The conference entitled “Third Regional Audit Quality Assurance Forum: Improving Audit Quality through Cooperation”, which was held on the 22nd and 23rd of October 2024, organized by the World Bank, Center for Financial Reporting Reform (CFRR) in Bucharest, Romania, was attended by the President of the Council, Aleksandar Naumoski, together with representatives of the Professional service, Zarko Kamcev, acting coordinator of the professional service and Magdalena Dimeska Ristoska, associate for control and oversight, as part of the Macedonian delegation, which also included a representative of the Ministry of Finance, Marina Stanojkova Arsovski, the President of Institute of certified auditors of the Republic of North Macedonia, Nenad Tortevski, as well as the quality controller of audit reports, employed at Institute, Branka Stojanovska.
Organized by the third forum of public oversight bodies jointly organized within the framework of two regional programs of the World Bank, the Center for Financial Reporting Reform (CFRR) based in Vienna, Austria – The Path to a European Program for Accounting Reform and Institutional Strengthening for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (REPARIS) and the Program for Improving Accounting, Auditing and Reporting for Sustainability (EASURE). The event was opened by Alanna Simpson – Country Manager for Romania from the World Bank and Georgiana Oana Stănilă, President, Public Oversight Authority for Statutory Audit ASPAAS, Romania.
The event was attended by representatives of 11 member states of the two aforementioned programs (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina (with separate representatives of 3 entities: Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska and Brcko District), Kosovo, Albania, Macedonia, as well as representatives of the host country Romania.
In the opening address of the Forum, the President of the Council emphasized the important role of the Council, which for its activities in the next period is expected to receive support from the European Delegation in Skopje, the European Commission, as well as logistical support from the Ministry of European Affairs of the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia, which has European funds at its disposal, of course from the host of the Forum – from CFRR-World Bank – Vienna, diplomatic consular missions in Skopje, for practical operationalization and implementation of the planned projects. They will practically ensure the advancement of the auditing profession in the country, and thus the quality of the auditing/financial reports, which will provide greater motivation for the young academic population to acquire the title of auditor, as well as greater public affirmation of the Council as a regulator of the auditing profession.
The President of the Council emphasized that, given that the Council, as a regulatory body, in the current legal solution cannot directly influence the control of the quality of audit reports, at this stage, and through the assessment it makes, at the sessions of the Council, proposals are made, for a possible extraordinary control is necessary, in order to practically confirm the validity of the audit reports, which opens up opportunities for initiating disciplinary measures, in the direction of quality control and disciplinary measures. He emphasized that with the created prerequisites for a strong system for quality control of audit reports, they certainly represent a system for early prevention and locating the dangers of bankruptcy at an early stage, as a protection of the state from unnecessary and unforeseen financial implications. An institution built with strong technical and personnel capacities that, in cooperation with other institutions and the Government, will make a strong contribution to the fight against corruption.
As a sublimation of the presentations presented by all 11 countries present at the Forum, as well as based on examples and findings on individual topics, the participants agreed that the listed practical examples enable the mutual transfer of knowledge and experiences, contributing to the overall improvement of the quality of controls and resulting in higher quality audits and financial reports.
At the conference, the Council delegation had separate short working meetings with representatives of the World Bank, Center for Financial Reporting Reform (CFRR): Garik Sergeyan, Andrey Buzujuk and Svetlana Platon, at which future activities and plans for improving the overall activities of the Council were presented, project proposals developed by the Council’s expert service were presented, which could be implemented through the (EASURE) program, for which a joint willingness was expressed to be financed by the Center for Financial Reporting Reform (CFRR) Vienna, in the coming period. The issue of the status of the so-called ROSC report for North Macedonia was also raised, for which assurance was given that the final version of it would be by the end of the calendar year 2024.
At the same time, working meetings were held with representatives of the regulatory bodies of Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Ukraine, Armenia, Albania and the host Romania, with which it was agreed to renew the “Memorandum of Cooperation between the Romanian Regulatory Body (ASPAAS) and SUNRRSM”, already signed in 2015. The President of the Council expressed a request to the President of the Romanian Regulatory Body to provide logistical support to SUNRRSM for future membership, as an observer, in the “CEAOB- Committee of European Auditing Oversight Bodies” in Brussels, and during the recent visit of the Council Delegation to the “19th Subcommittee on Internal Market and Competition” in Brussels, which will be held on 12th of November 2024.
The following are the proposed general conclusions reached by the Council delegation:
- The Council delegation proposed that the next conference – the fourth forum, with the same composition of participating countries, and on a topic to be determined at the plenary conference of the World Bank, Center for Financial Reporting Reform (CFRR) in March 2025 in Vienna, be held in Ohrid, in October 2025;
- As an important conclusion, it is stated that the Council delegation also held a working meeting with Natalia Vovchuk, Head of the newly established think tank organization AICPA&CIMA based in Bucharest, which is under the patronage of the Center for Financial Reporting Reform (CFRR) – Vienna. The readiness of the said organization to finance part of the projects proposed by the Council in the shortest possible time was expressed.
It is concluded that this type of regional conferences are an ideal opportunity for participants to communicate with experts on various current topics related to corporate sustainability and financial reporting, public oversight and auditing, as well as to gain practical experience in applying auditing standards, comparatively in individual countries..
Also highlighted is the fruitful exchange of different experiences of the delegation representatives, who emphasized the necessity for further harmonization of the legal and regulatory framework in the field of auditing, and within the frameworks for corporate financial reporting of individual countries, to improve the practice of identifying significant findings through quality controls to ensure better quality and formulate appropriate measures to eliminate deficiencies.