The Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies has congratulated the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) on the clean audit 2016/2017and for its excellent feat in two prestigious national awards. Minister Davies described both the clean audits and awards as a huge achievement for the organisation.

For the first time since its inception, CIPC received a clean audit from the Auditor-General. This was followed by an announcement of being the co-winner with National Treasury in the category for the innovative use of technology to improve service delivery in the Centre for Public Service Innovation Awards and also walked away as the runner-up in the category ICT Service Delivery Transformation in the GovTech SITA ICT Awards.

A clean audit means CIPC 2016/17 financial statements were free from material misstatements and there were no material findings on the reporting of performance objectives or non-compliance with legislation.

The clean audit and the awards are particularly significant to CIPC as it has been on a journey of rapid transformation since its inception in 2011 when it was established through the merger of the then Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office (CIPRO) and Office of Company and Intellectual Property Enforcement following the promulgation of the Companies Act of 2008.

Minister Davies says the clean audit is an indication that CIPC is committed to good governance and clean administration that will lead to better service delivery to the aspiring entrepreneurs. It also means that it has successfully implemented and delivered on its mandate.

“This is a noticeable improvement from when the organisation was called Cipro. CIPC has implemented an ICT modernisation strategy and improved on its financial governance leading to much improved performance and service delivery,” says Minister Davies.