The statement of the Chairman of the Public Oversight Board, Mr. Dritan Fino:
At this moment of delivering the final product of this activity, I think it is time to make some evaluations on the usefulness and effectiveness of implementing this product and to draw some lessons that may be valuable for future programming or interventions. Allow me to focus on some of the moments that I consider important, starting from the planning phase until today, when we have the results of this activity and an approximate assessment of its impact.
Beginning with this preliminary assessment or analysis, I want to remind you that, of course, from the positions of project management or the Public Oversight Board, I am not exempt from the natural limitations of any internal assessment. Nevertheless, I will try to highlight some moments that help us understand the benefit of this activity and its future projection.
This activity, the need for massive training of accountants, besides the general need to strengthen the accounting profession as a whole, was designed as a result of the findings of the National Accounting Council, which had identified (despite currently operating in the absence of in-depth research tools) a lack of knowledge regarding the recently approved National Accounting Standards by the Ministry of Finance. Through discussions with the community of accounting professionals represented by accounting organizations, this finding was confirmed, and massive training remained the only alternative for an efficient allocation of funds within the accounting education component. I want to emphasize that from the beginning, it was clear that this training would not cover all the needs of accountants due to limited resources and was conceived as a pilot activity that should be replicated in the future by stable professional structures, if successful.
Today, at the conclusion of this activity, we can draw some conclusions and assessments regarding the benefits of this activity and draw some lessons that may be valuable in the future continuation of the reform to improve financial reporting.
• The assessment of the needs made in collaboration with the World Bank, despite the lack of scientific research tools, proved accurate, and during the project implementation, there was a demand for participation in training that completely exceeded the predictions and opportunities offered by allocated resources.
• It was evident that the necessary human resources existed for the development and implementation of large-scale education programs in the field of accounting. I must emphasize that it has been a challenge for the entire project management team to optimize the selection of trainers and curriculum developers.
• It was found that today, the National Accounting Council, with the support of the project and the consulting company, has the capacity to conduct research and needs assessments using advanced research methods. I want to remind you that the surveys conducted allowed the calibration of training programs by noting the knowledge most sought after by the market and where the deficiencies and uncertainties were greater.
• It was found that there is sufficient experience and operational capacity to implement training programs.
• The knowledge gained in these training sessions was considered useful not only in relation to the theoretical training of accountants but also in its immediate application in practice in preparing the financial statements of the past year.
On the other hand, I must emphasize the limitations of this activity so that, in the future, we can reach the most rational and effective decision-making.
• Ad-hoc training intervention schemes do not permanently solve the existing need within the community of accountants to build capacities and to update with new knowledge. This is impossible and inefficient because such a program cannot be extended over time due to resource limitations and the fact that training programs need to be continuously updated in line with changes in the market and standards.
• These types of project-based activities do not allow the development of training capacities that will continuously raise the quality of their programs and teaching because their selection would also be random, thus unmanageable and uncontrolled.
• It is neither positive nor ethical and can damage fair competition within the profession that a group of the accounting community, unintentionally but due to the limitations of the activity, is given an advantage for professional development and is cost-free over the other part that could not participate in training.
In light of the above analysis, I return once again to the starting point, that of planning the activity, when it was thought that the true success would be the replication of training throughout the country and for all accountants. This brings today the need for appropriate structures to provide this service to the community, based not only on the Albanian legislative framework but also on the best international practices. The solution is found in the self-regulatory capacities of the accounting community and the efficiency of their organizations as professional organizations.
Looking also from the perspective of the Public Oversight Board, which is responsible for leading the Certified Accountant profession to ensure the quality of financial reporting, a long-term solution that is sustainable and that optimizes the use of resources, is found in the development of continuous professional education programs. These programs are a duty of professional organizations and should be developed in accordance with international standards that the legislator has currently set as a legal obligation in the audit law no. 10091, dated March 5, 2009, as amended, and organizations must also have them materialized in their internal regulatory documents. Meanwhile, the completion of this activity confirms the unmet demand for an immediate activation of the role of the profession to be organized appropriately to meet its needs.
Without wanting to repeat the above analysis, a strategic solution for the accounting community is clearly the construction of a vital and consistent program within the framework of the professional organization of accountants that will ensure sustainably and effectively the necessary professional development of Certified Accountants and the updating of their knowledge through the fulfillment of the mandatory annual quota of Continuing Professional Education hours.
The Public Oversight Board, as part of its strategy for improving the quality of financial reporting produced by certified accountants, will support the profession in the development of a comprehensive program of continuous professional development and its update mechanisms to make it as sustainable and useful as possible for the accounting community. However, the ultimate responsibility in this case remains with the community itself.
