Mutapa Investment Fund Receives Qualified Audit Opinion Over Valuation and Translation Breaches

The Mutapa Investment Fund has received a qualified audit opinion (image source)

HARARE — The Mutapa Investment Fund (MIF) has been issued a qualified audit opinion by Grant Thornton, which flagged significant breaches of international accounting standards in the Fund’s first financial statements covering the period from 19 September 2023 to 31 December 2024.

Grant Thornton said MIF failed to comply with IFRS 9 and IFRS 13 by not measuring investments at fair value on initial recognition after the Fund assumed control of numerous state-owned enterprises under Statutory Instruments 156 of 2023 and 51 of 2024. Auditors warned that because fair values were not determined at the dates the assets vested, the carrying amounts of investments and the capital contribution recorded in the financial statements are misstated, and the extent of the misstatement could not be determined.

Grant Thornton flagged breaches of IFRS standards relating to asset valuation, currency translation and the use of unaudited financial data (image source)

The audit also raised concerns about the valuation methodology applied to unquoted subsidiaries and associates. Grant Thornton noted that the Fund relied on unaudited financial information to value entities with an aggregate reported worth of more than US$11.4 billion. Auditors said they were unable to verify whether appropriate adjustments had been applied to that data, creating further uncertainty over the accuracy of the reported investment values.

A further breach was identified under IAS 21 after MIF translated Zimbabwe dollar (ZWG) financial information into United States dollars (USD) without first restating the ZWG statements for hyperinflation, as required by IAS 29. Auditors said some entities were translated using exchange rates they deemed inappropriate and that they could not determine the adjustments necessary to correct the misstated values.

Despite these qualifications, Grant Thornton confirmed that, apart from the matters described, the financial statements were prepared in accordance with the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Zimbabwe Act. The report underscores the scale and complexity of consolidating dozens of state-owned enterprises into a single sovereign investment vehicle and signals significant work ahead to harmonise accounting policies, perform fair-value assessments and restate hyperinflation-affected records.

Observers say the findings will increase pressure on MIF to publish a clear remediation plan, commission independent valuations, and strengthen disclosure and governance practices in order to restore investor and public confidence.