Other Financial Accountability Study
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Publication
Common Core Accounting Syllabus for Universities
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-09-13)Strengthening Auditing and Reporting in the Countries of the Eastern Partnership (STAREP) is a regional program of the Centre for Financial Reporting Reform (CFRR). The program aims to create a transparent policy environment and effective institutional framework for corporate reporting within the countries that make up the European Union’s Eastern Partnership: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. STAREP’s focus is on the improvement of corporate financial reporting frameworks and their effective implementation. As many countries move towards the adoption of international and regional standards in accounting and auditing, there is a need to ensure high quality, relevant education both for those entering the profession and for ongoing professional development throughout their career. The World Bank’s Accounting and Auditing Education Community of Practice (EduCoP) has enabled shared and peer learning, supporting national efforts to develop accounting and auditing education capacity. -
Publication
Accountants as Catalysts for Growth in the Western Balkans: Initial Assessment of SME's Financial Management and Financial Governance
(World Bank, Vienna, 2019-05-08)Good financial management and financial governance is not only an imperative for the largest companies; smaller privately-owned businesses dominate economies in the Western Balkans providing most of jobs and contributing most of the value added to the economy, and so it is essential that smaller businesses with high growth potential are not constrained by poor financial management practices. The World Bank’s Center for Financial Reporting Reform (CFRR) has developed a landscape assessment approach” that aims to identify the state of financial management and financial governance practices of Micro, Small and Medium Sized Entities (MSMEs) in the Western Balkans and opportunities for improvement, building on the Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSCs) performed in the region. The landscape assessment approach has been developed by the CFRR under the Accountants as Catalysts for Growth (A4G) initiative which aims to leverage the accounting profession to support improvements in the management of the financial health of MSMEs. This work compliments the Reports on Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSCs) that have been completed by looking at non-standard aspects of financial management. Preliminary landscape assessments have been performed in Serbia and Albania; however, this work has not yet been formally reported. These preliminary assessments have been performed to test the assessment approach before a broader roll-out under the future EU-REPARIS program work as well as identify the key financial management and financial governance practices of MSMEs that need improvement, based on stakeholder observation, and consider factors that may be giving rise to such practices and possible approaches to address them. Reports for Serbia and Albania will be completed once the assessment is finalized which may include further work in both countries resulting from refinements to the assessment approach. Stakeholder observations obtained from preliminary assessment work were used to identify financial management deficiencies in MSMEs, possible causal factors, and approaches to improvement. Stakeholders identified some fundamental deficiencies in financial management and financial governance of MSMEs in Serbia and Albania that appear to be systemic and may constrain the MSME Sector’s development overall.is important to note that these are not expressed as actionable recommendations; they are offered as key themes that should be discussed by the main stakeholders to coordinate and identify agreed actions with these themes and others. A key issue identified at this initial stage of work is that approaches to address shortcomings in financial management and financial governance of MSMEs are constrained by market conditions and institutional capacity. Future work under the A4G initiative, including completing assessments in all Western Balkans countries, and developing activities to support improvements in MSME financial management and financial governance, will need to take account of the results of this preliminary assessment work. -
Publication
Croatia’s EU Accession: Case Studies on Reform and the Transposition of the Community Acquis
(World Bank, Vienna, 2016)Croatia, a founding member of the former Republic of Yugoslavia and a current member of the European Union (EU), is a high-income country in Europe and Central Asia. Given that high quality financial reporting promotes good corporate governance, reduces uncertainty and risk, can help to lower the cost of capital, and boosts investor confidence, it will play a critical role in the country’s strategy to champion private sector led growth for economic development. Croatia’s preparation to join the EU required reform of its corporate financial reporting framework and practices, among other things, and laid the foundation for enhanced financial reporting and increased transparency. Although the country’s accession to the EU on July 1, 2013 was a single historical point in time, it encapsulated years of transformation of the statutory and institutional framework in every aspect of the economic, social, and political spheres of the country. The purpose of this report, which focuses on Croatia’s adoption and implementation of the corporate financial reporting aspects of the acquis’, company law, is to enhance understanding of how successful transitions work in practice, that is, what makes some reforms succeed where others fail. It attempts to answer questions such as: what happens when countries adopt international standards; what issues arise when one tries to merge differing legal traditions; how to achieve reform when there are capacity constraints and key implementing institutions are missing; what are the different strategies that can be used during various phases of a reform process; and, more generally, what factors encourage failure or lead to success? -
Publication
Croatia Health System Quality and Efficiency Improvement : Fiduciary System Assessment
(Washington, DC, 2014-01)A Fiduciary System Assessment (FSA) was carried out in accordance with OP/BP 9.0 that evaluated the fiduciary systems pertaining to the Health System Quality and Efficiency Improvement Program for Results. The integrated fiduciary assessment comprised separate assessments of the fiduciary risks relating to the programs: (i) procurement; (ii) financial management; and iii) governance. The objective of the assessment was to provide reference that could be used to monitor fiduciary system performance during the implementation of the above referenced operation, as well as to identify actions, as relevant, to enhance the performance of the systems. Findings from the assessment, as well as a review of existing analytical and diagnostic work , conclude that the overall fiduciary and governance framework is adequate to support the implementation of Croatia's Health System Quality and Efficiency Improvement Program for Results and includes summary table of the key risks and the corresponding mitigation actions identified. This report is organized along the following lines: presentation of institutional arrangements and national framework; review and assessment of Program fiduciary systems and, including a discussion of baseline performance measurement and indicators, as well as fiduciary risk. While governance and anti-corruption issues are featured prominently throughout the various national systems, institutions, and functions, the report presents these issues in a separate section. Finally, the report includes inputs to the implementation support plan as well as a number of supporting annexes. -
Publication
The Basel III Financial Architecture and Emerging Regulatory Developments in Macro Prudential Tools
(Washington, DC, 2012)This note reviews the main elements of the New Basel III global regulatory framework and its regulatory implications, as well as the menu of macro prudential regulatory options to consider for application to ensure more resilient banks and baking systems. -
Publication
Fundamentals of Financial Statements Audit
(Washington, DC, 2011-05)The purpose of an audit is to enhance the degree of confidence of intended users in the financial statements. The objective of an audit of financial statements is to enable an auditor to express an opinion as to whether the financial statements are prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards or another identified financial reporting framework. The auditor's opinion is expressed in by using the phrase 'give a true and fair view' or 'present fairly, in all material respects'. The auditor and the client's management have separate and distinct responsibilities. The auditor is responsible for forming and expressing an opinion on the financial statements. The client's management, on the other hand, bears responsibility for preparing and presenting the financial statements. Management's responsibilities are not relieved by the fact that the statements are audited. An auditor must comply with general principles of an audit. These require an auditor to: 1) comply with the 'Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants' issued by the IFAC (or a national Code of Ethics, where appropriate); 2) conduct an audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) (where applicable); and 3) plan and perform the audit with an attitude of professional skepticism, recognizing that circumstances may exist that cause the financial statements to be materially misstated. -
Publication
Ukraine : System of Financial Oversight and Governance of State-Owned Enterprises
(Washington, DC, 2011-02-22)The report focuses on the system of financial oversight and governance of state-owned enterprises in Ukraine. State-owned enterprises (SOEs) continue to represent a significant share of Ukraine's economy, and play a dominant role in sectors such as rail, transport, utilities, energy and telecommunications. These enterprises play an important role for the government by remitting dividend payments to the national treasury to fund the country's development agenda. At the same time, these same enterprises government receive fiscal support through a transfer of budgetary resources, issuance of guarantees for enterprise debt, facilitation to lines of credit, and other financial instruments. Ukraine's SOE sector has a wide range of ownership and management schemes. The basic legal framework for SOE oversight, defined in the Commercial Code of Ukraine, provides for the delegation of responsibilities across several ministries/agencies. As a result, there are overlapping roles across different government institutions, and gaps with regard to active monitoring and oversight. In practice, the SOE oversight function of the line ministries is primarily exercised through a review of the reports submitted by the SOEs on the implementation of financial plans. However, the review is typically light, and its efficiency is undermined by the limited clarity of the operating objectives for SOEs, and limited usefulness of the performance management framework. Moreover, the underlying data used to measure performance indicators is not validated and its reliability is uncertain. Even though the current performance management framework can be improved, performance evaluations are not conducted for a substantial number of SOEs which seriously undermines the effectiveness of oversight. -
Publication
Action Plan for Strengthening Financial Services Consumer Protection in Azerbaijan
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2009-12)This Action Plan is based on the World Bank’s Technical Note on Consumer Protection and Financial Literacy in Azerbaijan published in June 2009. The Action Plan focuses on the Legal and Regulatory Issues of the Technical Note’s Key Findings and Recommendations, proposing specific actions for Azerbaijani authorities, financial institutions and consumer organizations so that consumer protection is strengthened and made more effective and efficient. The Action Plan should be the base upon which specific legal changes should be drafted and against which their implementation should be evaluated. Beside the Technical Note itself, the Action Plan draws on best international practices and experiences of regulators and supervisors that have tried to introduce improved consumer protection in their countries. It should also be noted that a well-balanced consumer protection regime serves also the interest of financial institutions as it provides them with better informed clients and also makes sure that clients understand their obligations under the contracts they signed. The Action Plan is divided into five parts that cover the key areas based on the recommendations of the Technical Note: (a) Legal Mandate, (b) Effective Supervision and Regulation, (c) Disclosure of Information, (d) Business Practices, and (e) Dispute Resolution.