The TIAPS Montenegro Program 3, On the Job Workshop (OTJ), which started in 2015 and continued in 2016, implemented by the Ministry of Finance of Montenegro as the project beneficiary in cooperation with the CEF, has improved the internal audit practice in Montenegro, contributing to capacity building and strengthening of the internal controls system in the public sector.

It has been a pleasure to work with the CEF on every project, including the OTJ workshop that we have been jointly implementing with success and tangible results. The CEF’s professional, timely and generous support with a special focus on the staff directly involved in project implementation has been essential to achieving the project objectives. It is a privilege that we have been given the opportunity to learn so much from experienced professionals.

In addition to providing hands-on training for internal auditors to perform system based audit, this project has contributed to the exchange of know-how and experience among internal auditors working in various institutions and dealing with similar dilemmas and obstacles. The practical approach of the training course has given a good opportunity for internal auditors to jointly address some of the dilemmas and harmonize their views with regard to auditing.

The guidelines provided by the experts have helped improve and expand the knowledge and skills of internal auditors, with a particular emphasis on certain phases of audit and drafting the audit report.

Thanks to this project, our employees have had the opportunity to communicate more often (both directly and indirectly) with internal auditors on the application of the internal audit methodology and, through performing a horizontal audit by several internal audit units, to learn more about the application of regulations governing this type of audit.

The project allowed us to get familiar with practical audit work and identify the areas that require improvement. This has served as the basis for selecting adequate topics and methods for the presentation of topics for the continuous training of internal auditors in 2016.

The cooperation on this project through direct contacts has helped consolidate and strengthen the established network of internal auditors in the public sector of Montenegro, and thus the system of exchange of knowledge and skills, which is an essential precondition for any profession but in particular for internal auditors, as this profession is in its early stages of development in Montenegro. Therefore, any kind of training, especially practical training combined with theory, is extremely important for us.

This professionally monitored training program and socializing with colleagues from the CEF and peers has offered a lot of mutual support and has broadened our perspective.

I would like to personally thank the CEF`s management and staff for their support in the completed and coming training projects. I look forward to our future cooperation.

Stoja Roćenović
Head of the Directorate for Harmonization of Internal Audit at the Directorate of Central Harmonization
Ministry of Finance
Montenegro