Evaluation of the USAID-Kosovo SME and Agriculture - Economic ...

Development Associates, Inc.In early 2002, with the formation of the Society of Certified Accountants and Auditors ofKosovo (SCAAK), KBS was directed to provide training to accountants and auditors leading tocertification. This resulted in the generation of training materials and courses, and certificationexams to support the legal and regulatory reforms (under the Economic Reconstruction Project)that called for certain enterprise documents to be certified, and established audit requirements tobe carried out by certified auditors. This special activity is reviewed below.On December 19, 2002, Modification #10 (Competitiveness) was signed superceding most pastTask Order instructions. This Modification: Extended the project through September 30, 2004; Added explicit targets for certified training for accountants and auditors; Added 2 non-agribusiness product areas in contract year 3, and 2 non-agribusinessproduct areas in contract year 4; Added 2 additional agribusiness product areas beginning in contract year 4 (these inaddition to the 6 product areas selected as a result of Modification #7), plus a timeframefor cluster review and action plans for the product areas; and Established fee-for-service requirements for General Business Services, includingmarketing, trade and investment, and certified accountant training, not includingenterprises in the selected product lines.KBS completed an Agribusiness Assessment and Work Plan that identified the product lines tobe assisted. The Agribusiness components for the selected product areas began in October 2002.A non-agribusiness Cluster Review 3 was completed in March 2003, a Wood Processing ActionPlan completed in June 2003, a Construction Services Action Plan in July, both approved byUSAID. With the parameters of the work to be completed under Modification #10 established,KBS completed an internal reorganization in July 2003. KBS initiated action on the selectednon-agribusiness product areas in August 2003. The organization of KBS as of March 2004 is:Business Services Unit: business consulting, business accounting, marketing, (feeseeking);Accounting and Finance Unit: general business accounting and certification accountantand auditor training (fee-seeking);Trade and Investment unit (fee-seeking);Non-Agribusiness Competitiveness• Wood Processing Team (wood doors and windows and wood furniture);• Construction Services Team (architect and engineering services and constructioncontracting);Agribusiness Competitiveness; andZvecan minority business development office.3 Peter Bearse/KBS, “Organizational Clusters to Foster Kosovo’s Industrial Development”, March 2004.Evaluation of the USAID/Kosovo SME 4 May 2004and Agriculture/Agribusiness ProgramsVolume I