Interview of the Director of Armenian-British IAB Centre training company, Araksya Melkonyan and Banks.am portal

- The recent round table organized by your Centre focused on the prospect of establishment of an independent Chamber of Auditors and Accountants of Armenia. Is this a new idea?

- In fact, the idea existed long ago, but during that round table it was broadly discussed in public. The event was dedicated to the introduction of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and in this context we have had very useful discussions on the prospects of establishment of an independent Chamber of Auditors and Accountants of Armenia.

The establishment of the Chamber is not an end in itself, the idea is well grounded, moreover if we take into consideration what we have today. We have an Association of Accountants and Auditors of Armenia, which was set up with the financial assistance of USAID on the basis of a traditional English model. I\'ll make myself clear: there are several specialized accountants associations in UK. In the light of external developments some of them have become internationally recognized. The rest kept working on the basis of a traditional English model, focusing on the solution of internal tasks, which made them famous inside the country.

On the other hand, we have a Soviet past, which entailed the understanding that the sphere should be regulated by the state. This approach was justified in late 90s, when the Ministry of Finance of Armenia introduced a new accounting system. - the international standards were not only translated but also adapted to the Armenian reality, again with the financing of USAID.

However, IFRS develop constantly and dynamically, so in 2009 there appeared a new necessity to translate them into Armenian. But only the standards were translated without comments, however, the essence of the science lies in these comments. I should say that new changes to these standards will come into force already in 2013 and they will be hardly translated into Armenian due to the lack of a new funding program.

Taking into consideration the above mentioned circumstances, there appeared a need to create such a flexible structure that will be able to fill in the existing vacuum and quickly respond to external developments, adapting them to our business environment.

- What functions will the Chamber perform?

- Uninterrupted translation of International Financial Reporting Standards, elaboration of draft legislative amendments and comments to standards, so that every accountant understands and applies the changes correctly. It\'s very important to introduce a monitoring mechanism to see how correctly the changes and the innovations are perceived and applied.

It\'s also necessary to finally resolve the issue of professional qualification exams, renew the exam base in line with today\'s developments.

Besides, the Chamber will clearly discriminate between the use of IFRS by small and medium enterprises and representatives of big business, publish professional literature and elaborate the rules of professional ethics.

I should also say that the working variant of the draft law \"On the Chamber of Auditors and Accountants of Armenia\" already exists. It sets the basic functions of the Chamber, the rules, the structure and sources of financing.

- Here comes the most interesting question: what financing sources will the Chamber have?

- The main sources of financing shall be membership fees of legal entities and individuals - members of the Chamber, profits from the sale of professional literature and organization of training courses, payments from professional qualification exams.

Grants and donations from governmental and private structures as well as international organizations may also become sources of financing.

It\'s all under discussion now, and we are glad that international organizations already express readiness to take part in the works for the establishment of the Chamber.

At the same time, the issue of the size of membership fees is still open. In particular, we have to decide on whether there will be a fixed amount or another, a more flexible mechanism will be applied.

- Outline, please, the circle of interested people who may become members of the Chamber.

- Large accounting and audit companies of course, financial-credit organizations, especially the banks for whom the Chamber may become a new and transparent tool to assess and manage their own risks. Judge yourself, on the basis of what financial document do the banks decide to issue a loan today, moreover, in case of borrowers, representing small and medium enterprises, working outside the scope of statutory audit? After the establishment of the Chamber and introduction of monitoring functions, the results may become quite a serious reason for crediting.

Educational centers and universities may also become beneficiaries, and the Chamber may work out specialized education programs for them.

The idea of creation of the Chamber is based on the French model, which envisages real participation of the state in the regulation of the market of audit and accounting services. By the way, the idea comes from the Accounting and Auditing Reforms Committee, set up by the decision of the Armenian Prime Minister. It is headed by Armenian Deputy Minister of Finance Suren Karayan.

Latest discussions with the participation of interested sides revealed a big interest in the establishment of the Chamber, and, simultaneously, a necessity to continue the discussions. So, taking this into consideration, I don\'t exclude the possibility of organizing a working conference in an enlarged composition with the participation of international experts.