The results of capacity building in the field of public accounting in Montenegro

Successful cooperation with Center of Excellence in Finance (CEF) supports implementation of regional activities, access to the Slovak transition knowledge and experience by more countries in the region. It also supports the visibility of UNDP and MF SR development efforts in the region.

The Center of Excellence on Finance (CEF) is a regional capacity development institute located in Ljubljana, Slovenia. In 2001 it was established by the Slovene Government to respond to Western Balkans countries’ needs for capacity development in public financial management (PFM). Today CEF supports capacity development of public finance administrations of twelve member countries, including Moldova and Montenegro.

CEF’s goal (to contribute to capacity development in PFM through sharing knowledge and experience) is identical with and fully supported in the objectives of the Public Finance for Development (PFD) program. Networking and partnering with institutions that share the same vision and goals is also part of the PFD program strategy.

The internationally recognized, professional qualification program Public Accountants Certification Training (PACT) in Montenegro is main part of the project: “Partnership with CEF to enhance capacity building in the field of public accounting” between UNDP, MF SR and CEF (signed and implemented since 2015). It’s been implemented by the Center of Excellence in Finance (CEF) in cooperation with Chartered Institute for Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) and supported by Slovak republic-UNDP “partnership project” is part of the Montenegrin government’s efforts to build and strengthen professional qualifications for public sector accountants.

The first / preparatory phase of the project was successfully completed in 2015. All preparatory activities in terms of application of students/candidates for the PACT training were covered. The training materials developed by CIPFA were developed and translated to local language. A group of 11 local tutors was equipped with necessary knowledge and ready to be contracted for performing in‑class trainings for the first generation of Montenegrin students. Networking and sustainable capacity building are the elements that resonates throughout the whole training program itself.

You can read more about the results from year 2016 and the plans for year 2016 in this report.