01
Root Cause, Not Symptom
Trace recurring findings back to the control weaknesses, leadership gaps and operational behaviours that allow them to return year after year.
About the Indaba
Where findings become action.
The 14th Annual National Public Sector Clean Audit Turnaround Indaba brings together accounting officers, CFOs, internal auditors, audit committee members, supply chain practitioners, risk managers and governance professionals from across South Africa’s public sector.
Building on the Indaba’s long-standing focus on accountability, transparency and effective governance, the 2026 edition concentrates on the mechanics of turnaround: diagnosing recurring findings, assigning ownership, strengthening controls and sustaining improved audit outcomes.
“A clean audit should be the result of disciplined governance, not a once-a-year scramble.”
14Annual editions
2Focused days
200+Expected delegates
Durban2026 host city
Who should attend
Accounting OfficersChief Financial OfficersInternal AuditAudit CommitteesSCM PractitionersRisk ManagementGovernance Officials
2026 focus areas
Turnaround is a discipline.
The programme moves beyond repeating audit findings. It asks what breaks underneath them, what credible remediation looks like, and how institutions can make improved outcomes stick.
02
Action Plans That Hold
Build audit action plans with named owners, realistic deadlines, evidence trails and follow-through that survives a follow-up audit.
03
Sustaining a Clean Outcome
Explore what high-performing departments and entities do differently to protect an unqualified opinion once improvement has been achieved.
Public sector voices
Experience from inside the public sector.
Public sector and governance practitioners joining the 2026 National Public Sector Clean Audit Turnaround Indaba, with further speakers to be announced.
Speaker line-up for the 14th Annual Edition is being finalised. Additional speakers will be added as they are confirmed.
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Gala Dinner Guest Speaker
Hon. Lukas Marthinus Meyer
MEC for Public Works and Infrastructure,
KwaZulu-Natal Province
Gala Dinner · Thursday 03 December 2026 · 19:00 · Southern Sun Elangeni & Maharani Towers, Durban
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2026 speaker
Ms Brenda N. Molefe
Director: Assurance Services, KZN Provincial Treasury
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2026 speaker
Ms Devrani Moonsamy
Head of Finance, The Ombud Council
PM
2026 speaker
Ms Phetsile Magagula
Director, The Ethics Platform
KC
2026 speaker
Mr Kudakwashe Charandura
Head of Cyber Advisory, SNG Grant Thornton
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2026 speaker
Adv Helen Venter
Managing Director, Brasika
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2026 speaker
Ms Nompilo Sithole
Deputy Director: LED Finance and Risk Management, EDTEA KZN
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2026 speaker
Speaker to be announced
Details to be confirmed
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2026 speaker
Speaker to be announced
Details to be confirmed
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2026 speaker
Speaker to be announced
Details to be confirmed
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2026 speaker
Speaker to be announced
Details to be confirmed
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2026 speaker
Speaker to be announced
Details to be confirmed
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2026 speaker
Speaker to be announced
Details to be confirmed
Indaba programme
Two days. One turnaround journey.
The 2026 schedule below follows the current draft programme in 45-minute sessions, while retaining the successful Day One, Gala Dinner and Day Two tab structure used in the previous Indaba.
Registration & Welcome Coffee
Delegate check-in and networking ahead of the opening session.
The Public Sector Audit Scorecard: Measuring Progress, Persistent Failures and the Road to Clean Audits
What available PFMA and MFMA audit reports reveal, looking beyond headline opinions to recurring findings, control weaknesses and underlying causes, and using audit trends to strengthen readiness for the next audit cycle.
Beyond the Finding: Diagnosing What Actually Breaks a Control Environment
Distinguishing symptom findings from root-cause control failures, mapping findings back to leadership and operational behaviour, and building a diagnostic framework internal audit can reuse annually.
The Consequence Gap: Why Ethics Policies Aren't Enough
Why codes of conduct rarely translate into real disciplinary outcomes, closing the gap between naming officials and holding them accountable, and what credible consequence management looks like in practice.
Tea Break
Networking break ahead of the mid-morning sessions.
The Second Clean Audit Is Harder Than the First
Why institutions regress the year after a clean audit, protecting gains when leadership or political priorities change, and what multi-year clean audit institutions do differently.
Public Procurement After the Constitutional Court Judgment: Navigating Legal Uncertainty and Strengthening SCM Compliance
Understanding the judgment and its implications, identifying the applicable laws, regulations and directives, managing tender disputes and litigation, and strengthening audit readiness while the legislative process moves forward.
Lunch Break
Networking lunch for all delegates.
After the Breach: Rebuilding Public Sector IT Governance in Real Time
Lessons from recent public sector system breaches, the IT general controls that repeatedly surface in AGSA findings, and building an incident response posture that survives an audit.
Risk Registers Nobody Reads: Fixing Public Sector ERM From the Inside Out
Why most risk registers are compliance documents rather than decision tools, building risk appetite statements audit committees actually use, and turning ERM into a live management practice.
Governance Beyond Compliance: What High-Performing Audit Committees Do Differently
What separates committees that change outcomes from those that rubber-stamp, strengthening independence and technical capacity, and holding management accountable between audit cycles.
Close of Day One
Delegates proceed to prepare for the Gala Dinner.
Arrival of Guests
Entertainment and photo opportunities as delegates arrive.
Welcome Address and Drinks
Hosted by the Audit Roundtable MC.
Guest Speaker Keynote Address
Hon. Lukas Marthinus Meyer, MEC for Public Works and Infrastructure, KwaZulu-Natal Province.
Dinner and Refreshments
Formal dinner service with music and entertainment.
Gala Dinner Access
Included with Premium Access registration at R9,999. Standard Access does not include the Gala Dinner.
From Paper to Practice: Audit Action Plans That Survive Contact with Reality
Why action plans stall once immediate pressure eases, assigning real ownership, deadlines and evidence trails, and what follow-up audits actually look for.
AI and Data Analytics in Public Sector Audit and Assurance
How AI-assisted analytics are changing internal audit and forensic investigation, and practical entry points for institutions without dedicated data science capacity.
Irregular Expenditure That Won't Go Away: Breaking the Repeat-Offender Cycle
Why the same entities post irregular expenditure findings year after year, practical steps to condone, recover or resolve historic balances, and preventing new irregular expenditure.
Tea Break
Networking break ahead of the closing programme.
Service Delivery and the Audit Outcome: Making the Connection Visible
Tracing service delivery failures back to upstream financial management breakdowns, and communicating audit outcomes in terms citizens and councillors understand.
Inside the Forensic Investigation: From Red Flag to Referral
Recognising early warning signs that should trigger a forensic review, and converting forensic findings into disciplinary, civil and criminal referrals that actually proceed.
Closing Panel and Way Forward
Open-floor discussion followed by closing remarks. The Indaba closes at 13:00.
Programme is preliminary and subject to change as stakeholder and speaker engagements are finalised.
Event venue
Meet us on Durban’s Golden Mile.
Southern Sun Elangeni & Maharani combines a beachfront setting with full conferencing facilities, giving delegates a central Durban base for the two-day programme.
Southern Sun Elangeni & Maharani Towers
63 Snell Parade, North Beach, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal
63 Snell Parade, North Beach, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal
Approximately 40 minutes from King Shaka International Airport.
Nearby accommodation options include Garden Court Marine Parade and The Edward Hotel Durban.
Parking and delegate transport information will be shared with confirmed attendees.
Registration
Choose how you attend.
Reserve your place for the 14th Annual Edition. Group bookings of eight or more delegates can be discussed directly with the Audit Roundtable events team.
Standard Access
R8,999
Per delegate
Full two-day Indaba accessRefreshments and lunchDelegate materials and badgeNetworking accessCertificate of attendance
Premium Access · Gala Dinner
R9,999
Per delegate
Everything in Standard AccessGala Dinner on evening of Day OneFormal dinner and evening networking
Reserve your delegate seat
Complete the form and the events team will confirm your registration by email.
Put your organisation in the room.
Sponsorship packages for the 14th Annual Edition start from R35,000, with partnership, exhibition and event-branding opportunities available.