The Chief Operations Officer of the South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA), Dr Gavin Isaacs, has been dismissed with immediate effect.
Both the SAIPA (former) Chief Executive (CE), Shahied Daniels and Isaacs, faced disciplinary hearings chaired by independent chairpersons. The CE was dismissed two weeks ago. Both processes have now been concluded.
FOUR CHARGES AGAINST ISAACS
Isaacs faced four charges, summarised as contravening the Institute’s rules, policies, codes, processes, procedures and amounting to gross negligence, misconduct and serious governance breaches by:
- Being directly involved in the improper procurement of the services of an international company;
- Issuing instructions for the establishment of a company in Switzerland without board approval;
- Issuing instructions to register SAIPA Global trademarks without board approval; and
- Backdating the Human Resources Workplace Bullying and Harassment Policy.
“The process took careful consideration of the rights of Isaacs, his responses to the charges as well as the Board’s commitment to good governance, transparency and accountability,” said Prem Govender, Chairperson of SAIPA.
PROCESSES FOLLOWED
The process began after legal and governance experts raised concerns over serious allegations against the CE and COE prompting a forensic investigation.
Isaacs was served with a notice of precautionary suspension based on serious allegations and possible acts of misconduct in his role and capacity as the Chief Operations Executive.
The Board then appointed a forensic investigation firm which found that there was prima facie evidence of numerous breaches of governance, SAIPA’s policies and procedures and potentially serious misconduct.
FOUND GUILTY
“The disciplinary hearing has now found him guilty of one of the four, very serious, charges proffered by the board against him,” said Govender.
“Isaacs had admitted to the actions he was charged with, but provided a defence that he was “following the instructions of his line manager”.
As SAIPA did not allege that Isaacs “was required and obliged to refuse the instruction of Mr Daniels” in the instances he was charged with; the Chairperson found him not guilty of the charges in question.
WHAT THE CHAIRPERSON SAID
Amongst other comments, the chairperson of the disciplinary hearing, Advocate Sesi Baloyi (SC) said:
· “On his own account, he deliberately backdated the policy;”
· His “attempt at an excuse serves only to show a lack of candour, remorse and accountability.”
· “The conduct of backdating the policy misrepresented the true facts of when the policy was signed, this being the date on which it supposedly came into effect. Misrepresentation in the workplace is not a trivial matter. By its nature, it involves deception and dishonesty.”
· “The deliberate misrepresentation and dishonesty about when it in fact was signed and came into effect goes to the heart of the trust relationship with the employer and is in my view destructive of the relationship of trust.”
· “In the premises, I am satisfied that a sanction of dismissal is appropriate. I propose to make a recommendation accordingly.”
The Board has accepted Advocate Baloyi’s findings and has dismissed Isaacs.
BUSINESS INNOVATION STRATEGY EXECUTIVE RESIGNATION
Also, the Business Innovation Strategy Executive, Nosheena Mansoor, has resigned before attending a disciplinary hearing after she was charged with misconduct.
Mansoor, resigned a day before attending a disciplinary hearing after she was charged with misconduct for:
- Attempting to intercept the emails of the Chairperson of the SAIPA Board;
- Conspiring to activate an SGM account on behalf of the suspended CE;
- Interfering with the investigation against the CE and COE
After being charged in March 2024, her disciplinary proceedings were only set to commence in October 2024 and were to be chaired by Charles Beckenstrater from Moodie and Robertson Attorneys. However, she resigned a day before the commencement of her hearing and SAIPA accepted her resignation.
THE WAY FORWARD
“The process of appointing a new CE and COE and rebuilding the executive team will begin soon. Alongside this, the Board is working closely with the acting CE, Tia van der Sandt and her management team to ensure a process of rebuilding staff morale after this extremely difficult episode,” said Govender.
“On behalf of The Board, I extend my gratitude to the SAIPA staff, management, members and stakeholders for the unwavering dedication, steadfast support, confidence and trust bestowed upon us throughout this process.
“I also convey my sincere gratitude to my colleagues on the Board of Directors of SAIPA for their contributions and sincerity towards SAIPA, their commitment to the principles and core values of SAIPA and their willingness to stand up through adversity and do what is right.
“We remain committed to sustain and continuously improve SAIPA and ensure that we continue to be the professional accountancy organisation of choice.”
