Irregular Expenditure
Irregular Expenditure Prescription Risk
Prescription risk tracks irregular-expenditure debts approaching the three-year window after which the right to recover is extinguished by law.
Why Prescription Risk Matters
Irregular expenditure that is not recovered in time becomes irrecoverable by operation of law, as the Prescription Act extinguishes the debt after three years. For an accounting officer, allowing a recoverable irregular debt to prescribe is itself a failure of the MFMA and PFMA duty to recover state losses, and AGSA treats prescribed amounts as accountability lost. AuditPro Core tracks irregular-expenditure debts against the three-year window so action is taken while recovery is still legally possible.
The Numbers
AuditPro Core renders this view from your tenant's live, tamper-evident records. The figures below are illustrative sample data.
At prescription risk
R7.2 bn
< 6 months
Already prescribed
R2.4 bn
Interruptions filed
312
Cases over 2.5 yrs
1 840
Debt by months to prescription (R m)
Imminent prescription by entity
| Entity | At risk (R m) | Cases |
|---|---|---|
| Metro A | 1840 | 412 |
| Dept B | 1320 | 286 |
| SOE C | 980 | 198 |
| Metro D | 760 | 164 |
Figures shown are illustrative sample data for demonstration. AuditPro Core renders these views from your own tenant's live, tamper-evident records.
Prescription Window
Under the Prescription Act a debt generally prescribes three years after it becomes due. Once prescribed, the state's right to recover is extinguished and the loss is permanent.
Interrupting Prescription
Prescription can be interrupted by acknowledgement of debt or by serving process. Knowing which debts are near the limit tells management where an interrupting step is urgent.
Determination Delay
Irregular expenditure must be investigated and a determination made on liability. Delay in that process is the most common reason a recoverable debt drifts into prescription.
Recover or Account
Each irregular amount must be recovered, condoned or written off through proper process. Letting it prescribe by inaction is none of these and is the outcome auditors penalise.
How AuditPro Core Bridges the Gap
- Ageing against prescription: AuditPro Core dates each irregular debt and counts down to its prescription limit.
- Exception escalation: debts nearing the three-year window are flagged in time to interrupt prescription.
- Traceability to source: every debt links to the originating irregular transaction and determination.
- Audit-ready output: the prescription-risk schedule exports for the irregular-expenditure disclosure and AGSA review.
Key Takeaways
- After three years the right to recover is extinguished by law.
- Acknowledgement or process can interrupt prescription if acted on in time.
- Slow determinations are the main reason recoverable debts prescribe.
- Recover, condone or write off — letting a debt prescribe is none of these.
See This on Your Own Data
AuditPro Core renders this dashboard from your tenant's live, tamper-evident records — every figure traceable to source.