| (1) | After the conclusion of a disciplinary hearing contemplated in section 50, the disciplinary hearing panel must— |
| (a) | within 30 days, decide whether or not the registered auditor is guilty as charged and inform the relevant parties in writing of this decision; |
| (b) | if the registered auditor is found guilty in terms of subsection (1)(a), within 30 days after the guilty finding, consider mitigating and aggravating factors for the purpose of determining an appropriate sanction; and |
| (c) | within five days after considering mitigating and aggravating factors, determine the sanction and inform the relevant parties in writing of the final outcome of the disciplinary hearing. |
| (2) | A registered auditor found guilty in terms of subsection (1)(a) may— |
| (a) | address the disciplinary hearing panel in mitigation of sentence; and |
| (b) | call witnesses to give evidence on his or her behalf in mitigation of the sentence. |
(3)
| (a) | If the registered auditor charged is found guilty or if the registered auditor admits to the charges, the disciplinary hearing panel may— |
| (i) | caution or reprimand the registered auditor; |
| (ii) | impose a fine not exceeding the amount determined by the Minister in the Gazette in terms of paragraph (b); |
| (iii) | require the registered auditor to attend appropriate training or any other relevant non-monetary sanction or more than one relevant non-monetary sanction; |
| (iv) | cancel the registration of the registered auditor concerned and remove his or her name from the register referred to in section 6; or |
| (v) | disqualify the registered auditor from registration as a registered auditor on a temporary or permanent basis. |
| (b) | The Minister must determine the amount referred to in paragraph (a)(ii)— |
| (i) | on the recommendation of the Regulatory Board; and |
| (ii) | after publishing in the Gazette the proposed amount for comment for at least 30 days. |
| (c) | The disciplinary hearing panel may impose more than one of the sanctions referred to in paragraph (a). |
| (d) | A sanction imposed in terms of paragraph (a) may be suspended for a specific period or until the occurrence of a specific event or made subject to any conditions. |
| (4) | The disciplinary hearing panel may order any registered auditor found guilty or who admitted guilt to pay such reasonable costs as have been incurred in connection with the investigation and the disciplinary hearing or such part thereof as the disciplinary hearing panel considers just. |
| (5) | The Regulatory Board must publish in the Board’s website, and if deemed necessary, in any other appropriate medium, the name of the registered auditor found guilty, a summary of the charges, the finding and the sanction imposed in terms of subsection (3) and a cost order in terms of subsection (4). |
| (6) | The Regulatory Board must give effect to the decision of the disciplinary hearing panel. |
[Section 51B inserted by section 19 of the Auditing Profession Amendment Act, 2021 (Act No. 5 of 2021), Notice No. 228 of GG44493, dated 26 April 2021]
