CHISINAU, April 3, 2014 – The World Bank Centre for Financial Reporting Reform launched two activities as part of its regional Strengthening Auditing and Reporting in the Countries of the Eastern Partnership project. Two new communities of practice in the field of accounting and auditing have been launched for countries of the Eastern Partnership during regional workshops in Chisinau, Moldova this week, one related to education and one to accounting and auditing standards.
Strengthening Auditing and Reporting in the Countries of the Eastern Partnership (STAREP) is a regional program of the World Bank Centre for Financial Reporting Reform (CFRR), which supports the development of transparent policy environments and effective institutional frameworks for corporate reporting in Eastern Partnership countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. STAREP helps participating countries improve corporate financial reporting frameworks and raise the capacity of local institutions to implement these frameworks effectively. Communities of practice, organized within STAREP, bring together groups of practitioners to share knowledge, experiences and ideas.
“We are pleased that these two important events under the new regional STAREP program have been launched in Moldova,” said Stefan Creanga, Deputy Minister of Finance of Moldova. “In recent years, Moldova has undertaken serious and comprehensive steps to implement sound reforms. We believe that the opportunities to participate in various communities of practice organized by the World Bank CFRR in the last four years have provided our specialists and stakeholders with significant support in promoting financial reporting reform in Moldova. We look forward to sharing this experience with our colleagues from other countries under the STAREP program”.
“It is a great opportunity for CFRR to launch the regional dialogue between the STAREP countries on accounting and auditing education and standards, with these two initial workshops in Chisinau,” said Henri Fortin, Head of the World Bank CFRR. “We hope this will foster cooperation among the countries and help them in their efforts to modernize their accounting environment, which is essential to private sector development and shared prosperity.”
Accounting and Auditing Standards Community of Practice Workshop (A&ACoP) - Differentiated financial reporting requirements: EU acquis communautaire and international good practices
Over two days, A&ACoP participants drawn from various institutions and organizations engaged in the field of accounting and auditing from STAREP countries focused on common challenges in accounting and auditing frameworks, notably alignment with EU standards and good international practices, and addressing the specific reporting needs of SMEs. There was much discussion of updated accounting and auditing requirements, set by the new accounting directive adopted by the European Parliament on June 26, 2013, which introduced the differentiated reporting approach for various types of entities. Natalia Tiriulnicova, Member of the Accounting Methodological Council under the Ministry of Finance of Moldova, shared Moldova’s experience and challenges in modernizing accounting legislation and developing new accounting standards.
Accounting and Auditing Education Community of Practice Workshop (EduCoP) - Education for opportunity: Supporting Universities in Achieving Academic Excellence
The agenda of the EduCoP was dedicated to the role of universities in providing high-quality initial professional development education. Potential partnerships, including academic, quality assurance and financial support opportunities, were discussed and there was consideration of the value, importance and role of academic research, and also of the growing demand for learning technologies in modern accountancy education. Valentina Paladi, Dean of the Accounting Faculty and Lilia Grigoroi, Head of the Accounting and Auditing Chair, Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova shared the experience of her institution on the challenges and benefits of becoming accredited to an internationally recognized accountancy body, currently underway at her faculty.
The Centre for Financial Reporting Reform (CFRR) in Vienna, Austria, is responsible for the World Bank’s corporate financial reporting activities across the Europe and Central Asia region. It provides a range of knowledge, convening and capacity development services to partner countries in support of financial reporting reform, institutional strengthening and the dissemination of good practice in the area of financial reporting and auditing.
