Audit and assurance is a legal requirement for all publicly traded companies, banks, insurance providers, and other public interest entities. The reason? To root out all questionable financial reporting practices that can weaken the national economy and break investor confidence. And this is where RSM's robust audit and assurance services can truly benefit your business.
As a public interest function, there's a legal – and general – expectation that business leaders will take responsibility for the financial auditing of their companies. But this doesn't mean it is something you need to do yourself. You can depend on our dedicated audit specialists to offer tried and tested auditing solutions that work for you – no matter the nature of your business.
The legal need for auditing services
The Botswana Companies Act states that audit is compulsory for all businesses with a turnover of more than P 10 million. The same applies where total assets are P 5 million for the previous fiscal year. This threshold seems to be low. Even so, we believe there are still many companies above these thresholds who are not meeting this legal requirement.
As the Companies and Intellectual Property Authority (CIPA) currently doesn't seem to enforce this, many small businesses don't look at audit as a value-adding function. For companies that do, however, our professional audit and assurance services are designed to provide everything you need and expect. Not only can it help with compliance, but it can also show opportunities.
Who can benefit from our professional auditing services?
The Botswana Accountancy Oversight Authority (BAOA) has ownership of financial reporting as part of the Financial Reporting Act and Regulations. It oversees all public interest entities (PIEs).
For companies listed on the Botswana Stock Exchange, two of four thresholds will already apply. These are turnover of P 200m; assets of P 150m; liabilities of P 50m; and/or 200 employees. It also means they are required to file audited statements with the BAOA. In addition, they should also adhere to King 3 or King 4 Corporate Governance code.
One other function of the BAOA is to award practising certificates and conduct quality assurance reviews on PIE auditors. There are currently 10 organisations in Botswana that can supply audit and assurance services to PIEs – and RSM is proud to be one of them.
How do our audit services work?
If you enlist the services of our professional auditing specialists, our partners will meet with the board or the governing body. The aim of this is to better understand your expectations. We also look to apply pre-engagement considerations before the audit is accepted.
Once this happens, the assignment is a senior audit specialist will lead the engagement team – monitoring the flow of information to/from you. As soon as the audit and assurance process is complete, we celebrate exit meetings by delivering our management letter. In this, we show a financially healthier organisation – with a focus on improving weak financial controls.
While our audit services are carried out in order to satisfy International Auditing Standards, we can also work towards your own objectives. We gladly increase the scope or detail of the work.
Review engagement
Review engagements are not popular in Botswana. But our international clients ask for review engagements to get that provide protection 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. In addition, you can help to enhance your organisation because we're able to look at risk management functions too.
Of course, it can be good to have your own internal audit function – especially for volume and cost reasons. Yet, we can still provide assurance services if your internal audit team is serving your purpose. We can work with your team to complement them – or even upskill them.
Learn more about our corporate auditing services
If you respect the function of audit and could 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)
