In Focus: CEF Empowers Practitioners in Performance Auditing

The CEF is kicking off this year's training program in accounting and auditing with a course on Performance Auditing. Delivered by renowned experts in the field, the workshop aims to help auditors from our region gain knowledge on key steps of the performance audit cycle.

The workshop is designed to reflect regional needs in South East Europe. We spoke with Ivan Ignjatov from Macedonia’s Audit Authority, one of experts who designed the training and is serving as a lecturer. He notes, “Performance auditing is strengthening capacities in EU candidate and potential candidate countries. There is a tradition in performing financial audit, but in this region performance auditing is something new. Here we are not talking only about financial impact but about direct management decisions from three points of view: economy, efficiency and effectiveness.”

The five-day course, taking place February 26-March 1, 2013, covers a range of topics, with practical case studies and group work that aims to boost active participation and share of knowledge. “We always try to connect with audience and want them to understand things from a practical point of view,” says Mr. Ignjatov of the methodological approach the lecturers follow. Special emphasis is placed on understanding the concepts, tools, and process of performance auditing with final quality assurance. Kevin Cardiff and Jussi Bright from the European Court of Auditors are joining Mr. Ignjatov in delivering the workshop.

Participants include public officials, both internal and external auditors, from Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Serbia, Slovenia, and Turkey. Participants expect the CEF course will have a direct impact on their work. One stated that she expects to gain knowledge on methodology and use this when working with her team. Another participant said, “In Albania, we have not established performance auditing for IPA yet. I expect to learn key performance auditing elements at this event.”

This year the CEF is also organizing a workshop on Adopting Accrual Based Accounting in Public Sector Institutions, and five workshops on auditing: Reporting and Follow-up: External Audit, Auditor's Role in Addressing Fraud and Corruption, Risk Management, Financial Audit, and Internal Audit: From Findings to Report and Opinion. All are tailored-made and delivered using interactive approaches. A new workshop coordinator is responsible for training design, delivery and evaluation of the CEF’s accounting and auditing courses. Kaja Jurtela received a Bachelor’s degree in international relations at University of Ljubljana and is pursuing her Master’s in finance and banking at University of Maribor.