The meeting is part of webinar series launched by the World Bank in 2020. The series was developed by the World Bank to support SMPs in order to help the audit firms build their capacities during the pandemic.

As the content is relevant and useful to SMPs operating across the region, representatives of SMPs from STAREP countries i.e. Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine also attended the event.

Paul Thompson, Director at the European Federation of Accountants and Auditors for SMEs (EFAA) and the World Bank Consultant lead the webinar; and the guest speaker was Martin de Bie - Advisor, New Technology & Cross Industry Innovation and Chair, EFAA Digital Working Group. At the meeting, they explained why SMPs must embrace digital transformation and how they can acquire the mindset, skillset, and toolset necessary for this transformation. Participants also learned about the digital transformation support tools and the firms' experience that have already implemented such a transformation.

160 people attended the event. The whole webinar series qualifies for unverified CPD.