PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT TO INSPECT LAWYERS’ BOOKS

MBABANE – It is getting tougher by the day for lawyers who are failing to comply with the Legal Practitioners Act by not submitting audited trust certificates.

This is so because Attorney General Sifiso Khumalo has now requested the accountant general to assist his office by nominating a public accountant that his office could use to inspect the books of account of any practising attorneys.

The attorney general made this request to the accountant general through a memorandum dated April 24, 2018.
“Following recent reports on misappropriation of clients’ funds by attorneys, the office of the Attorney General, duty and legally bound to do so, in ensuring compliance to the Legal Practitioners Act, intends to inspect the books of accounts of attorneys , in terms of Section 24 (2) of the Act,” reads part of the memorandum.

The above section provides that the attorney general may himself inspect the books of account of any practising attorney, to satisfy himself that the attorney is keeping proper books of account.
Not only has the attorney general sought the assistance of the accountant general but he has also given the lawyers until May 31, 2018 to comply.

He said failure by the lawyers to comply would result in his office instituting legal proceedings against them.
In another letter he wrote to the Law Society of Swaziland (LSS), Khumalo stated that he noted that his letter dated April 16, 2018, lacked the retributive bite and might readily be mistaken for an idle threat which it was not.

He informed the LSS that its members’ practice was imperilled if his advises were ignored.
“I believe the integrity of the profession, which is under threat, can be restored if we can all stay within our assigned roles in this shared enterprise,” said Khumalo.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: