R. William Phelps, CARANA Corporation and BISTA Program Manager and Dr. Gert Karreman, BISTA Principal Investigator, internationally recognized experts in accountancy reform, attended the 30th Annual Congress of the European Accounting Association 24-25 April 2007 in Lisbon.

BISTA project team took this opportunity meet and plan upcoming important initiatives, including twinning programs, IES benchmarking, and a comprehensive Accounting Reform Index (ARI).

Mr. Phelps and Mr. Kareman also met with representatives of DePaul University to define participation. Subjects discussed included the importance of the research for the further development of the accountancy profession, definition of practice mobility, levels of expertise, and supply and demand of qualified accountants and auditors. DePaul will soon prepare of policy recommendations for Country Action Plans and comparative analysis between countries to help understand the issues faced by the accountancy profession. A related issue for DePaul participation is to prepare suggestions for the intended review of the IES Framework and to give guidance to professional bodies how to improve their qualification systems.

BISTA representatives and partners (including Ernst & Young, Deloitte, Royal NIVRA, Leiden University) also met at the Congress to coordinate activities under BISTA's twinning initiative. Royal NIVRA has committed to providing twinning support to professional bodies in Kosovo, Moldova, and Macedonia. Ernst & Young and Deloitte agreed to plan their contribution as one organization, with a single point of entry through SEEPAD.

At the Congress's GAE International Advisory Board, participants witnessed the official signing of a cooperation agreement between the School of Accountancy & MIS of DePaul University and the Centre for Business Studies of Leiden University. BISTA partners also discussed project activities with international experts that participated. Bohumil Kral (CACR, Czech Republic) promised support from the Czech Republic for twinning.

Mr. Kevin Stevens (DePaul University) chaired the GAE Panel, organized as part of the ACEAA. Speakers were Mr. John Ahern, Mr. Gert Karreman, Mr. Ian Marrian and Mr. Phelps. Enthusastic participation in GAE-related meetings and panels in Lisbon confirmed the growing academic interest in accountancy education over the last decade.