Skopje, 12th December 2012 (MIA) – With the financial assistance from Slovenia and the USA with EUR 157,000 each within the Project „Training of Internal Auditors in Public Sector“ (TIAPS), for the first time 80 internal auditors in the public sector in the Republic of Macedonia will be trained and certified.

The Project will be implemented by the Ministry of Finance, in cooperation with the centre of Excellence in Finance, seated in Ljubljana, and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy – CIPFA, seated in London.

– International certification of internal auditors in the public sector is implemented for the first time in Macedonia under this Project. Total budget of the Project is EUR 363,000, the Governments of Slovenia and the USA participating with EUR 157,000 each, Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Zoran Stavreski, said in his address at the Conference marking the commencement of the Project.

This, he pointed out, will provide for faster development of the internal auditor profession and strengthening of the professional community in this sector. Ultimate goal is to improve the quality of internal audit and to increase accountability, transparency and efficiency in managing public funds and institutions in the public sector.

– At the moment, there are 73 Internal Audit Units established in the central-level institutions, employing 131 internal auditors, 43 out of which are Heads of Units. At local level, 63 Internal Audit Units are established, with 55 internal auditors, 20 out of which are Heads of Units. As stipulated in Article 35 of the Law, Head of Internal Audit Unit should, in addition to other requirements, be a chartered internal auditor, i.e. he should have attended the training and passed the exam for internal auditor in the public sector. That is why this Project is important, Stavreski said.

The training, he added, is a continuation of the so-far cooperation which yielded excellent results in the implementation of projects on training and certification of accountants in the public sector. The Project includes training and certification of 80 internal auditors in the public sector in the Republic of Macedonia, by which capacities of the internal audit in the country will practically increase by 60%.

Slovenian Ambassador to Macedonia, HE Branko Rakovec,
pointed out that, through realization of this Project, Macedonia would prove to the international community that it is fully committed to becoming a member of the European Union.

– The training is a proof that Macedonia is seriously dedicated to public sector reform. It is a small, but important step towards the European integration, Rakovec said.

Deputy Chief of Mission, Brain Aggeler, underlined that, from 1995 up to date, the USA invested more than a billion US dollars in Macedonia, most of which through USAID.

– Today we are continuing the support with the Project (TIAPS) for developing international auditing standards and the best practices in the world, Aggeler said.

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