Enhancing the Corporate Financial Reporting Infrastructure in Poland Henri Fortin, Head, CFRR KIBR Annual Auditing Conference 26 October 2011 Poland Financial Reporting Technical Assistance Program (FRTAP) financed by a grant from Switzerland through the Swiss Contribution to the enlarged European Union
Enhancing the CFR Infrastructure in Poland Centre for Financial Reporting Reform (CFRR) Who we are What we do Financial Reporting Technical Assistance Program Poland FRTAP Scope Status of work Key issues Poland FRTAP 2
CFRR: geographical coverage, key programs ECA: 30 countries EU Member States EU Accession Candidates EU Neighboring Countries Other CIS countries Key priorities Competitiveness Regional integration EU membership FRTAP (4 countries) REPARIS (8 countries) + ROSC A&A Program Improved and harmonized corporate financial reporting systems support those priorities CFRR Part of ECA Regional Dept. Open since October 2007 Based in Vienna Poland FRTAP 3
WB/CFRR: 4 main types of intervention Studies / diagnostics ROSC A&A reports Specialized areas (tax and fin. reporting, audit oversight systems, etc.) Technical Assistance In-country support and advice Technical help desk and hotline Partnerships Globally (IASB, IFAC, etc.) Regional level (EC, FEE, etc.) In each country (Professional Accountancy Organizations, etc.) Knowledge Activities Conferences Workshops Virtual seminars Newsletter Website Poland FRTAP 4
FRTAP Poland: Key features Objectives: to assist Poland in implementing sustainable institutional frameworks furthering the correct implementation of the acquis communautaire in the area of corporate financial reporting Implementation period: December 2009 to 2015 Budget CHF 10 million Ministry of Finance intermediate body World Bank CFRR executing agency 9 Activities (components) Most Activities in progress Poland FRTAP 5
Main components Implementing audit public oversight and QA systems (Activities 1 and 2) Enhancing the relationship between tax and financial reporting (A3) Building capacity in financial reporting especially IFRS (A4) Strengthening the accounting regulatory framework (A5) Monitoring and evaluation, ROSC (A6) Supporting adoption & implementation of ISA (A7) Modernizing CPD for professional accountants (A9) Poland FRTAP 6
KibR: key partner and beneficiary of FRTAP ISA Training: courses mostly for practicing statutory auditors; all licensed statutory auditors are eligible Software for the public register of auditors (to be embedded within KibR s new ERP system) Activities related to Quality Assurance Systems for statutory audits study tours training of inspectors review of peer review system for the Audit Oversight Commission Continuing professional education Poland FRTAP 7
Focus on: ISA training course 6-day course based on Clarified ISA delivered in 4 modules From 2011 to 2015 120 groups set up nationally and offered in 10 cities (Białystok, Gdańsk, Katowice, Kraków, Lublin, Łódź, Poznań, Szczecin, Warsaw and Wrocław) Accredited for CPD purposes by KibR Courses delivered by specialized accounting and auditing education organization Close collaboration with KibR in organizing the courses Key activity for facilitating the transition toward ISA adoption and implementation Poland FRTAP 8
FRTAP and current issues (1/2) Audit public oversight and QA Systems: increased relevance in the context of EC Green Paper on Audit ISA training course Consistent with general trend toward ISA adoption incl. in the EU Supports statutory auditors fulfillment of their continuing professional education obligations Provision of audit software to small and medium audit practices (SMPs): in line with international effort to enhance quality of audits conducted by SMPs and to support SMPs development Poland FRTAP 9
FRTAP and current issues (2/2) Continuing professional education: supports compliance with Statutory Audit Directive (Art. 13) and International Education Standard for Prof. Accountants no. 7 (as required by IFAC Statement of Membership Obligation no. 2) Enhancing the relationship between tax and financial reporting: proposed Common Corporate Tax Base (CCTB) Directive Poland FRTAP 10
Concluding thoughts FRTAP is an ambitious program designed to assist Poland in furthering the correct implementation of the acquis communautaire and continuing to move toward international best practice in corporate financial reporting consistent with many ongoing developments in that field to a very significant extent designed for KibR s members on track thanks to excellent collaboration with KibR part of a broader effort to help Poland and other European countries in sharing their experience with accounting reforms Poland FRTAP 11
Thank you www.worldbank.org/cfrr Poland Financial Reporting Technical Assistance Program (FRTAP) financed by a grant from Switzerland through the Swiss Contribution to the enlarged European Union