SOUTH AFRICA'S ACCOUNTABILITY ECOSYSTEM IS EFFICIENT

Kgomotso Sethusha Auditing SA Editor-in-Chief

As he notches a year in office, South Africa’s Accountant-General

Shabeer Khan can reflect on his tenure with a deep sense of satisfaction.

It was in mid-2022 that cabinet approved the appointment of Khan to take charge of head the Office of the Accountant-General (OAG), a division within the National Treasury that derives its mandate from the republic’s constitution.

Khan was to fill one of the two vacant but crucial positions at Treasury, beginning his tenure eight months later, as government sought to turn the tide against graft in the delivery of public service by strengthening key institutions.

Since then, Khan has not looked back. Instead, he has taken the initiative to lead and provide strategic direction to a group of competent practitioners, supporting the responsible use of public resources, forming partnership with stakeholders as well as advocate for good public financial management.

“It has been about a whirlwind year in which there has been a lot to learn and contribute,” says Khan.

“We have made significant strides in advancing the work done in the planned legislative reforms, reignited significant relationships that will help us do our job as well as started the process of positioning the Office of the Accountant General (OAG) as the first point of call when it comes to public finance management.

“We are a long way from achieving our goals, but we are well on our way, and I believe we will achieve what we have set out to achieve.”

It is quite a considerable task for Khan, who is charged with the responsibility to facilitate accountability and governance by promoting transparent economic, efficient and effective management in respect of revenue, expenditure, assets and liabilities in the South African public sector.

Even though Khan defied the widely held assumption that public service doesn’t typically attract chartered accountants, he did so consciously and deliberately to better his country.

The National Treasury has suffered a brain drain over the last decade, the political upheavals accounting for the exodus of skilled and experienced public service officials who left government for the private sector.

Khan explains: “The perception seems to be, that working for government can be a risky career choice but honestly, it provides an opportunity where you can enhance your skills. In fact, when I joined the Department of Trade and Industry and Competition (DTIC), I was the only chartered accountant in the whole department. I am pleased to say that more and more chartered accountants are in fact, now looking at the public sector.

“Working for government a conscious decision for me” - Shabeer Khan - Accountant General

“I am a public servant at heart, and over and above that I am an accountant. Given the trajectory that my career had taken, it was almost logical that I would end up at National Treasury or in a position in government.

“For me, the role of the accountantgeneral provided me with the opportunity to make a difference, to bring my experience to bear and to especially as a former practitioner, to influence the policy side, to simplify accounting and reporting as well as learn new lessons.”

Experience remains key

But Khan could draw on his experience in the public sector, having served as the CFO of the DTIC where he successfully managed a R10 billion budget in the execution of the department’s strategic mandate, achieved the first ever clean audit in 2015 and subsequent clean audits, provided leadership to the finance team and created a strategic risk management and compliance function.

“My background and experience gained from my various positions at the AGSA stood me in good stead in my role as the CFO,” says the 2015 CFO of the Year Awardwinner.

“If anything, I had the benefit of knowing the other side of the accountability ecosystem. I had been involved in many audits as a trainee and later as a senior in the auditing profession and I had an idea of what to expect.

“Achieving a clean audit outcome is always a culmination of various processes, contributions from many people as well as collaborations with various role players. Obviously, as the CFO I was responsible for coordinating and guiding the team. In addition, I had to maintain strict controls and ensure that all role players comply with the policies and procedures, as well as prescripts.”

He is surrounded a similarly competent team at the OAG, a sizable staff that handles a range of legal and technical tasks to guarantee adherence to the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) and Public Finance Management Act (PFMA).

Key to this is the Financial Management Capability Maturity Model (FMCMM), is a diagnostic tool that the OAG uses to measure the financial performance of departments, state owned entities and municipalities. These assessments are aimed at determining the capabilities with these organisations in PFM ‘so as to correctly prescribe the necessary interventions by the OAG as well as other interested parties’.

“The OAG generally has a good complement of practitioners that have a lot of experience in working in the public sector. One of the advantages we have is to be able to grow our own timber and in promoting people to higher positions within the OAG,” Khan shares.

“This guarantees continuity. There are opportunities to bolster the resources we have as well as to strike collaborative relationships with like-minded organisations to ensure that the OAG has wider reach and can be as effective as possible.”

The ecosystem of accountability in the country has since proven to be efficient, strengthened by structures such as Tri-lateral, which is comprised of the OAG, AuditorGeneral of South Africa (AGSA) and the Accounting Standards Board.

There has also been a discernible shift in the efficiency of the country’s law enforcement agencies that support the work of ensuring that those who are involved in corruption face prosecution.

Auditors and accountants are equally accountable for the economic well-being of the country. They identify corrupt practices in the public and private sector and combating graft through the advancement of efficiency and transparency.

Professional bodies also have a role to play as they are critical to holding their members accountable as well as ensuring that they

are kept abreast of the latest developments in their profession.

“Even more importantly, professional bodies should inculcate values that are true to what they profess to believe,” adds Khan, who holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Witwatersrand.

As South Africa celebrates 30 years of democracy, Khan looks back at the role accountancy has played in entrenching the democracy of the republic in the country. He, too, has cause to celebrate, explaining: “The enactment of Public Finance Management Act and the Municipal Finance Management Act and related prescripts have ensured accountability and good public financial management are some of the achievements over the years. “In addition, the regulation of the auditing industry by IRBA as well as peer-led monitoring by the professional bodies has generally given confidence to the markets as well as investors about the security of their investments.”

Is there reward in the public finance management field?

“The reward really comes from knowing that one is making a difference to the lives of ordinary people citizens of our country. Good governance contributes to accountability and ensuring that the resources of our state are utilised for the benefit of its citizens. Ultimately our role as the OAG is to make sure that the benefits of our work accrue to the people,” Khan concludes.

Cabinet appointed Mr Shabeer Khan as Accountant-General as of the 1st of January 2023.

Mr Khan has over 17 years’ experience in the public service.

Mr Khan is a Chartered Accountant and a member of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA).

He started his articles in 2002 as a Trainee Clerk with Fazel & Associates and then moved to the Office of the Auditor-General in 2004 where he rose through the ranks to become a Senior Manager.

Shabeer joined the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) as the Chief Financial Officer in 2013. He was appointed as the Acting Director-General in 2022, a position he held until he joined the National

Treasury.He is a member of the Financial Reporting Standards Council (FRSC); and has served on various boards as an Independent non-executive Director, as well as a number of audit committees.

Mr Khan has a Bachelor of Commerce Accounting from the University of the Witwatersrand and Honours Bachelor of Accounting Science (CTA) from the University of South Africa.

He has extensive experience at a senior managerial level in public sector which will benefit the National Treasury immensely.

Shabeer is a devoted family man, married and the proud father of four children. He believes in creating a healthy balance between his two passions, supervising public balance accounts and spending quality time with his family.