Audit public oversight

Key stakeholders involved in public oversight from Bosnia and Herzegovina convened in Sarajevo on October 1, 2024, to discuss ways to strengthen audit public oversight at both the country and entity levels to ensure better alignment with the European Union (EU) acquis. The event was attended by 30 participants, including representatives from relevant institutions and professional accounting associations from Republika Srpska, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brčko District, as well as the state-level Ministry of Finance and Treasury.

The inaugural meeting of the Regional Audit Quality Assurance Forum was held in Vienna on May 16-17, 2023. The event was organized under the Road to Europe Program of Accounting Reform and Institutional Strengthening for Small and Medium Enterprises (REPARIS for SMEs) and for representatives of competent authorities responsible for public oversight and quality assurance in the Western Balkans countries. The event was attended by 60 participants including from public oversight bodies, professional accounting organizations (PAOs), and ministries of finance.

As part of the Strengthening Quality of Auditing and Reporting Project (SQARP) for the Republic of Albania the Albanian Public Oversight Board benefited from an exchange of experience with the Austrian Audit Oversight Authority. A two-day workshop was delivered on March 23-24, 2023, in Tirana, Albania.

A World Bank Centre for Financial Reporting Reform (CFRR) workshop in Vienna on October 24 and 25, 2017, reviewed the role of accounting and auditing regulation and specifically how better enforcement can help improve compliance with audit standards, namely international accounting standards (ISA). It also considered the contribution of non-financial reporting and ensuring adequate requirements are in place.