Success Stories
Turkmenistan

Modern Knowledge is at the Service of Progress

The CIPA Program in Turkmenistan has gained substantial recognination and participation.

One of the higher priority projects of USAID (United States Agency for International Development) is the Enterprise Development Project (EDP), which seeks to assist the process of integrating the Central Asian private sector into the world economy. The Enterprise Development Project (USAID/EDP) provides support to small and medium enterprises in order to foster their economic growth.

The main components of the project at present are strategic planning and consulting services, which includes services in the area of marketing, finance, management, regional trade promotion, accounting reform, organizing business short courses, etc.

Best practices that exist in the area of enterprise improvement are very important for USAID/EDP representative office in Turkmenistan. Peter Gasca, an expert from the U.S. who has headed up USAID/EDP in Turkmenistan since the end of 2005, undoubtedly has this knowledge.

Before working in Turkmenistan Peter Gasca worked as Regional Finance Practice Director of 12 Enterprise Development Centers located in the 5 countries of Central Asia. Practical experience in this sphere is especially needed in the private sector market of the national economy, where international standards of running business are more actively being introduced.

The CIPA program currently is the only globally accepted program of professional certification of accountants introduced in Turkmenistan. It is implemented under the auspices of USAID/EDP, and has certain advantages for increasing modern knowledge. CIPA has been operating under USAID/EDP since 2001. It is worth emphasizing that not that many people are awarded such certificates of international significance.

For the last three years only 64 accountants out of several hundred candidates received CAP (Certified Accountant Practitioner) certification. These accountants working in different structures of Turkmenistan successfully passed the whole examination process, having confirmed their high professional level.

Compared to the initial stages, the recognition of CIPA program in Turkmenistan has noticeably increased lately. More accounting specialists are trying to get this prestigious certification, acknowledging real advantages for the development of their enterprises during the transition to International Accounting Standards.

USAID/EDP’s previous attention was paid only to the private sector, but today specialists of leading ministries express interest in participating in the CIPA program. This means they express interest in preparing Turkmenistan as a whole for transition to international accounting standards.

Auditors, who conduct assessments of enterprises’ and organizations’ financial activity, can also gain advantages from the CIPA program. Already in many countries of the world in order to get a license for conducting auditing activity it is necessary to present a CAP certificate.

Currently Turkmenistan among countries of the Central Asian region has achieved good results in increasing the number of CAP accountants. We can be proud of the achieved successes in this area, despite the fact that the level of examination difficulty for CIPA qualification program is increasing – testing topics are becoming more difficult, and the passing score requirement is increasing.

This international qualification is a way to gain significant professional achievements for both holder of this prestigious certificate, and the organization where he is working. Ultimately, the community of CIPA certified CAP accountants that is increasing in number is a guarantee of national economic growth, further prosperity of Turkmenistan, and an increase of its recognition in the world.

Translated version of an article
appeared on: www.turkmenistan.gov

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