Abstract
This limited scope dissertation assesses whether the audit and risk committees of higher education institutions registered in accordance with the Higher Education Act 101 of 1997 (Republic of South Africa Government Gazette, 1997) are following recommendations of corporate governance practices as part of the mandate to oversee financial reporting and risk processes. The top six higher education institutions in South Africa were considered, and the rankings were derived from The Times Higher Education World Universities (The Times Higher Education, 2021). In order to establish the application of the relevant King IV principles, the audit and risk governance reports in the annual reports were assessed to determine whether these universities are compliant to the code of corporate governance. The results indicate that even though there is no statutory requirements to follow King IV principles, the practices followed in the audit and risk governance of higher education institutions comply with the recommendations set out in the code of corporate governance. The results contribute to assisting higher education institutions in the disclosure of corporate governance practices and they will assist towards improving the quality and comparability of a university’s annual report governance disclosures. This research further contributes to the existing literature on the application of corporate governance practices in line with recommendations of the King IV, specifically in higher education institutions, as these institutions’ proceedings differ from those of public or private companies.
Key words – Audit committee; Risk committee; Annual report; Higher education institutions; King IV