The Mercury
Flanked by her legal team, from left, advocate Jimmy Howse and senior advocate Rafik Bhana, businesswoman Shauwn Mpisane, with her husband Sbu, steps out of the Durban Regional Court in a jovial mood. Picture: Sandile Makhoba
Durban – The Sars audit specialist who is testifying in the tax fraud trial of businesswoman Shauwn Mpisane admitted on Monday that her bosses had questioned the credibility of her audit.
Waheeda Osman, who was on the stand for the fifth day of cross-examination, said her senior managers had formed a poor opinion of her audit after Mpisane had complained about her conduct.
“I was told by my manager that Mpisane did not want to see my face again and that the KwaZulu-Natal tax office had lost credibility as a result of my audit.
“But they formed this opinion without looking at my work,” she said.
Mpisane and her construction company, Zikhulise Cleaning, Maintenance and Transport, are on trial in the Durban Regional Court for more than 100 tax and VAT evasion charges including submitting fake invoices to Sars.
Mpisane has pleaded not guilty and blames any transgressions on former bookkeeper Kishal Reddy, who has pleaded guilty to creating the invoices, but claimed he did so at Mpisane’s request.
Earlier in the case, Osman testified that she had audited Zikhulise’s financial statements in 2008. She said Mpisane had later objected to the audit findings and had submitted a revised financial statement with a profit which had been reduced by R28 million.
Osman said she had discovered that the purchase invoices, which were relied on to reduce the profit, were fake.
Osman said on Monday that after Mpisane’s complaint she had been removed from the matter and further work on Mpisane’s affairs was then given to another auditor, Sumantha Ramharak.
“I was disgruntled because my seniors were allowing Mpisane’s opinion to interfere with the audit process.”
She had testified earlier that Ramharak’s report had differed from hers and as a result she had been asked to reduce Mpisane’s tax bill.
Mpisane’s senior counsel, Rafik Bhana, told Osman that Mpisane’s complaint was not the first against her.
“This is not the first time a taxpayer has requested any auditor except you. It is not a narrowly held view that you embark on a witch hunt.”
Osman replied that in her 17-year career a few complaints against her were not significant.
Bhana also said that Osman and the State had repressed Ramharak’s audit report because it supported the defence version.
Osman said this was incorrect.
Osman’s cross-examination is expected to continue for the rest of the week.
The Mercury
