Implementation of International Public Sector Accounting Standards Strategy 2: Full scale piloting of the public sector accounting standards and manual and development and implementation of the automated accounting system.

The project concerned the formulation and first phases of implementation of the new Armenian public sector accounting standards. The main tasks included:

• Update of public sector accounting standards to comply with the Ministry of Finance accounting instruction and international standards;
• Update draft accounting legal framework and manual and subsequently pilot the new documents;
• Finalisation accounting legal framework and manual;
• Development of a detailed implementation plan for the introduction of the new system;
• Training of trainers;
• Preparation of system requirements specifications for Automated Accounting System (AAS) and subsequent introduction and piloting of the AAS.

Our experts assisted the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia in the strengthening of the Arbitration System for commercial companies . The work involved the development a complete set of rules and procedures for Arbitration in accordance with European standards. Following the overview of the commercial dispute regulations and practices, modifications to the Armenian legislation related to Arbitration were proposed aiming at full conformity with international arbitration rules (UNCITRAL). Also, our experts developed a Code of Ethics for Armenian arbitrators and the legal basis for the creation of an Arbitral Institute in Armenia, which is envisaged as an Institution jointly controlled by the State and the Private Sector serving as an umbrella for all Arbitration matters in the country. The project designed an awareness campaign targeting businesses and other parties involved in commercial disputes, on the advantages of Arbitration. The specific campaign included the design, printing and dissemination of informative brochures, the creation of a web site, and two large conferences attended by representatives of concerned stakeholders and the media.

Four Assist, as leader firm, implemented this project in consortium with PHP Audit CJSC (Armenia). The Government of Armenia had initiated reforms in the area of the public sector internal audit. The project was funded by the World Bank in the form of an IDF grant to assist the Ministry of Finance. The objective was to strengthen the institutional framework and build capacity in public sector internal audit in Armenia.

The project supported the Central Harmonization Unit (CHU) of the Ministry of Finance to:

• test on a broader scale the internal audit methodology developed in the Ministry of Finance, government agencies, municipal and community administrations and non-commercial organisations;
• based on broader piloting, update the legislative framework and develop a detailed implementation strategy;
• design a robust Unified Internal Audit Information Management System (UIAIMS) which will help enforce the methodology and ensure consistency in its application across various internal audit units;
• assist in skill development of the CHU staff; and
• conduct pilot internal audits and standard training for the transfer of knowledge and skills needed to implement the methodology (including training of trainers).

In view of improved programming and monitoring of EU Budget Support in Armenia, DT Global and 4Assist were assigned by the EU Delegation to Armenia to provide assistance on the EU Budget Support (BS) operations in Armenia, and to conduct a Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) assessment in the country, in cooperation with an expert from the Asian Development Bank.

The PEFA framework is used by the European Commission to assess the operational performance of the Public Financial Management (PFM) system for budget support operations and as part of its Risk Management Framework.

On February 24, 2023, an EU-financed PFM-PEFA Donor Coordination conference was held in Yerevan to present the Government Fiscal and Debt Policy Priorities and the PEFA-2016 Framework and methodology. The event gathered more than 60 participants from the Ministry of Finance, government institutions and other public bodies, donor organisations, in particular WB, IMF and ADB, and development partners present in Armenia. As indicated by our Sebastien Dubost leading this project, “a common takeaway from the meeting was the importance of PEFA on assessing the extent to which the PFM system is an enabling factor for achieving policy and budgetary outcomes”.

The PEFA assessment is carried out by a truly impressive team that brings in a robust blend of expertise in carrying out PEFA assessments, David Biggs, Elisaveta Teneva and Iain Rennie, an expert from the Asian Development Bank.

Following the PEFA exercise, this EU funded project will provide technical assistance (TA) to the EU Delegation to Armenia and to the Government of Armenia in order to program and identify, prepare and monitor future budget support operations. In doing so, we will place utmost importance on assisting the Government of Armenia to improve PFM performance.

Our Elen Ispiryan, carrying a life-time experience in the entire cycle of the EU Budget Support operations explains: “Budget support is one of the most effective aid modalities in EU development assistance, promoting sustainable development through national systems of partner countries. It is directly linked to reforms and developmental results, assisting the partner countries in their policy reform agenda and linking the disbursement of BS funds to the achievement of reform milestones.”

Our TA PFM-BS team is comprised of three in-house partner associates of 4Assist building on decades of experience in PFM systems and Budget Support, Sebastien Dubost, Irina Grigoryan and Elen Ispiryan.

     Donor Coordination Meeting in Yerevan during the Armenia PEFA assessment 2023