The Global Accountancy Education Benchmarking (GAEB) Project

Using buy-in funds from the USAID/E&E Bureau, The Global Accountancy Education Benchmarking (GAEB) pilot project contributed to efforts to increase transparency and accountability in transitional and developing countries by supporting the development of the accountancy profession. Working with professional accountancy bodies in the Balkans, including the South Eastern European Partnership on Accountancy Development (SEEPAD), a quantitative assessment tool was developed that measures how well an accountancy body prepares its members to possess both the capability and competency required by international standards.

Designed from an institutional development perspective and based on international standards and best practices, the pilot version of the GAEB methodology identified strengths and weaknesses in legal, regulatory and institutional frameworks covering the professional qualification, education and training of accountants and auditors in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, and Serbia. Application of the GAEB methodology produced quantitative and qualitative results instrumental for setting the development priorities that must be addressed to strengthen the accountancy profession from an institutional, legal, regulatory, and professional development perspective. By helping identify urgent and critical gaps in countries’ compliance with international standards, the activity will help guide efforts by accountancy bodies, donors, and other stakeholders to close these gaps. In turn, these efforts will contribute to regional and global economic integration, increased trade and investment, better access to risk-based credit, and increased public and private sector confidence and trust in the accountancy profession and in the reliability and comparability of financial reporting and auditing.

Although the methodology was developed and applied in the Balkan region, it is a transferable means to benchmark and monitor regional and country progress in transitional and developing countries.

This methodology has attracted the attention of various stakeholders in the development and accountancy communities. It was endorsed by the South Eastern European Partnership on Accountancy Development (SEEPAD). The World Bank plans to use the methodology as an integral feature of its “Review and Observance of Standards and Codes. The International Federation of Accountant’s (IFAC) Compliance Committee has also shown interest in the methodology. Finally, DePaul University, known for its accounting and auditing legacy, has agreed to be the “intellectual home” of the methodology and continue use of and improvement to the benchmarking tool.