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Browsing Accounting by SDG "SDG16"

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    An analysis of the trends in integrated reporting by South African government-owned enterprises.
    (2023) Omarjee, Ayesha.; Vanker, Salma.
    In recent times, government-owned enterprises have faced a deficit in terms of accountability. Addressing this issue, there has been a call for an oversight mechanism to enhance governance and consequently, accountability within state-owned companies (IOD and PWC, 2011). Integrated reporting has emerged as a response to this demand, primarily due to its capacity to offer a comprehensive perspective on the factors that contribute to value creation for an organisation over different time frames. Recognising the advantages that integrated reporting brings to corporate governance, South African government-owned enterprises have acknowledged its potential and subsequently incorporated integrated reporting in accordance with King IV principles and the IR Framework. The objective of this research is to analyse the patterns in integrated reporting among government-owned enterprises according to The Public Finance Management Act of 1999, focusing on the financial periods of 2018, 2019, and 2020. This study assesses the depth of information disclosed by government-owned enterprises and its alignment with the suggestions and criteria set forth by the King IV guidelines and IR Framework for integrated reporting. This evaluation utilizes a scorecard methodology to gauge the degree of disclosure achieved by each individual government-owned enterprise. Based on the empirical facts from the analysis, it is clear and conclusive that the level of reporting and disclosure of government-owned enterprises has improved consistently over the years. This assertion is based on the evident adoption and the upward trend in the application of the Integrated Reporting Framework for integrated reporting by government-owned enterprises. Whilst the overall average level of disclosure is good, there is without debate a necessity for improvement in some critical areas highlighted in this research . Notable among these areas are leadership, governance, stakeholder relationships, organizational ethics, and corporate citizenship.
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    Impression management observation in South African district municipalities through attribution theory lens.
    (2023) Mgoyana, Sithandiwe.; Phesa, Masibulele.
    District municipalities play a crucial role in the local government as they have the mandate to provide services to the communities and capacitate and assist local municipalities in their jurisdiction for the provision of services delivery. Most South African district municipalities are struggling to fulfil the mandate of delivering services to the communities and this is evidenced by delivery protests for poor service delivery across South African communities. Inability to provide proper service delivery by most South African district municipalities causes them to get pressure from political opposition and the communities at large, hence they resort to partake in impression management. The mayor’s foreword is a narrative disclosure in the annual report that has no guideline in terms of what gets included in it. Management of municipalities have the discretion on what to include, which makes the mayor’s foreword open to manipulation, and as such, can be a place for employing impression management tactics. This study examined the presence of impression management tactics in the mayor’s foreword in the annual reports of South African district municipalities. The study followed the quantitative research method. Quantitative content analysis was used to analyse the mayor’s foreword contained in the annual reports of 34 district municipalities in South Africa. Data were extracted from the annual reports available on the websites of district municipalities. Impression management tactics, in the form of textual characteristics, were examined based on the length, use of passive voice, use of personal reference, use of positive tone, and observation of readability. The study revealed that district municipalities use impression management tactics in the mayor’s foreword. The study revealed that non-performing district municipalities have used a lot of personal references, and more passive voice than performing even though not significant, while performing have used significantly more positive tone than nonperforming district municipalities. The study revealed that performing district municipalities have lower readability scores than non-performing. Furthermore, there is no significant difference between performing and non-performing district municipalities on the length of the mayor’s foreword, use of passive voice, use of personal references and the readability score. The study brings new insights into the use of impression management tactics in the public sector, specifically in local government. It further extends the debate on impression management and self-attribution.
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    The managers’ perceptions of irregular expenditure In the KwaZulu-Natal municipalities.
    (2018) Zungu, Amos.; Mkhize, Msizi Vitalis.
    Background: While the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA, 2003) requires accounting officers to prevent irregular expenditure, municipalities continue to incur such expenditure. Aim: This study aimed to determine the managers’ perceptions of irregular expenditure in the KwaZulu-Natal municipalities; their perceptions of councillors’ oversight of such expenditure, and managers’ views on the capacity of Municipal Public Account Committees (MPACs) to fulfil their oversight role. Setting: The setting for this study is municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal. Methods: A descriptive and analytical cross-sectional design using systematic sampling was employed. The responses of 52 managers were analysed. Results: Managers agreed on the need for compliance with procurement processes and proper planning. They also concurred that irregular expenditure negatively impacts social transformation and wealth redistribution. The study respondents were of the view that irregular expenditure occurs due to manipulation and unfair practices, a lack of transparent supply chain management processes and politicians’ interests in tenders. In their opinion, councillors fail to investigate liability for irregular expenditure as required by section 32(2) (a) and (b) of the MFMA. They reported that serious cases of irregular expenditure where there were allegations of fraud, theft and corruption had not been investigated. Furthermore, disciplinary proceedings were not instituted against those that did not act in good faith and committed serious financial misconduct that resulted in municipalities incurring financial losses. Conclusion: Irregular expenditure harms municipalities’ image and negatively impacts social transformation. Municipalities, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) and the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) should invest in capacity building, implement effective fraud prevention plans and enhance the capabilities of those in charge of oversight. Contribution to the Study: The study makes a practical contribution towards understanding of the incidence of irregular expenditure and how it can be prevented. In addition, the study is the first to be undertaken in South Africa. This will serve as a foundation and source of reference for further studies.