The Centre for Financial Reporting Reform (CFRR) is an office of the World Bank

World Bank

The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...

 located in Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

, Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

. It is primarily responsible for the World Bank’s corporate sector financial reporting activities in the region of Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 and Central Asia

Central Asia

Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...

 (abbreviated as ECA).

The Centre has taken up operation in 2007. The formal "seat agreement" was signed on 21 July 2010 between the World Bank and the Government of Austria. The head of the CFRR is John Hegarty with partners such as Austrian Development Cooperation, the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs and the Federal Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Austria among others.

Objectives

The CFRR focusses on providing knowledge services and capacity development assistance, including analytical and advisory services, learning and skill development, know-how and knowledge transfer, and technical assistance and institutional strengthening.

The main fields of expertise lie in audit

Audit

The general definition of an audit is an evaluation of a person, organization, system, process, enterprise, project or product. The term most commonly refers to audits in accounting, but similar concepts also exist in project management, quality management, and energy conservation.- Accounting...

, accounting, financial reporting and the implementation of international standards in these areas.

The Road to Europe: Program of Accounting Reform and Institutional Strengthening (REPARIS)

A regional program for creating a transparent policy environment and effective institutional framework for corporate reporting in South Central and South East Europe.
The participating countries are Albania

Albania

Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...

, Croatia

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

, Kosovo

Kosovo

Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...

, Republic of Macedonia

Republic of Macedonia

Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...

, Moldova

Moldova

Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...

, Montenegro

Montenegro

Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...

, and Serbia

Serbia

Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

.

Financial Reporting Technical Assistance Program (FRTAP)

This program for the new EU member states supports countries in the field of financial reporting. Its main objectives are the implementation of sustainable regulatory and institutional frameworks and in furthering the correct implementation of the acquis communautaire in the area of financial reporting. The FRTAP is funded by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs under the Swiss Enlargement Contribution to the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

.

Accounting and Auditing Reports on the Observance of Standards and Codes (A&A ROSC)

As part of this initiative financial management specialists at the CFRR analyse the established accounting and auditing practices in an economy and assess their compatibility with international financial reporting and accounting standards such as the IFRS.
The resulting report is accompanied by a catalogue of recommendations that assist member countries in implementing international accounting and auditing standards to strengthen the financial reporting regime.

External links

• Centre for Financial Reporting Reform - Information about the CFRR on the World Bank website
• World Bank - The World Bank website on the ECA region
• World Bank Group and Government of Austria sign Agreement for Offices in Vienna - Report on the seat agreement signed on July 21, 2010