Bilateral measure between BoA and Croatian National Bank

Within the Phase II of EU funded Programme for strengthening the central bank capacities in the Western Balkans with a view to the integration to the European System of Central Banks, Bank of Albania (BoA) introduced the bilateral measure of accounting policy in accordance with Guidelines of the European Central bank on the legal framework for accounting and financial reporting in the European System of Central Banks (ESCB).

The first expert mission for the bilateral measure took place in late September – beginning of October and was led by Mr. Mario Varović, Director of Finance and Accounting form the Croatian National Bank. The main goal of the mission was to share and increase the knowledge on the rules of the ECB by bringing practical implementation examples of the accounting policies and the challenges ahead in financial reporting after joining the European Union.

Some of the areas covered by this mission include the Eurosystem accounting and reporting framework, the accounting guidelines, valuation rules and main differences compared to IFRS. During the mission, changes reflected in the Act on the Croatian National Bank (the law) following its membership in the Eurozone were presented, as well as practical examples of applications used and the processes followed in their daily work.

This mission will be followed by another expert mission scheduled on April 2025 and a study visit on May 2025. The knowledge and experience shared by Croatian National Bank experts are of great importance in the preparatory process for understanding the rules application defined in the “ECB Accounting Guidelines”, amendment needed in the Law, procedures and processes in the framework of integration of the Bank of Albania to the European System of Central Banks.