The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa mandates government to establish a Treasury department which amongst other things should promote and enforce effective management in respect of revenue, expenditure, assets and liabilities as well as monitor and assess implementation of the PFMA and its prescripts.

The Office of the Accountant-General (OAG) is a division within the National Treasury (NT) whose mandate is to promote and enforce effective management in respect of revenue, expenditure, assets and liabilities. OAG’s strategic intent is to facilitate accountability, governance and oversight by promoting transparent, economic, efficient and effective management in respect of revenue, expenditure, assets and liabilities in the South African public sector. The OAG has eight Chief Directorates; one of which is the Internal Audit Support (IAS) Unit.

The objective of Internal Audit Support Unit is to support the establishment and effectiveness of Internal Audit (IA) Units and Audit Committees in the South African public sector.

In fulfilling this objective, the Unit provides amongst others the following services:

• Technical advice & support;
• Develop Internal Audit Framework and guidelines;
• Conduct Internal Audit reviews to assess compliance with PFMA, MFMA and adoption of best practice;
• Conduct state of readiness for quality assurance reviews (QAR) to assess extent of compliance with ISPPIAs and readiness to undergo external QAR;
• Facilitate information-sharing initiatives e.g. Host of National & Provincial CAE Forum
• Participate in provincial & local government CAE Fora;
• Support to Audit committees, e.g. attendance of meetings, interviewing and selection of potential members, induction of new members etc.;
• Provide input to legislation & guidance e.g. Instruction notes;
• Support research into public sector Internal auditing;
• Host international study tours on Internal audit;
• Support to oversight structures (SCOPA, Portfolio Committees) by providing information on internal audit and audit committees;
• Provide on-going support to prioritized clients through Strategic Support Plans agreed to by the client and the OAG

The clients of the Unit vary across the 3 spheres of government being National Departments, Provincial Treasuries/departments and municipalities.

Frequently Asked Questions

Treasury Internal Audit Framework 2009.pdf

Reporting Framework Guide - The Report of the Audit Committee.pdf

MFMA Circular 65 - Internal Audit and Audit Committee.pdf