International Accounting Education and Certification in the Former Soviet Union

Abstract:     
Transition economies encounter numerous problems as they go through the process of converting their centrally planned economic systems into market economies. One hurdle they face is how to attract foreign direct investment (FDI). One of the keys to attracting FDI is having financial statements that international investors can trust. The two most widely recognized sets of internationally recognized accounting standards are International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and U.S. GAAP. However, merely adopting IFRS or U.S. GAAP is not enough. International investors have to feel confident that the accountants who prepare the financial statements and the auditors who audit them are fully conversant in the international standards that they use. That is where education and certification enter the scene. This article discusses the process being used in some countries of the former Soviet Union (FSU) to achieve the goals of creating a class of educated and competent accountants and auditors who will be able to make and audit financial statements that international investors can trust. The focus is on accounting certification.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 27

Keywords: Accounting, certification, education, CPA, CIPA, IFRS, IAS, IFAC, Central Asia, Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan

JEL Classification: D45,F15,F2,G15,I21,J24,J44,J6,L84,M4,M53,O15,P21

working papers series