Parliament hears warning against rising audit fees impacting local service delivery

THE Accountant General has raised alarms over the increasing audit fees imposed on government entities and municipalities by the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA).

- BANELE GININDZA

During discussions before Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on the Auditor-General (PCOAG) on Friday, Accountant General Shabeer Khan revealed a staggering 13% increase for the upcoming 2024/2025 financial year, alongside a 7.2% rise observed in the current year.

This escalation in costs raises serious concerns about its implications on critical service delivery across municipalities, particularly for smaller entities grappling with their constrained budgets.

Khan articulated his frustrations over the AGSA's apparent disregard for mandatory consultations with government and parliamentary bodies regarding these audit fees.

"Between 2023/2024 there has been an increase of around 13% and then between 2024/25 and the current financial year, there has been a 7.2% increase," Khan said.

"These increases in the AGSA revenue budget, these need to be recovered from the auditees. This is higher than the growth in the departmental budgets and obviously national, provincial and municipal budgets need to be constrained as they struggle to manage costs.”