Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act, 2003 (Act No. 53 of 2003)Verification Manual11. Professional Scepticism/ Due Diligence |
| 11.1 | The Verification Agency shall plan and perform an verification with an attitude of professional scepticism recognising that circumstances may exist that cause the measured entity information to be materially misstated. An attitude of professional scepticism means the Verification Agency makes a critical assessment, with a questioning mind, of the validity of evidence obtained and is alert to evidence that contradicts or brings into question the reliability of documents or representations by the responsible party. |
| 11.2 | Exercising professional scepticism during the verification requires the investigation of and reasonable questioning of documentation presented and management's representations to assess the effect of potential misstatements on scores awarded to individual Scorecard Elements. This includes comparing the documents and representations presented by the measured entity to ensure that there are no inconsistencies in the various pieces of evidence and if any, that such inconsistencies are properly addressed. |