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Lela Kuprashvili and Davit Gamkrelidze on IFRS for SMEs training for English-speaking trainers

Oct 22, 2018

Slide2.jpgAs part of the Governance for Growth in Georgia (G4G) project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), SavvY organized an English-speaking training for trainers from October 8-12. The goal of the project was to raise awareness of IFRS for SMEs in Georgia. The main beneficiary of the project was the Service for Accounting, Reporting and Auditing Supervision. The competition selected the top 30 IFRS for SMEs trainers. The training was conducted by an independent consultant for accounting education and training - Michael Wells.

We asked Davit Gamkrelidze and Lela Kuprashvili, participants of the training, some questions:

Why did you sign up for the competition, what was your motivation?

Lela: Due to my professional activity, I have a close relationship with SME standards and I always try to learn more. I had questions about the difficult points of the standard, and when I learned that there would be training and that an independent accounting and training consultant would conduct it, I realized that it would be a big mistake to ignore this opportunity.

What part of the competition was difficult for you and what were your expectations?

Lela: During the competition, the most difficult part was the demo presentation, but I expected a positive result because I have great experience in conducting training in front of large audiences.

What has this training given you in terms of IFRS for SMEs and how will you use this knowledge?

Davit: The focus of the English-speaking trainer's training on IFRS for SMEs was on practical content. In particular, we had the opportunity to improve our ability to assess and discuss practical aspects of different cases. I think that this knowledge will be useful in our daily practice as well as in knowledge sharing.

Lela: During the training I had the opportunity to receive comprehensive and qualified answers to all my questions. The training also managed to show IFRS for SMEs from different perspectives. I have developed the ability to properly analyze the accounting principles that are not directly defined in the standard. First and foremost, the acquired knowledge will be useful for my work, and I also plan to share my knowledge through training. My main goal is to raise the level of accounting and reporting, even though I have been actively involved in it and will continue to do so.

How would you rate the technical parts of the training?

Davit: The training was organized at a high level, especially well-chosen place for the meetings, correctly and logically written schedule, if needed it was possible to communicate with the project organizers, etc.

How would you evaluate the content of the training?

Davit: The training stood out from other trainings mainly because of its content. As I mentioned earlier, the main advantage of this training was that it focused on practice rather than theory. That is, the content was a mix of theoretical rules, practical examples, and cases. The emphasis was on developing best judgment on how to apply these theories in practice.

How would you rate the instructor?

Davit: In my opinion, the instructor was highly qualified and one of the best in the field. Among his strengths, I would like to mention his extensive knowledge of the standards, his practical experience in different countries, his interaction with the audience, and his strong communication skills.

What would you recommend to the participants of the Georgian Trainers Training Competition?

Lela: I would recommend the other participants not to miss this opportunity and to do their best to win this competition. They also need to prepare for the training, they should think again about the IFRS for SME standards and collect all the important questions about it. This will help them to make the training time more effective.

From your point of view, how will this project help small and medium-sized enterprises to comply with the new legal requirements?

Lela: As we know, small and medium enterprises are required to prepare and file financial reports, for which they need knowledge of IFRS for SME standards. The main objective of the project is to prepare the accountants of small and medium enterprises, raise their awareness and help them prepare financial reports based on the standards.

Davit: In my opinion, the training will help small and medium enterprises because the trainers will pass on their knowledge to others. In short, this project is a good opportunity to improve the level of knowledge in the market. It is also worth mentioning that the translation of the training materials on IFRS for SMEs is underway, which will make the project even more successful.