The POB Forum, established in May 2023 under the Road to Europe Program for Accounting Reform and Institutional Strengthening for Small and Medium Enterprises (REPARIS for SMEs) program, serves as a platform for sharing international and regional knowledge in the areas of public oversight and quality assurance. It facilitates peer learning, regional cooperation, and the exchange of practical experience among Western Balkan countries. Representatives of ministries of finance, public audit oversight authorities, and professional accountancy organizations (PAO) from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Ukraine took part in the December POB Forum. A significant part of discussions focused on Albania’s achievements enhancing CFR under SQARP. The experience and progress, particularly relevant as the country advances EU acquis transposition in company law, were welcomed by participants and generated strong interest and follow-up questions.

SQARP has played a central role in advancing Albania’s corporate financial reporting reforms during the period 2020-2025. The reforms are helping create a more attractive environment for investment and business growth, supporting Albania’s companies to improve financial transparency and oversight, which attracts investment and supports entrepreneurship. Implemented by the World Bank Centre for Financial and Sustainability Reporting Reform (CFRR) with the Albanian Ministry of Finance as a key beneficiary, the project has actively addressed the technical, legal, institutional, and educational foundations required for alignment with the EU acquis and that enhance the transparency, credibility, and reliability of financial information in the country. It has achieved consistent and substantive progress across the entire reporting ecosystem, supporting standard-setting, oversight and enforcement, professional qualification, judicial understanding and competence, use and interpretation of publicly available financial information, examination systems, digital learning, and broader awareness of the importance of high-quality reporting and audit practices.

Ms. Erisa Rodhani, representative of the Ministry of Finance of Albania, explained to the POB Forum the strategic importance of SQARP. “One of the key reform areas led by the Ministry of Finance, with the support of our international partners—the World Bank and SECO, whom we thank for their continued and long-standing cooperation—relates to improving financial reporting in the private sector and beyond, in line with international standards and best practices. The overarching objective is to enhance the quality of statutory audit and financial reporting, while further aligning Albania’s accounting and auditing framework with EU directives, regulations, and international good practice.”

The results are designed to be enduring. There is sufficient technical capacity for the corporate financial reporting framework entities to maintain and apply the legal framework, professional standards, and oversight activities. Cooperation and data sharing between entities strengthens its operation. There is improved data availability and transparency and institutional sustainability has developed. The educational structure for statutory auditors and certified accountants is enhanced and continues to evolve and PAOs are engaged in attracting more newly registered professionals as members. By raising professional standards and building institutional capacity, the project has also enabled the development for exporting accountancy services, opening new employment opportunities for Albanian professionals and further boosting employment opportunities and economic growth

Mr. Sotiraq Dhamo, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Albania, told the POB Forum he welcomed the development of forensic accounting capabilities and the promotion of cross-border professional services under SQARP. He noted that these reforms “reinforce the role of the profession in detecting financial irregularities and supporting judicial and enforcement processes.”

The Public Oversight Board has achieved membership of the International Forum of Independent Audit Regulators (IFIAR) and observer status to the Committee of European Auditing Oversight Bodies (CEAOB) plenary meetings, important recognitions of its status. Its Chair, Mr. Dritan Fino, outlined to the POB Forum Albania’s comprehensive review of its audit regulatory framework, which now fully aligns with the EU audit acquis and international best practices. “The reform of the Public Oversight Board has ensured long-term sustainability of risk-based quality assurance reviews. To date, more than 150 inspections have been conducted under this risk-based approach,” he noted, continuing “our experience demonstrates that effective public oversight is not punitive in nature, but transformative. In Albania, the audit profession has clearly acknowledged that quality is not discretionary—it is fundamental.”

Ms. Erjola Vejzati, Executive Director of the Public Oversight Board, emphasized that statutory audit is no longer perceived as a low-cost, compliance-driven service. Instead, recent reforms had fostered quality-based competition, strengthened institutional capacities, and positioned the Public Oversight Board as a credible and effective regulator capable of safeguarding and sustaining reform outcomes.

Although SQARP is now ending, the Ministry of Finance has committed to continuing the reform efforts under a national program. This reflects the positive political support and growing recognition of the improved quality of financial information. A clear post-project operating model specifies the responsibilities of each beneficiary institution and outlines how the systems, tools, and capacities established through SQARP will be preserved and further developed. This includes the National Accounting Council continuing its role in standard-setting, technical guidance, research coordination, and consolidation of institutional needs. The Public Oversight Board will maintain and strengthen the systems of quality assurance, investigation and discipline, and professional development monitoring, cooperating closely with regulators and professional bodies. PAOs will sustain qualification processes, ethics, and professional development programs. Regulators will continue integrating international supervisory practices and using the tools and methodologies developed under the project to reinforce reporting quality in regulated sectors. The Albanian School of Magistrates will maintain and periodically update its training programs, case studies, and e-learning modules, ensuring continued competence in financial reporting matters. These arrangements have been linked to the annual budgeting cycle, ensuring that activities are incorporated into institutional budgets in a predictable and sustainable way.

Albania’s presentations to the POB Forum provided knowledge and inspiration for regional peers, confirming that by raising professional standards and building institutional capacity, their reforms had not only strengthened Albania’s financial reporting ecosystem and helped alignment with the EU but were also creating new and sustainable job opportunities, empowering professionals and driving economic growth across the country.