirements imposed by ethical, quality, engagement, and performance standards but also in the process focus on satisfying your expectations from audit, even beyond compliance.
Legal requirements
The Botswana Companies Act states that audit is compulsory for all businesses with a turnover of more than Pula 10 million or with total assets of over Pula 5 million in the previous financial year. The Botswana Accountancy Oversight Authority (BAOA) are custodians of Financial Reporting Act and owners of Financial Reporting Regulations. It oversees all public interest entities (PIEs) for observance of corporate governance practices, as well. In terms of Financial Reporting Act requirements, audit is compulsory for listed companies (listed on the Botswana Stock Exchange), Banks, those regulated by Non Bank Financial Regulatory Authority (NBFIRA) , and public interest entities defined to fulfil two of four thresholds namely - (1) turnover of P 200m; (2) assets of P 150m; (3) liabilities of P 50m; (4) 150 employees. These companies or institutions are required to file audited statements with the BAOA. In addition, they should also adhere to corporate governance standards specified in King 3 as a minimum.
How do our audit services work?
If you enlist the services of our professional auditing specialists, our partners will meet with your board or the governing body. The aim of this is to better understand your expectations. We will apply pre-engagement considerations and RSM International and local regulatory requiremets before we accept audit engagement. Senior audit specialists lead the engagement team, while monitoring the flow of information to/from you. As soon as the audit and assurance process is complete, we not only issue our audit report but also deliver a management letter that we expect you to find very beneficial in growing your company. We like celebrating exit meetings because there will be take aways for both of us. While our audit services are carried out in order to satisfy International Auditing Standards, national regulatory requirements and RSM network stipulations, we can also work towards fulfilling your expectations by increasing the scope or detail of the work.
Review engagement
Review engagements are not popular in Botswana. For certain public chrity trusts, the trust instruments provide for review engagement in the place of audit for cost reassons. Ou r international clients ask for review engagements to get an added level of assurance from unaudited financial statements.
Internal audit
Why do you recruit internal auditors if auditing is not your core function? By outsourcing auditing services to RSM Botswana, you reduce the cost and are free to focus on what you do best as a business. Internal audit increases your company's efficiency, effectiveness, risk management, governance practices, controls and even strategy management functions. As your internal auditors we will provide an annual plan and will submit the Audit Charter for your Board approval.
If you decided to have your own internal audit function, we are able to provide assurance on the effectivenss of your internal audit function, particularly when periodical external monitoring reviews are due. We will gladly build capacity to your internal auditing division.
To immensely benefit from professional auditing services from RSM, please contact us. Call us on +267 3912805 or email us.
- Download our printer-friendly audit and assurance brochure (.pdf)
