Transparency

Public Sector Accounting and Reporting Program (PULSAR) aims to support the enhancement of participating countries’ Public Sector Accounting (PSA) and financial reporting frameworks in line with international standards and in accordance with good practices, in order to improve government accountability, transparency, and performance.

Beginning with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the United States and the creation of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) in 2003, a global movement has developed to require independent oversight of corporate auditors.  The movement is premised on the notion that independent oversight of auditors is critical for investor confidence, stronger corporate governance, and more financial transparency.  A signal event in this movement was the EU’s Statutory Audit Directive of 2006, which required independent oversight to be developed in all EU member countries.  Similar s

A key goal of independent oversight is to provide relevant and reliable information to investors, lenders, audit committees, regulators, other stakeholders, and the general public about auditors and the audit market, among other matters.

This report is the result of research and analysis undertaken as technical assistance to the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Moldova, delivered by the World Bank Governance team in collaboration with the UK’s Good Governance Fund. It focuses on the issues identified by OECD Guidelines on Corporate Governance as important in ensuring that state owned enterprises (SOEs) operate in an efficient, transparent and accountable way.