Özet:

Based on the results of a survey with accounting professionals this article tackles the issue of the information quality of published financial statements. This is one of the first studies attempting to assess the quality of financial and accounting information in Albania as perceived by those professionals who either prepare the statements or use them. Fifty professionals participated in this study. Their opinions are analyzed and several conclusions and findings have emerged. In general the financial statements prepared by the Albanian companies are regarded “non-reliable” and regardless the recent improvements in the legal and accounting framework in Albania, the professionals interviewed still perceive a lot of inconsistencies in their every day practices; the published financial information is not readily available and there are not good mechanisms in place to monitor and instigate the implementation of the new National Accounting Standards. The interviewed accountants think Albania does not have sufficient expertise and human capital to face the requirement for IFRS and National Accounting Standards implementation, and the accounting education and training efforts exercised by different universities and professional associations seem roughly inadequate. Based onthe problems identified throughout the study we give several recommendations which may lead to improvements in the financial information quality.

Anahtar Kelimeler: