UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA
College of Law
⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄⋄
RSK4802: Governance, Risk
and Compliance Management
Assignment 1 — Semester 1, 2026
⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄⋄
RSK4802
Module Code:
Governance, Risk and Compliance Manage-
Module Name:
ment
Assignment 1
Assignment:
354495
Unique Number:
20 May 2026
Due Date:
25
Total Marks:
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for RSK4802 — UNISA 2026
, UNISA | RSK4802 Governance, Risk and Compliance Management
The Four Pillars of Corporate Governance and Their Violation at VBS Mutual Bank
The King Report on Corporate Governance (King III), adopted by the Institute of Directors in
Southern Africa in 2009, established that good governance is characterised by four founda-
tional ethical values: responsibility, accountability, fairness, and transparency (Institute of
Directors in Southern Africa, 2009). These values are collectively referred to in academic lit-
erature as the RAFT principles, and King III requires that boards of directors apply them as
the baseline of all decision-making and institutional conduct (Institute of Directors in South-
ern Africa, 2009:14). The collapse of VBS Mutual Bank in 2018 and the subsequent findings
of Advocate Terry Motau SC in his forensic report, The Great Bank Heist, present one of the
most instructive South African case studies of what happens when a board abandons every
single one of these principles simultaneously. This discussion examines each pillar in turn
and traces, with reference to the evidence, how it was violated at VBS.
Implementation Insight
Background: VBS Mutual Bank was founded as the Venda Building Society in 1982
and became a mutual bank in 1992. By 2016 it had approximately 30,000 depositors,
many of them from burial societies and stokvels in Limpopo. Between March 2015 and
June 2018, nearly R1.9 billion was fraudulently transferred to 53 individuals and entities,
leading to the bank’s liquidation in 2018 (Motau, 2018; Wikipedia, 2026).
1. Accountability
Definition and King III Standard
Accountability, as a pillar of corporate governance under King III, requires that the board be
capable of justifying every decision and action to shareholders and a broader set of stake-
holders (Institute of Directors in Southern Africa, 2009:14.2). It is not merely about reporting;
it is about the board taking genuine ownership of outcomes and being willing to answer for
them. The Human Capital Hub (2023) notes that accountability also includes owning both
the reward and the risk within a clearly defined value proposition and fostering a compliance
culture at every level of the organisation.
Page 2 of 10
College of Law
⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄⋄
RSK4802: Governance, Risk
and Compliance Management
Assignment 1 — Semester 1, 2026
⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄⋄
RSK4802
Module Code:
Governance, Risk and Compliance Manage-
Module Name:
ment
Assignment 1
Assignment:
354495
Unique Number:
20 May 2026
Due Date:
25
Total Marks:
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for RSK4802 — UNISA 2026
, UNISA | RSK4802 Governance, Risk and Compliance Management
The Four Pillars of Corporate Governance and Their Violation at VBS Mutual Bank
The King Report on Corporate Governance (King III), adopted by the Institute of Directors in
Southern Africa in 2009, established that good governance is characterised by four founda-
tional ethical values: responsibility, accountability, fairness, and transparency (Institute of
Directors in Southern Africa, 2009). These values are collectively referred to in academic lit-
erature as the RAFT principles, and King III requires that boards of directors apply them as
the baseline of all decision-making and institutional conduct (Institute of Directors in South-
ern Africa, 2009:14). The collapse of VBS Mutual Bank in 2018 and the subsequent findings
of Advocate Terry Motau SC in his forensic report, The Great Bank Heist, present one of the
most instructive South African case studies of what happens when a board abandons every
single one of these principles simultaneously. This discussion examines each pillar in turn
and traces, with reference to the evidence, how it was violated at VBS.
Implementation Insight
Background: VBS Mutual Bank was founded as the Venda Building Society in 1982
and became a mutual bank in 1992. By 2016 it had approximately 30,000 depositors,
many of them from burial societies and stokvels in Limpopo. Between March 2015 and
June 2018, nearly R1.9 billion was fraudulently transferred to 53 individuals and entities,
leading to the bank’s liquidation in 2018 (Motau, 2018; Wikipedia, 2026).
1. Accountability
Definition and King III Standard
Accountability, as a pillar of corporate governance under King III, requires that the board be
capable of justifying every decision and action to shareholders and a broader set of stake-
holders (Institute of Directors in Southern Africa, 2009:14.2). It is not merely about reporting;
it is about the board taking genuine ownership of outcomes and being willing to answer for
them. The Human Capital Hub (2023) notes that accountability also includes owning both
the reward and the risk within a clearly defined value proposition and fostering a compliance
culture at every level of the organisation.
Page 2 of 10
