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HSRC Annual Report 2016/17
concern and using the going-concern basis of accounting, unless the intention is to liquidate the entity or cease
operations, or there is no realistic alternative but to do so.
Auditor-General’s responsibilities for the audit of the Financial Statements
10. My objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the Financial Statements as a whole are free from
material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes my opinion.
Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance
with the ISAs will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error
and are considered material if, individually or in aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the
economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these Financial Statements.
11. A further description of my responsibilities for the audit of the Financial Statements is included in the annexure
to the auditor’s report.
Report on the audit of the Annual Performance Report
Introduction and scope
12. In accordance with the Public Audit Act of South Africa (Act No. 25 of 2004) (PAA) and the general notice issued in
terms thereof, I have a responsibility to report material findings on the reported performance information against
predetermined objectives for selected programmes presented in the Annual Performance Report. I performed
procedures to identify findings, but not to gather evidence to express assurance.
13. My procedures address the reported performance information, which must be based on the entity’s approved
performance planning documents. I have not evaluated the completeness and appropriateness of the performance
indicators included in the planning documents. My procedures also did not extend to any disclosures or assertions
relating to planned performance strategies and information in respect of future periods that may be included as
part of the reported performance information. Accordingly, my findings do not extend to these matters.
14. I evaluated the usefulness and reliability of the reported performance information in accordance with the criteria
developed from the performance management and reporting framework, as defined in the general notice, for the
following selected programme presented in the entity’s Annual Performance Report for the year ended 31 March 2017:
Programme
Pages in the Annual Performance Report
Programme 1 – Research, Development and Innovation 46–60
15. I performed procedures to determine whether the reported performance information was properly presented and
whether performance was consistent with the approved performance planning documents. I performed further
procedures to determine whether the indicators and related targets were measurable and relevant, and assessed
the reliability of the reported performance information to determine whether it was valid, accurate and complete.
16. I did not raise any material findings on the usefulness and reliability of the reported performance information for
the following programme:
•
Programme 1 – Research, Development and Innovation.
Other matter
17. I draw attention to the matter below.
Achievement of planned targets
18. Refer to the Annual Performance Report on page(s) 46 to 60 for information on the achievement of planned targets
for the year and explanations provided for the under-/overachievement of a number of targets.