Enhancing Accounting and Audit Quality In Georgia
Description
In June, a workshop was organized concerning the drafting of the methodology for review of financial and non-financial statements based on ESMA guidelines. Invited experts discussed the filing of periodic financial statements of listed companies in Greece, ESMA guidelines on enforcement of financial information, ESMA guidelines on alternative performance measures, supervision of financial information by state authorities, an introduction of the European Single Electronic Format (ESEF) and other related matters. The EU legislation, in particular the Transparency Directive, and relevant national legislation on corporate reporting requirements were also addressed. Using practical exercises, e.g. analyzing checklists issued by the Big 4 auditing firms as a guide for the examination of financial statements prepared in accordance with IFRSs, proved useful to the participants who had the opportunity to share experience and best practices with Greek experts and each other.
The workshop was attended by over 15 participants from various regulatory bodies, including SARAS, the National Bank of Georgia (NBG), Georgian National Energy and Water Supply Regulatory Commission (GNERC), Georgian National Communications Commission (GNCC) and LEPL Insurance State Supervision Service of Georgia.
Outcomes
By the end of the workshop, the staff of SARAS were equipped with sufficient knowledge, tools and supporting documents to be able to develop a methodology for review of financial and non-financial statements together with short-term experts.