Public Finance Management Act, 1999 (Act No. 1 of 1999)Chapter 6 : Public EntitiesPart 2: Accounting authorities for public entities55. Annual report and financial statements |
| (1) | The accounting authority for a public entity— |
| (a) | must keep full and proper records of the financial affairs of the public entity; |
| (b) | prepare financial statements for each financial year in accordance with generally accepted accounting practice, unless the Accounting Standards Board approves the application of generally recognised accounting practice for that public entity; |
| (c) | must submit those financial statements within two months after the end of the financial year— |
| (i) | to the auditors of the public entity for auditing; and |
| (ii) | if it is a business enterprise or other public entity under the ownership control of the national or a provincial government, to the relevant treasury; and |
| (d) | must submit within five months of the end of a financial year to the relevant treasury, to the executive authority responsible for that public entity and if the Auditor-General did not perform the audit of the financial statements, to the Auditor-General— |
| (i) | an annual report on the activities of that public entity during that financial year; |
| (ii) | the financial statements for that financial year after the statements have been audited; and |
| (iii) | the report of the auditors on those statements. |
| (2) | The annual report and financial statements referred to in subsection (1)(d) must— |
| (a) | fairly present the state of affairs of the public entity, its business, its financial results, its performance against predetermined objectives and its financial position as at the end of the financial year concerned; |
| (b) | include particulars of— |
| (i) | any material losses through criminal conduct and any irregular expenditure and fruitless and wasteful expenditure that occurred during the financial year; |
| (ii) | any criminal or disciplinary steps taken as a consequence of such losses or irregular expenditure or fruitless and wasteful expenditure; |
| (iii) | any losses recovered or written off; |
| (iv) | any financial assistance received from the state and commitments made by the state on its behalf; and |
| (v) | any other matters that may be prescribed; and |
| (c) | include the financial statements of any subsidiaries. |
| (3) | An accounting authority must submit the report and statements referred to in subsection (1)(d), for tabling in Parliament or the provincial legislature, to the relevant executive authority through the accounting officer of a department designated by the executive authority. |
| (4) | The relevant treasury may direct that, instead of a separate report, the audited financial statements of a Schedule 3 public entity which is not a government business enterprise must be incorporated in those of a department designated by that treasury. |