Regional Conference for Public Accountants: Issues and lessons learnt on the path to accrual accounting

Jan 30 – 31, 2018 , Ljubljana, Slovenia Conference

English

The conference aims to raise awareness and promote professional networking to support the transition to accrual accounting in Montenegro and Serbia, focusing on the roles and responsibilities of the respective institutional stakeholders. The two-day conference serves a dual purpose: a) raising awareness of the complexities and sharing good practices in the transition to accruals from international institutions and comparable countries in Europe (especially relevant for ministries of finance); and b) promoting professional networking among current and former successful PACT students as a precondition for further professionalization.

How will you benefit?

The purpose of the conference is to promote ownership, institutional and capacity development of the central government authorities as cornerstones of a successful reform and to provide sharing of experience in reform implementation. The conference will provide a venue for discussion on the following aspects of accounting reform:

Motivation and reasons for accounting reforms
Planning and sequencing of accounting reforms, linkages to reforms of other PFM functions
Reform success factors – case study of two successful countries mid-way through transition
Creating conditions for transition to accrual accounting – political leadership and accounting policy
Importance of training and professional qualifications
Potential challenges with implementation of selected IPSAS standards in the national environment for Serbia and Montenegro.

The objectives of the conference are:

Present issues in the reform of accounting and reporting systems
Present examples of good practice in transition to accruals
Inform decision making based on improved understanding of the regional challenges in practical implementation of the selected IPSAS

What will you learn?

Capacity building through training and certification has proven to positively affect the speed and overall success of the reform. PACT programs in Serbia and Montenegro support accounting reforms by providing training and internationally recognized certification. Through PACT, accountants have learned about key accounting concepts in an accrual environment in preparation for reforms.

Through presentations, panel discussions and expert guided discussions in working groups, participants will be able to learn:

How to deal with challenges in the planning and implementation of accrual accounting, with emphasis on issues that can be solved through policy making, training and capacity building
How comparable countries successfully carried out partial or full transition from cash to accrual accounting
What are common and country specific challenges in introducing specific IPSAS equivalents covered in the PACT Financial Accounting module curriculum from the practitioners’ perspective
What interventions are needed to support the transition to accrual accounting in Serbia and Montenegro.

Participants will be encouraged to share their experiences and country practices during discussions in the working groups.

Who should attend?

Countries who have decided to move to accrual accounting share broadly similar challenges. For that reason, treasury officials, SAI representatives and individual accountants in the region can update on developments and learn from each other on reform challenges and ways to overcome them. Regional conference is designed for:

Graduates and current successful students of PACT training in Serbia and Montenegro
Management at the Treasury Departments at Serbian and Montenegrin Ministries of Finance, responsible for budgetary accounting
Representatives of localization host institutions
Representatives of Supreme Audit institutions in Serbia and Montenegro
Representatives of donors and partners
Representatives of Ministries of Finance in the region

Participation is by invitation only.

News item about the conference.