BRIEFJune 4, 2026

Spotlight on EAASURE: Professional Development for Corporate Financial and Sustainability Reporting

EAASURE logo
High-quality financial and sustainability reporting are powerful drivers of competitiveness, investor confidence, and, as a result, long-term economic growth. They also translate into more jobs and lower poverty: when lenders and investors can rely on strong, transparent financial statements, they can assess risk more accurately and expand access to capital. That supports investment—and, in turn, company growth and hiring. It also enables regulators and policymakers to identify risks early and respond effectively.

That is the vision behind Enhancing Accounting, Auditing, and Sustainability Reporting (EAASURE), a regional program that supports reforms across Europe and Central Asia (ECA), working with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Ukraine to modernize corporate reporting practices in line with international and EU standards—and improve access to finance.

EAASURE’s work includes a focus on SOEs—major players in many economies across the region that deliver essential services and contribute to employment. EAASURE helps countries strengthen SOE governance by improving financial and debt transparency, supporting implementation of financial reporting standards, and introducing sustainability reporting practices that make performance clear to governments, markets, and citizens.

A Regional Partnership

EAASURE is co‑funded through the Financial Management Umbrella Program by the Austrian Development Agency, the Austrian Ministry of Finance, and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). Together, these partners support a shared objective: building transparent, accountable, and resilient corporate reporting frameworks that strengthen confidence in markets and institutions across the region. The program is implemented by the World Bank Center for Financial and Sustainability Reporting.

What EAASURE Delivers

EAASURE delivers practical support to governments, regulators, and companies by providing professional development and technical expertise in five areas:

  • Strengthening regulatory frameworks
  • Advancing sustainability reporting
  • Improving monitoring and enforcement systems
  • Building institutional capacity
  • Enhancing reporting and governance in state‑owned enterprises

By supporting reforms across these areas, EAASURE helps countries advance toward international and/or EU financial reporting requirements while also strengthening sustainability and other non‑financial reporting practices.

Growing Impact Across the Region

As countries in the Western Balkans and the EU’s Eastern Partnership move toward EU‑aligned corporate reporting, EAASURE has become a key partner in that transition, providing both technical assistance and professional development opportunities for government officials working in accounting, auditing, and SOE governance.

Corporate financial and sustainability reporting capacity building
Since ramping up in 2025, the program as of May 2026 has supported 33 professional development initiatives.  In total, 4,403 participants have taken part—59 percent of them women—reflecting both regional reach and a strong commitment to inclusion. Twenty-one events were held at the regional level and 12 were tailored to country-specific needs. Collectively, these events represent 35,224 person-hours of capacity building. Several initiatives were delivered in collaboration with complementary programs such as REPARIS for SMEs and PULSAR, while others were tailored to specific country needs.

EAASURE-provided technical assistance has so far contributed to advanced reforms related to corporate reporting in Albania, Moldova, and Montenegro – with work in Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine, Armenia and Serbia moving closer to maturity. In Albania and Serbia, for example, draft amendments to accounting and auditing laws, including sustainability reporting requirements were published for public consultation in April 2026. In Montenegro, six auditing and accounting bylaws were adopted by the Ministry of Finance.

Sustainability reporting progress is also being made by several countries with EAASURE assistance, despite a tough reform climate. Ministries of Finance in Albania, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Republika Srpska have approved sustainability reporting concept notes expected to lead to amendments into the legal framework.