Adjusting the accounting framework for the budget sector in the Republic of Moldova to the international standards (IPSAS) is a very important task, in the context of the implementation of the European agenda of the Republic of Moldova.
A meeting in the context of defining opportunities for collaboration in order to boost the reform of public finance management and the alignment of national accounting standards in the public sector with international IPSAS standards was organized on March 2, in the headquarters of the Ministry of Finance.
The meeting was undertaken at the initiative of the Court of Accounts of the Republic of Moldova (CoARM), in the context of the CoARM’s initiatives to support the Ministry of Finance in the efforts to consolidate public finance management, implementation of the Public Finance Management Development Strategy (PFM) for the period 2023-2030.
The meeting was attended by the CoARM’s representatives - Petru Rotaru, Member, Ecaterina Paknehad, Head of the Apparatus, Natalia Trofim, Head of the General Audit Department, as well as the CoARM’s auditors, and the Ministry of Finance’s team was led by Veronica Sirețeanu, Minister of Finance. The experts of the State Audit Office (SAO) of Latvia, Lelde Dimante and Guna Grumina, also participated in the meeting.
Mrs. Sirețeanu welcomed the initiative of the CoARM and SAO of Latvia to support the reform processes in this field, confirming the openness of the Ministry of Finance for cooperation in the context of the implementation of the necessary reforms.
We note that, at the end of 2022, a cooperation project was launched between the Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) of Latvia and the Republic of Moldova, within the Program for SAIs within the Eastern Partnership, implemented by SAO of the Republic of Latvia. The project envisages the strengthening of the CoARM's state budget auditing capabilities, an integrated aspect of the project being the support and sharing of the experience of the Republic of Latvia in the implementation of IPSAS international standards.
The event within the Ministry of Finance took place in the context of the workshop, organized between February 28 and March 2 at the Court of Accounts. The representatives of the State Audit Office and the Court of Accounts’ team, involved in the implementation of the activities of the mentioned project, met during three working days, to discuss the provisions of the international standards on the financial reporting framework, the national context and the requirements of the IPSAS standards.
The audit of consolidated state accounts are established as a priority support area within the project, both for the CoARM and for the relevant ministry, as the authority that administers the consolidated accounts of the state.
The Republic of Moldova is going through a stage of strategic development of public finance management, in order to comply with international standards, the continuous and sustainable development of public finance records and statistics, including the development, approval and implementation of accounting standards in the budget system based on commitments. In this aspect, it was considered appropriate to involve the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Moldova as part of the cooperation, for knowledge of the good practices implemented in the field of public finance by the Ministry of Finance of Latvia and the experience of conducting financial audits by the State Audit Office of Latvia on the budget and state consolidated accounts.