It’s almost poetic, the way CIPC perseveres to standardize business reporting in South Africa despite the reluctance/non-cooperation of entities. In 2018, it began testing iXBRL and implemented the first phase of its mandate. It’s the third year of the CIPC’s iXBRL mandate now and the South African regulator is even more resolute to ensure that companies get on board with its agenda and for good reason. As the European, Asian and American regulators have begun realizing the true value of standardizing business reporting using XBRL/iXBRL, South Africa is ahead of the curve in its iXBRL journey.
But all of this will have been for naught if you, as the director, auditor, or C-Suite executive don’t realize the value of what the CIPC is doing. This is inadvertently compelling the CIPC to enforce a tougher process in place and the result will be a problem that you have to tackle and could have been easily avoided in the first place. One such enforcement that you should take seriously is the CIPC’s “Compliance Checklist” which has been enforced since January 2020.
What is the purpose of the Compliance Checklist?
Whether it’s company records, MOI (Memorandum of Incorporation), Annual Returns, Financial Statements, or Solvency and trading related information, the CIPC expects all companies in South Africa to maintain important company records for a period of seven years. These are compliance obligations that you need to adhere to as part of the Companies Act.
The Compliance Checklist is CIPC’s way to ensure your company’s compliance with the Companies Act. It’s a comprehensive, educational ‘Yes/No’ questionnaire that covers a checklist of information that is specific to your company and will be found in your company records as stated earlier in this article. The answers provided will be for the previous financial year and need to be addressed by a senior authority of the company based on whoever is best equipped to take answer this checklist. The checklist will be used by CIPC to monitor and regulate proper compliance with regard to the Companies Act
Way Forward
The CIPC has expressly stated that non-compliance will compel it to take necessary actions. If the compliance checklist is not completed, you won’t be able to submit your AFS and consequently, this will lead to your business being deregistered.
Here’s how you go about filling the checklist:
- Login to the CIPC website
- Go to the On-Line Transact page
- Look for Compliance Checklist under e-Services
- Fill out the checklist
This is what the checklist will look like:
If you’re confused or run into any kind of difficulty, you can send an email to COR135.1complaints@cipc.co.za and a CIPC representative will help you through the process. You can also mail the id for rectifications as well. Remember that there is absolutely no room for erroneous information and the consequences are avoidable. Alternately, your iXBRL software service provider can also help you navigate the checklist. If you’re looking for a trusted iXBRL solution, our experts are just a click away.
