The Institute over the years

1. 1994

   The first steps

   The first steps towards establishing the independent accountancy professions were taken in 1994, when the external audit service began to operate in our country for the first time. In that same year, the accuracy of the annual accounts of newly established or transformed commercial companies was verified for the first time by accountancy professionals holding the title of Certified Public Accountant - at that time on a "provisional" basis.

   The subsequent history of the profession of the certified public accountant (later changed to registered chartered accountant and subsequently to statutory auditor) is closely linked to the changes and improvements made over these years to the law on commercial companies of 1992. In 1995, a number of special provisions were incorporated into this law, which for the first time established the obligation of business entities (joint-stock companies and limited liability companies) to have their annual financial statements audited. These changes paved the way for the drafting of the secondary legislation that would serve as the legal basis for the creation, development and organisation of the new profession of the Certified Public Accountant, a profession that had been almost entirely unknown until then.

   The initial regulation of the profession and of its professional body was based both on self-regulation and on the secondary legislation of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Albania. In 1995, the Council of Ministers adopted Ordinance No. 1, dated 2 October 1995, which set out in a single document the majority of the aspects relating to entry into the profession, the professional competence examinations, training, testing and experience, as well as the first rules of professional ethics, deontology and conduct. The Ordinance contained certain provisions governing the obligation for the statutory audit of commercial companies and went further still, defining the procedures and standards for the work of auditors.

2. 1997

   Establishment of the Institute

   The Institute of Certified Public Accountants was established in November 1997, on the basis of Ordinance No. 1 of the Council of Ministers of 1995, subsequently amended by Council of Ministers Decision (VKM) 150/2000 and modified by VKM 626/2001, with the status of a non-profit professional organisation bringing together all the accountancy professionals holding the title of "Certified Public Accountant". These professionals began to exercise the profession in public practice independently, as natural persons or as partners with or without a shareholding in the capital of the firms of certified public accountants. The General Assembly of Members, in November 1997, elected the first Governing Council of the Institute, of which Prof. Baki Berberi was elected Chairman.

   In 1996, thanks to the first technical assistance project (1996 - 1998) Phare AL-9404/015 "Audit Reform in Albania", the first technical recommendations were drafted, known as the first audit procedures and standards, which were used for several years by a number of generations of certified public accountants not only for their professional qualification and training, but also as practical working procedures for carrying out audits.

3. 2000

   Audit reform

   In the period 1998 - 2000, the professional body of certified public accountants also benefited from another EU technical assistance project - Phare AL 97-08-D1 97-01 "Audit Reform - Technical Assistance to the Institute of Certified Public Accountants", which was implemented by a Franco-British consortium comprising the French Institutes of the accountancy and audit profession (CNCC & OEC) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS). The principal focus of the assistance was the professional development of the members and the improvement of the functioning of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

   The first developmental period of the profession was an intensive period of preparation, training and testing of candidates, accompanied by intensive activity in the drafting of working procedures and by awareness-raising activities directed at various stakeholders and actors in the country. In 2000, Ordinance No. 1 of the Council of Ministers, in order to be brought into line with the requirements of the new Constitution of the Republic of Albania, was reviewed and reconsidered, with the objective of transforming it into a Decision of the Council of Ministers (VKM No. 150, dated 31.03.2000).

4. 2003

   International Standards on Auditing in Albanian

   Alongside a number of amendments to the applicable regulatory acts (the amendment of VKM 150 in 2001), this developmental process was followed by intensive activity on the part of IEKA in drafting specific operating rules and guidance, the working procedures of members, and the intensive and extensive training of members and candidates for certified public accountant (statutory auditor). The audit procedures, a product of the second phase of EU technical assistance, were replaced in 2003 by the International Standards on Auditing, published by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), which were translated and published in the Albanian language by the Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

   The adoption by the Assembly of Albania of Law 10091, dated 05.03.2009, made it possible, for the first time, for the profession of the registered chartered accountant to be regulated by law.

5. 2016

   A contemporary law

   In 2016, the legal framework of the profession (No. 10091, dated 5.3.2009) was reviewed as part of the reform to improve the financial reporting of commercial companies, which aims at a greater alignment of the regulatory framework with the Acquis communautaire. The principal recommendations of the international institutions place the main emphasis on strengthening independence and reviewing the structure of the Public Oversight Board, as well as on improving the process of education and training of professionals.

   With the most recent amendments to the audit law (Law 46/2016), the functioning of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants is based on a law that is assessed as being almost fully in line with the EU Statutory Audit Directive.

6. Today

   IEKA as an integral part of international bodies

   As part of the Institute's ongoing activity to keep abreast of the latest developments in the field of professional technical and ethical standards, which stem from its mission and vision and from the obligations of its IFAC membership, and in order to keep its members informed, IEKA has closely followed all the changes proposed by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB).

   Since 2008, the Institute of Certified Public Accountants has been a full member of IFAC, with the obligations and rights arising from this well-deserved membership. IEKA is an integral part of international bodies and has considerable international representation, notably full membership of IFAC, FCM, FIDEF and EFAA.