Forensic auditors fail to placate critics

Zimbabwe Cricket has announced that the long-awaited forensic audit of its accounts will be undertaken by Ruzengwe and Partners, a Harare-based office which, according to the Zimbabwe Institute of Accountants, has only two partners.

The audit, which critics of the board have been demanding since last autumn, was promised when the Sports & Recreation Committee appointed an interim board, headed by Peter Chingoka, to run the game in Zimbabwe pending elections later in the year. At its first meeting, the interim board announced that it had decided to appoint "a firm of auditors of international repute".

While there are no reasons to question the independence of Ruzengwe and Partners, and they are certainly a well-known local accountants, critics had hoped that a bigger firm with a better international presence would be brought in. There are also concerns that the terms of reference for the audit are defined by the interim committee.

Opponents of the board reacted with dismay but not surprise. One leading administrator told Cricinfo that it was "a farce" and questioned "whether a firm of that size is capable of carrying out a massive and complex forensic audit".

"Ruzengwe and Partners is an independent, internationally recognised auditing firm accredited to the list of auditors of institutions recognised by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe," Chingoka said. "It is also a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Zimbabwe. Their report will be there for all to see."