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Corporate and Public Sector Accountability Project to be launched in Azerbaijan this year

20 October 2008 10:42 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Nijat Mustafayev â€“ APA-Economics. The Corporate and Public Sector Accountability Project will commence by the end of this year, said the countryâ€™s ministry of finance.
Local consultants will be selected for the project management group.
The ministry announced a competition to fill the positions of director, financial specialist, procurement officer, monitoring and assessment officer and assistant managers for the management group. The deadline is October 29.
The main aim of the project is to strengthen accountability and transparency in financial reporting for the public and corporate sectors in line with international best practices. The key beneficiaries are the Public Interest Entities including State-Owned Enterprises, the Chamber of Accounts (the countryâ€™s supreme audit institution), the Chamber of Auditors (the countryâ€™s auditing services regulator and standard-setter), the Ministry of Finance, and accounting and auditing professionals and stakeholders in Azerbaijan.
AN IBRD Specific Investment Credit will finance US$11 million of the estimated total project cost of US$24 million. The balance of US$13 million will be provided by Government counterpart finding of US$8 million; and a Japan Policy and Human Resource Development (PHRD) Co-financing Grant of US$3 million which will support embedding IFRS in PIEs. A Swiss Government/SECO Grant will extend US$2 million to finance the strengthening of public sector accountability.
There are four components to the project. The first component is the Corporate Sector Component. This component would support the corporate sector in implementing appropriate accounting standards; ensure the sustainability and transparency of these interventions through the establishment of appropriate legal and institutional frameworks; and strengthen the statutory audit function. The second component consists of Public Sector Accountability. This component aims to enhance public sector accountability through the implementation of the Governmentâ€™s public sector accounting reform strategy, being the strategy currently being drafted to implement that part of the accounting Law that requires budget organizations and off-budget state funds to prepare financial statements in accordance with National Accounting Standards for Budget Organizations which in turn are based on International Public Sector Accounting Standards.
The third component consists of strengthening accounting, auditing and financial management capacity.
This component will build long-term capacity in accounting, auditing and financial management. It will include the creation of an Azerbaijan Center for Professional Accounting, Auditing Training Education and Research (ACPATER) which will be subordinate to the Ministry of Finance, and have broad responsibility for strengthening Azerbaijan accounting, auditing and financial management capacity, including the implementation of this component. Finally the fourth component consists of project management.