SOUTH AFRICAN REVENUE SERVICES (SARS) VACANCIES

SOUTH AFRICAN REVENUE SERVICES (SARS)

SPECIALIST: AUDIT (STCC: ILLICIT ECONOMY UNIT - TAX)
Position Reports to: Manager: Audit
Division: Taxpayer Engagement and Operations
Location: Cape Town
Advert Closing Date: 10 March 2026

About the position
SARS is looking for a highly skilled, experienced, results driven, self-directed Specialist with sound judgement and strong business acumen who will contribute towards our higher purpose and service orientation. S/he will be responsible to conduct advanced audits of high complexity, with the aim of influencing compliance through raising accurate assessments in line with relevant legislation. Provide technical support to other auditors on matters of various complexity levels. Utilises advanced tax, corporate and other legislative knowledge and experience to identify tax gaps, avoidance and evasion schemes, and suggests potential solutions to minimise tax risks. Identifies initiatives and changes to required legislation to impact compliance levels.

Job Purpose
To conduct advanced audits of high complexity, with the aim of influencing compliance through raising accurate assessments in line with relevant legislation. Provide technical support to other auditors on matters of various complexity levels. Utilises advanced tax, corporate and other legislative knowledge and experience to identify tax gaps, avoidance and evasion schemes, and suggests potential solutions to minimise tax risks. Identifies initiatives and changes to required legislation to impact compliance levels.

Education and Experience

Minimum Qualification & Experience Required

Bachelor's Degree / Advanced Diploma in Audit, Accounting, Taxation (NQF 7) AND 8 years' experience in an Audit/ Financial Forensic Audit/Investigative Audit environment, of which 3-4 years ideally at Auditor Level III level.

Job Outputs:

Process

Analyse a wide spectrum of highly complex transactions across multiple tax types and / or entities and / or groups of related entities and / or areas of specialisation which may be based locally or internationally with the aim of understanding the tax implications and determine compliance with relevant legislation.
Analyse and make recommendations about improvements to specialist systems, procedures, policies and practices.
Analyse highly complex data / evidence, review and confirm identified risks and consideration of additional risks which may relate to the entity being audited, across tax types, across related entities etc. This may relate to specific areas of specialisation.
Conduct audits using newly identified systems / tools of digital information, methodology and other advanced technology identified to address highly complex advanced audit risks. This may include eCommerce transactions and other digital risks.
Continuous engagement with Litigation and Dispute management to address issues relating to the interpretation of relevant legislation. Engagement with Legal counsel may be required for highly complex specialised matters. The auditor may be required to testify in a civil court on matters of a highly complex nature.
Continuous engagements with Debt Management aimed at optimal collection on liabilities raised through the audit. Conduct a detailed financial and cash flow analysis to support the recommendations provided. Engage the taxpayer regarding the collection of debt at the finalisation stage of the audit. Engagement with Legal counsel may be required for highly complex specialised matters.
Contribute to the optimum utilisation of org. resources, advising on effective planning and development of area of specialisation resource plans.
Coordinate and provide technical support to ensure the finalisation of disputes and complaints. Analyse information of a complex nature provided at dispute stage and taxpayer complaints logged across the linked / related entities / groups of entities and / or specialised projects.
Coordinate and support the efficient progress of the audit of linked / related entities / groups of entities being audited utilising approved systems.
Develop a single practice area in alignment with operational activity and procedural frameworks and ensure tactical implementation.
Draw on own technical or professional expertise, knowledge and experience to identify and recommend tactical solutions to defined problems in practices.
Identify and escalate serious tax offences for potential criminal investigation, provide a detailed analysis of the facts together with the applicable tax legislation. Engagement with the National Prosecuting Authority may be required for highly complex specialised matters. The auditor may be required to testify in a criminal court.
Identify changes required to legislation, with relevant stakeholders and policy owners to close compliance loopholes.
Identify information required to mitigate audit risks of an advanced and highly complex nature and engage taxpayers / tax practitioners / experts / third parties both locally and internationally for additional relevant information and clarification.
Identify new and additional highly complex risks for audit scope expansion, identification of new risks relating to other tax types and related entities for referral to Case Selection for profiling for new audit interventions.
Integrate business information, compare, analyse and produce reports to identify trends, discrepancies and inconsistencies for decision making purposes.
Optimise goal achievement through tactical strategy implementation and optimisation of practises, processes and systems across an internal value chain.
Plan for value-added, continuous practice and system improvements to deliver on objectives to enhance tactical implementation and excellence.
Prepare and issue detailed, high level relevant communication / reports as required to internal and external stakeholders. Ensure that communication is coordinated and aligned between related audits on tax types, entity levels or areas of specialisation.
Prepare inputs based on analysis and interpretation of facts and legislation, participate and present to relevant Committee. Highlight treatment of audits of similar nature to the relevant Committee to ensure consistent treatment. i.e. Technical Committee, Understatement Committee, Large Assessment Committee, Objections Committee, National Appeals Committee.
Prepare system notes of progress and outcomes as required and maintain during the audit process, e.g. Service Manager, TeamMate. Review system notes of auditors involved in the audit of the linked and / or related entities and / or groups of entities.
Proactively identify interconnected problems, determine its impact and use to develop best fit alternatives; best practice implementation solutions.
Provide guidance / technical support to other Auditors on highly complex matters / areas of specialisation. This may involve conducting research, training and development, and coaching support during an audit or dispute process.
Provide input to draft policies and procedures to the product areas e.g., different Tax Types product areas, Process Design and Engineering, etc.
Provide inputs and guidance to Account Maintenance on remittance of penalty and interest requests.
Raise accurate assessments on SARS systems in relation to relevant legislation and ensure that assessments raised on linked / related entities / groups of entities / specialised projects are aligned from a tax perspective.
Recommend changes to optimise processes, systems, practice areas and associated procedures and execute the implementation of change and innovation.
Research to identify highly complex tax risks that may not have been addressed effectively through audit or other interventions. These risks will be referred to Case Selection which may lead to the identification of new audit focus areas e.g. industry, tax specific risks, specialised projects, etc.
Translate top-down policy, apply modification in relation to own practice area and communicate impact to relevant stakeholders.
Plan, conduct and support highly complex advanced audits/ projects to ensure compliance with relevant Acts / Regulations / Policies / Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

Governance

Develop and /or align governance and compliance policies for own practice area to identify and manage risk exposure liability.

People

Integrate new knowledge and transfer skills attained through formal and informal learning opportunities in the execution of your job.
Provide specialist know-how, support, advice and practice thought leadership in area of expertise.

Finance

Implement and monitor financial control, management of costs and corporate governance in area of specialisation,

Client

Develop and ensure implementation of a practice that builds service delivery excellence and encourages others to provide exceptional stakeholder service.
Participate in the specialist practice community and contribute positively to organisation knowledge management.
Provide authoritative, specialist expertise and advice to internal and external stakeholders.

Behavioural competencies

Fairness and Transparency
Analytical Thinking
Accountability
Conceptual Ability
Attention to Detail
Honesty and Integrity
Trust
Respect
Problem Solving and Analysis
Commitment to Continuous Learning
Organisational Awareness
Building Sustainability
Drive for Results
Expertise in Content

Technical competencies

Functional Policies and Procedures
Reporting
Data Collection and Analysis
Efficiency improvement
Quality Orientation
Problem Solving and Judgement
Planning and Organising
Business Acumen
Risk Identification
Decisiveness
Financial Accounting

Compliance Competency

Security Clearance: GOC Confidential

Employment Equity
The Employment Equity policy of SARS will be considered as part of the recruitment and selection process and Persons with Disabilities are encouraged to apply. Successful candidates will be required to undertake an oath of secrecy, pre-employment screening, case study, pre-assessment, psychometric assessment and or vetting, and a declaration of private interest. The appointment is also subject to appropriate reference(s) and security clearance where applicable.

PLEASE APPLY HERE

SENIOR SOFTWARE TESTER
Position Reports to: Manager: Systems Qualification & Testing
Division: Strategy Enab & Modernisation
Location: SARS Brooklyn
Advert Closing Date: 15 March 2026

About the Position
SARS is looking for a highly skilled Senior Software Tester with a passion for quality assurance and a strong attention to detail. If you are curious, results-driven, and thrive in a dynamic IT environment, join our team. You’ll play a key role in ensuring our software meets the highest standards through rigorous testing and analysis. Take initiative, drive quality, and help us deliver solutions that make a real impact.

Job Purpose
The primary purpose of the senior software tester is the execution of test cases of both medium and high complexity, relating to both system function and process, as well as the identification and logging of defects in accordance with SARS standards. Also may be required to carry out basic system testing without the presence of formal test cases and within agile development environments.

Education and Experience
Minimum Qualification & Experience Required
National Diploma / Advanced Certificate (NQF 6) in Information Technology AND 2-3 years' software testing experience of which 1 - 2 years at a knowledge worker level and must have completed some form of formal, certified training in Software Testing Techniques (e.g. ITSEB or ISTQB foundation.
ALTERNATIVE #
Senior Certificate (NQF 4) AND 5 years software testing experience, of which 1 - 2 years at a knowledge worker level and must have some form of formal, certified training in Software Testing Techniques (e.g. ITSEB or ISTQB foundation)

Minimum Functional Requirements
Must have a working knowledge of the following applications:
MS Word, MS Excel, HP Quality Centre and A+ software and hardware.
Must have the ability to interact effectively with members of the team involved with the project or maintenance.

Job Outputs:
Process

Accumulate information and provide reports with recommendations applicable to area of specialisation.
Apply practical and applied knowledge and act authoritatively on methods, systems and procedures to identify trends and potential risks.
Communication of situational interpretation and judgement of work outputs and queries in area of specialisation.
Effectively plan and schedule own activities to continuously improve quality and service delivery in area of specialisation.
Execute process and procedural change, implement the change and provide guidelines and support related to new requirements as a result of the change.
Correctly apply applicable legislation, including amongst others policies, procedures, and SOPs in the delivery of work outputs.
Use practical and applied knowledge and situational judgement to consider policy implications and to arrive at decisions / conclusions.
Apply and utilise systems in a manner that ensures efficient and effective service delivery, optimised quality, financial accuracy and calculation.
Be observant and engage on possible violations of procedures and standards of conduct and escalate where necessary.
Take accountability for delivery of contracted work outputs within agreed parameters, quality standards and client service targets.
Perform compatibility testing to prevent software failure due to compatibility between application software, operating systems or operating systems versions such as Desktop Applications, Web Browsers i.e. Internet Explorer new versions etc.
Perform backward compatibility testing of latest software versions that not all users may be running on.
To manage the early identification of defects and systems failures.
Actively participate in the Testing Life-Cycle.
Execute test cases captured and assigned within QC.
Update QC to reflect testing progress.
To capture defects within QC in accordance with SARS defect reporting standards.
Active participate at all Testing Levels (Unit / Systems/ Regression/ Stability / Distribution.
To test activities that verify a specific action or function of the application and test objective and output answers the questions…"can the user do this" or "does this particular feature work.
Execute varied range of multiple complexity test cases as assigned and defects recorded as per divisional policy and procedures.
Active participate in all Testing Levels (Unit / Systems/ Regression/ Stability / Distribution / Disaster recover, etc.)
Plan and organise own work tasks within area of work.