IFAC and the World Bank Centre for Financial Reporting Reform hosted a joint Regional Small- and Medium-sized Practices (SMP) Forum for Europe and Central Asia on May 31 in Vienna, Austria.
The Forum provided the opportunity to discuss addressing the challenges and opportunities SMPs and medium-sized entities (SMEs) face. More than 20 representatives from regional and national professional accountancy organizations (PAOs) in Central Asia and Southeast and Eastern Europe attended, as well as practitioners, SMPs, and other stakeholders.
International and regional subject-matter experts shared important insights on professional ethics, efficiently implementing international standards, and practice management, among other topics.
Speakers and moderators included:
Rachel Grimes, IFAC President
Edward Olowo-Okere, Director, Governance, The World Bank
Gunter Schall, Head of Private Sector & Development, Austrian Development Agency
Monica Foerster, Chair, IFAC SMP Committee
Mats Olsson, Deputy Chair, IFAC SMP Committee
Hilde Blomme, Deputy Chief Executive, Accountancy Europe
Carl Peterson, Vice President, Small Firm Interests – Public Accounting, Association of International Certified Professional Accountants
John Hodge, Senior Financial Management Specialist, CFRR, The World Bank
Ken Siong, Technical Director, International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants
Paul Thompson, Director, European Federation of Accountants and Auditors for SMEs
Ardiana Bunjaku, Executive Director, Society of Certified Accountants and Auditors of Kosovo
Robyn Erskine, Member, IFAC SMP Committee
Kalina Sukarova, Senior Financial Management Specialist, CFRR, The World Bank
Beverley Bahlmann, Deputy Director, International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board
Dawn McGeachy, Member, IFAC SMP Committee
Hysen Cela, President, Institute of Authorized Chartered Auditors of Albania
Manoj Fadnis, Member, IFAC SMP Committee
Bonnie Ann Sirois, Senior Financial Management Specialist, CFRR, The World Bank
Aliaksey Yeudachimovich, Belarus Association of Auditors
George Williw, Member, IFAC SMP Committee
Antoni Gomez, Member, IFAC SMP Committee
Wassim Khrouf, Member, IFAC SMP Committee
Alfred Borgonovo, Senior Financial Management Specialist, CFRR, The World Bank