Action plan agreed to by the finance ministers will assist each economy in overcoming the immediate challenges of the current financial crisis
VIENNA, December 3, 2009 – Albania’s finance minister joined his counterparts from seven countries in South, East and Central Europe in Vienna on Dec. 3 to come up with a an unique regional action plan that will increase stability in their country economies and help support their relationship with the European Union.
The conference, hosted by the World Bank’s Centre for Financial Reporting Reform included finance ministers and representatives from Albania, Bosnia – Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro and Serbia.
In light of the current financial crisis, the action plan seeks to urgently assist each economy in fundamentally improving financial reporting regulation as well as in modernizing professional and academic education systems in the area of accounting and auditing, the World Bank said in a statement.
“Financial Reporting reforms are critical for economic development,” said Philippe Le Hou곯u, Vice President for the World Bank’s Europe and Central Asia Region. “The action plan agreed to by the Finance Ministers will assist each economy in overcoming the immediate challenges of the current financial crisis, by improving the climate for internal and external investment, which is important for job creation and economic growth. It will also help each economy to speed up the harmonizing of financial reporting and auditing to be in line with EU requirements.”
Representatives from the European Commission and the Regional Cooperation Council welcomed the timeliness and importance of this initiative.
“Though all economies are not at the same stage of their journey on the Road to Europe, and transition to a thriving market based economy, the desired destination is the same and the challenges identical,” said John Hegarty, Head of the World Bank’s Centre for Financial Reporting Reform. “Some economies have already succeeded in solving some of the transitional challenges, and through the new Communities of Practice, have usefully shared their experience with their neighbor economies.”
The conference was addressed by the Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger, and the State Secretary in the Austrian Finance Ministry, Reinhold Lopatka, who highlighted the Austrian Government’s support of this initiative and partnership.
“We recognize the importance of this initiative because sound financial reporting and auditing are indispensable elements of an investment climate conducive to foreign investments and sustainable economic growth,” said Ambassador Brigitte Oeppinger- Walchshofer, Managing Director of the Austrian Development Agency.
