Kosovo Trains Its First Auditors

By Arta Pllana

Hello and welcome, from the studios of UN Radio in Kosovo…

How is Kosovo’s taxpayer money spent and who assures that the Kosovo government is being fiscally responsible? Since the United Nations assumed administrative control of Kosovo in 1999, that function has been trusted to international agents. Prior to the November 2003 appointment of Inga Britt Ahlenius as acting Auditor General in Kosovo, the Netherlands Court of Audit Rekenkamer was responsible for Kosovo’s auditing process.

But a group of 20 Kosovar students was selected in December 2003 to become Kosovo’s first professional Auditors. Nimon Zeneli, is one of the 20 students. He was previously an auditor in the former Yugoslavia.

Zinelli

“The profession, being an auditor, is a broader subject for Kosovo circumstances; it is a new profession. It is very popular in the US and in Western European countries where the role of an auditor is very important and has a lot of credibility, because auditing is usually seen as a final verdict.”

As members of the OAG or Kosovo’s Auditor General Office – Nimon Zeneli represents the first wave of Kosovo students undergoing this rigorous accreditation program. As acting Auditor General in Kosovo, Inga Britt Ahlenius’ office is heading up the training program. She says that before assuming domestic control over Kosovo’s auditing process the first 38 recruits will have to pass stringent international guidelines.

Ahlenius

“In northern Europe it will take between 5 or 6 years for a person to become a licensed auditor, my objective is that by 2007 this auditor office should be able to audit the accounts of financial year 2006 and with some minor assistance from internationals and this institution will be viable and efficient qualified enough to take work on their own.”

Leaders from the European Union have stressed that objective auditing of government is a basic component for a functioning democracy.

One agency that has helped in the development process of the Office of the Auditor General has been the European Agency for Reconstruction. The EAR has been a key provider of technical assistance to the Kosovo’s auditor trainees. Nadia Constantini is programme manager for the EAR in Kosovo.

Constantini

“To ensure the sustainability in this project you need to build local capacity because one day the international will leave from Kosovo. So you have to ensure that this institution, which is extremely important for Kosovo, will be able to function, and to be independent and to achieve the overall objective.”

The first 38 trainees are close to taking their auditor’s exams – a requirement for obtaining professional status. The OAG started a second wave of trainings last January. A third team of trainee auditors will be recruited by April 2005, and will finish their certification by 2009.

Currently, the Office of the Auditor General audits three separate areas of Kosovo civil infrastructure: Kosovo’s Consildated Budget; Publicly Owned Enterprises, and municipal spending.

And with this we end today’s programme, a UN Radio in Kosovo production. Thanks for listening and stay tuned.