“Quality accounting information is crucial for public finance management. Bearing in mind that accrual accounting increases the comprehensiveness and quality of accounting information, and with the intention to converge towards the principles of accrual accounting, in 2015 the Government of Montenegro adopted the Strategy for Transition to Accrual-Based Public Accounting.

With this step it became apparent that training public accountants is one of the pillars of the accounting reform. In the same year, the Ministry of Finance started the PACT training, recognizing CEF as a strong partner in developing capacities in accounting. Applying the methodology of the CIPFA from the UK, it was clear from the outset that all the preconditions for the success of this project had been created.

To preserve the sustainability of the project, the Ministry of Finance, together with the CEF and the Human Resources Management Authority, immediately started to work on localizing the training program, so that after providing international support, the project would become a national training and certification program for public accountants. The interest of accountants to take part in 2016 exceeded the training capacity. For that reason, it was continued for the second and third generation of accountants in 2017 and 2018.

A milestone in the process was 2018, when the Ministry of Finance started to develop the Law on Public Sector Accounting. The goal was to integrate the reform efforts of the Government of Montenegro in this area and create the basis for the implementation of accrual-based accounting in the public sector. Consequently, since then, one of the most relevant laws in the area of public finances has been adopted, which will bring accountants numerous novelties and challenges in their work.

The international certification training may have come to an end but at the same time this is a new beginning for the start of local training and implementation of the public sector accounting reform.”