Blue Label Telecoms Integrated Annual Report 2019

90 Blue Label integrated annual report 2019 Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee’s report continued Statutory duties discharged In execution of its statutory duties during the year under review, the Committee: u u nominated and recommended to shareholders the reappointment of PwC as independent external auditors, with Deon Storm the audit partner, as the registered independent auditor; u u approved the fees to be paid to PwC and other external auditors, where applicable, and approved the terms of engagement; u u maintained a non-audit services policy which determines the nature and extent of any non-audit services that PwC may provide to the Group; u u discharged those statutory duties as prescribed by section 94 of the Act, acting in its capacity as the appointed Audit Committee of the subsidiary companies of Blue Label; u u considered the Committee’s report describing how duties have been discharged; and u u submitted matters to the Board concerning the Company’s accounting policies, financial controls, records and reporting, as appropriate. Other duties discharged Financial statements and reporting The Committee: u u monitored compliance with accounting standards and legal requirements and ensured that all regulatory compliance matters had been considered in the preparation of the financial statements; u u reviewed the external auditor’s report to the Committee and management’s responses thereto and made appropriate recommendations to the Board of Directors regarding actions to be taken; u u reviewed and commented on the annual financial statements, interim reports, paid advertisements, announcements and the accounting policies and recommended these to the Board for approval; u u reviewed and recommended to the Board for adoption the consolidated budget for the ensuing financial year; and u u considered the going concern status of the Company and Group on the basis of review of the annual financial statements and the information available to the Committee and recommended such going concern status for adoption by the Board. The Board statement on the going concern status of the Group and Company is contained in the Directors’ report. External audit and non-audit services The ARCC has satisfied itself as to the independence of the external auditor, PwC, as set out in section 94(7) of the Act, which includes consideration of compliance with criteria relating to independence or conflicts of interest as prescribed by the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors. Requisite assurance was sought from and provided by PwC that internal governance processes within the firm support and demonstrate its claim to independence. To assess the effectiveness of the external auditors, the Committee considered PwC’s fulfilment of the agreed audit plan and variations from the plan, and the robustness and perceptiveness of PwC in its handling of key accounting treatments and disclosures. The Committee, in consultation with Executive Management, agreed to the engagement letter, terms, audit plan and budgeted audit fees for the 2019 financial year. Any non-audit services to be provided by the external auditors are governed by a formal written policy which incorporates a monetary delegation of authority in terms of non-audit services to be provided. The non-audit services rendered by the external auditors during the year ended 31 May 2019 comprised tax advisory services, tax compliance services and general advisory services. The fees applicable to the aforementioned services totalled R1.56 million (2018: R4.1 million), of which Rnil (2018: R2.8 million) relate to non-audit services and the remainder to acquisition-related costs. The ARCC has nominated, for approval at the Annual General Meeting, the reappointment of PwC as registered auditors for the 2019 financial year. The Committee also satisfied itself in terms of paragraph 3.84(g)(iii) of the JSE Listings Requirements that PwC is accredited. In addition, the Committee has also satisfied itself that Deon Storm, the PwC audit partner, is accredited and appears on the JSE List of Accredited Auditors. Internal audit and internal controls Blue Label’s internal audit function is outsourced to KPMG Services Proprietary Limited and the role of the Chief Audit Executive is fulfilled by the Engagement Director. The ARCC concludes that the Chief Audit Executive and internal audit arrangements are effective and independent.