| (a) | The Regulatory Board, or any person authorised by it, may at any time inspect or review the practice of a registered auditor and the effective implementation of any training contracts and may for these purposes inspect and make copies of any information, including but not limited to any working papers, statements, correspondence, hooks or other documents, in the possession or under the control of a registered auditor. |
| (b) | Despite the generality of paragraph (a), the Regulatory Board, or any person authorised by it, must at least every three years inspect or review the practice of a registered auditor that audits a public company as defined in section 1 of the Companies Act, 2008 (Act No. 71 of 2008). |
[Subsection (1)(b) substituted by section 11 of Act No. 2 of 2015]
| (2) | The Regulatory Board may recover the costs of an inspection under this section from the registered auditor concerned. |
| (3) | A registered auditor must, at the request of the Regulatory Board or the person authorised by it, produce any information, including but not limited to any working papers, statements, correspondence, books or other documents, and, subject to the provisions of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (Act No. 2 of 2000) or any other law, may not refuse to produce such information even though the registered auditor is of the opinion that the information contains confidential information about a client. |
| (4) | A registered auditor who acts in good faith during an inspection of the public practice of the registered auditor and who produces information under subsection (3) may not be held liable criminally or under civil law because of the production of the information. |
| (5) | Subject to the Constitution and any other law, no person who is or was concerned with the performance of any function under this section may disclose any information obtained in the performance of that function except— |
| (a) | for the purpose of an investigation or a hearing under this Chapter; |
| (b) | if the person of necessity supplies it in the performance of functions under this Act; |
| (c) | when required to do so by order of a court of law; |
| (d) | at the written request of, and to, any appropriate regulator which requires it for the institution, or an investigation with a view to the institution, of any disciplinary action or criminal prosecution; or |
| (e) | at the written request of, and to, any appropriate international regulator of audits and auditors, that requires such for the purpose of inspection with the consent of the registered auditor. |
| (6) | A registered auditor must annually submit to the Regulatory Board such information or returns as may be requested by the Regulatory Board. |
