KPMG in Albania Transparency Report 2015 in English (PDF 2MB)

32 Pages·2016·2.11 MB·English

Transparency
Report 2015
KPMG Albania Shpk
kpmg.com/al
Transparency Report 2015 2
Contents
Foreword .....................................................................................................................................................................3
Who we are .................................................................................................................................................................4
Our structure and governance .....................................................................................................................................5
System of quality control .............................................................................................................................................6
Financial information ..................................................................................................................................................25
Partner compensation ...............................................................................................................................................26
Network arrangements ..............................................................................................................................................27
Statement by the management of KPMG Albania on the effectiveness of quality controls and independence .......29
Appendix 1: Public interest entities ...........................................................................................................................30
© 2016 KPMG Albania Shpk, an Albanian limited liability company and a member firm of the
KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with
KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. All rights reserved.
Transparency Report 2015 3
Foreword
We are pleased to make available the
Transparency Report of KPMG Albania Shpk
for the year ended 31 December 2015 published in
accordance with the requirements of the Audit Law.
KPMG provides a wide range of audit, tax and advisory
services in Albania. As a responsible business we
recognize our obligation to serve our community. We wish
to be open about how we work in a constantly changing
business environment and maintain our high professional
standards.
We have a fundamental commitment to audit quality
and integrity. We present this in the report through the
structure of our Audit Quality Framework. This sets out
what we believe drives audit quality and allows us to share
with you how we uphold our professional obligations and
responsibilities and strive to develop and improve our audit
processes and procedures.
We hope our Transparency Report gives you a useful
insight into who we are, how we are organized and our
approach to quality and integrity.
Gilbert McCaul
Partner
© 2016 KPMG Albania Shpk, an Albanian limited liability company and a member firm of the
KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with
KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. All rights reserved.
Transparency Report 2015 4
Who we are
KPMG Albania Shpk (“KPMG Albania” or “the Firm”) is
a professional services firm that delivers Audit, Tax and
Advisory services.
KPMG Albania is a specialized audit entity and a member
of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Albania
(“IEKA” or “the Institute”), registered with license No 52
dated 7 May 2003.
Further details of our service offerings can be found on
our website at the following link: kpmg.com/al.

The strategy of KPMG Albania is set by its partner and
administrators and is based on four priorities: being
market-focused, issues-led, driven by operational
excellence and having a high performance culture.
Through these priorities, our overall ambition is to be
the clear choice. This includes being the number one
multidisciplinary professional services firm in Albania
and being a quality service provider to all of our clients,
placing quality at the heart of our agenda. As an
organization,we have a strong belief that by being the
best firm to do business with we will win more work and
attract, develop and retain the best people.

© 2016 KPMG Albania Shpk, an Albanian limited liability company and a member firm of the
KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with
KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. All rights reserved.
Transparency Report 2015 5
Our structure and governance
Legal structure KPMG Albania is affiliated with KPMG International
Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss
KPMG Albania is a limited liability company incorporated
cooperative which is a legal entity formed under Swiss
in 1999 under the Law on Commercial Companies
law. KPMG International provides no client services.
in Albania. The Firm is registered with the National
Further details about KPMG International and its
Registration Center of the Republic of Albania with a
business, including our relationship with it, are available
registered office and business address: Deshmoret e
in the supplements to the 2015 KPMG International
Kombit Blvd., Twin Towers Building, Building 1,
Transparency Report.
13th floor, Tirana, Albania.
Name and ownership
The ownership structure of the company, its
management bodies and any other circumstances which KPMG is the registered trademark of KPMG
International and it is the name with which the KPMG
are subject to entry pursuant to the law have been
member firms, including KPMG Albania, are commonly
duly registered and are publicly available in the National
known. The rights of member firms to use the KPMG
Registration Center.
name and marks are contained within agreements with

KPMG International.
Currently KPMG Albania is fully owned by KPMG CEE
Holdings Ltd. Member firms are separate legal entities which are
managed in accordance with the laws and professional
KPMG Albania is represented by the following
rules of the respective country.
administrators, individually:

Each member firm is responsible for its own obligations
Arkadiusz Mierzejewski
and liabilities. KPMG International and other member
Fatos Beqja firms are not responsible for a member firm’s obligations
or liabilities.
Gilbert McCaul
Heris Jani
Tzvetelinka Koleva

© 2016 KPMG Albania Shpk, an Albanian limited liability company and a member firm of the
KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with
KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. All rights reserved.
Transparency Report 2015 6
System of quality control
A robust and consistent system of quality control is an KPMG International’s policies reflect individual quality
essential requirement in performing high control elements to help our personnel act with integrity
quality services. and objectivity, perform their work with diligence,
and comply with applicable laws, regulations, and
Accordingly KPMG International has policies of quality
professional standards.
control that apply to all member firms. These policies
and associated procedures are designed to guide Quality control and risk management are the
member firms in complying with relevant professional responsibility of all KPMG personnel. This responsibility
standards, regulatory and legal requirements, includes the need to understand and adhere to member
and in issuing reports that are appropriate in the firm policies and associated procedures in carrying out
circumstances. their day-to-day activities.
These policies are based on the International While many KPMG quality control processes are cross-
Standard on Quality Control 1 (ISQC 1) issued by functional, and apply equally to tax and advisory work,
the International Auditing and Assurance Standards the remainder of this section focuses on explaining
Board (IAASB), and the Code of Ethics for Professional what we do to enable the delivery of quality audits. In
Accountants issued by the International Ethics this section we therefore focus on our system of audit
Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA). quality control.
Both of these are relevant to firms that perform
At KPMG audit quality is not just about reaching the
statutory audits and other assurance and related
right opinion, but how we reach that opinion. It is about
services engagements.
the processes, thought and integrity behind the audit
KPMG Albania implements KPMG International policies report. KPMG views the outcome of a quality audit as
and procedures and adopts additional systems of the delivery of an appropriate and independent opinion
quality controls for its audit practice that are designed in compliance with the auditing standards. This means,
to address the rules and standards issued by the above all, being independent, compliant with relevant
Institute of Chartered Accountants in Albania, and other legal and professional requirements.
relevant regulators as well as applicable legal and other
To help all audit professionals concentrate on the
requirements. Integrating key policies and procedures,
fundamental skills and behaviors required to deliver
this system also facilitates compliance with relevant
an appropriate and independent opinion, we have
rules and regulations of the Albanian Public Oversight
developed our global Audit Quality Framework.
Board (“the Board”).

© 2016 KPMG Albania Shpk, an Albanian limited liability company and a member firm of the
KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with
KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. All rights reserved.
Transparency Report 2015 7
Our Framework introduces a common language that is quality control system is described in more detail in the
used by all KPMG member firms to describe what we following sections of this report.
believe drives audit quality, and to highlight how every
Tone at the Top – the foundation of audit quality
audit professional at KPMG contributes to the delivery
of audit quality. Tone at the top is a term used to describe an
organization’s general ethical climate, as established by
Audit Quality Framework
its leadership. KPMG and its leadership use “tone at the
The Audit Quality Framework identifies seven drivers of top” to indicate its commitment to quality, ethics
audit quality: and integrity.
1. Tone at the top
KPMG’s focus on quality
2. Association with the right clients
3. Clear standards and robust audit tools KPMG’s tone at the top provides a clear focus on quality
4. Recruitment, development and assignment of through:
appropriately qualified professionals • Culture, values, and code of conduct – clearly stated
5. Commitment to technical excellence and quality and demonstrated in the way we work
service delivery
• Focused and well-articulated strategy – incorporating
6. Performance of effective and efficient audits
quality at all levels
7. Commitment to continuous improvement
• Standards set by leadership
Tone at the top sits at the core of the Audit Quality • Governance structure and clear lines of
Framework’s seven drivers of audit quality and helps responsibility for quality – skilled and experienced
ensure that the right behaviors permeate across our people in the right positions to influence the quality
entire network. All of the other drivers are presented agenda
within a virtuous circle because each driver is intended
Integrity is a critical characteristic that stakeholders
to reinforce the others. Each of the seven drivers of our
expect and rely on. It is also the key KPMG core value –
above all, we act with integrity.
This commitment underlies our values-based
compliance culture where individuals are encouraged to
raise their concerns when they see behaviors or actions
that are inconsistent with our values or professional
responsibilities.
Our Code of Conduct incorporates our core values and
addresses the commitments that we make as well as
the responsibilities of our personnel at all levels across
the firm.

© 2016 KPMG Albania Shpk, an Albanian limited liability company and a member firm of the
KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with
KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. All rights reserved.
Transparency Report 2015 8
A KPMG International hotline is available for KPMG framework set by the Quality and Risk Management
personnel, clients, and other parties to confidentially Partner. These procedures all make it clear that
report concerns they have relating to certain areas of engagement level risk management and quality control
activity by KPMG International itself, those who work for are ultimately the responsibility of all professionals.
KPMG International, or the senior leadership of a KPMG
Association with the right clients
member firm.
Rigorous client and engagement acceptance and
While we stress that all professionals are responsible for continuance policies and processes are vital to our
quality and risk management the following individuals ability to provide high-quality professional services and
have leadership responsibilities with respect to the to protect KPMG’s reputation and support its brand.
internal quality control system.
Accordingly, KPMG International has established
Balkan Cluster Managing Partner policies and procedures which all member firms have
In accordance with the principles in ISQC1, our Balkan implemented in order to decide whether to accept or
Cluster Managing Partner has assumed ultimate continue a client relationship, and whether to perform a
responsibility for KPMG Albania’s system specific engagement for that client.
of quality control.
Prospective client and engagement evaluation
Quality and Risk Management Partner process
Operational responsibility for the system of quality Before accepting a client, we undertake an evaluation
control, risk management and compliance in of the prospective client. This involves an assessment
KPMG Albania has been delegated to the Balkan of its principals, its business, and other service-related
Cluster Quality and Risk Management Partner who matters. This also involves background checks on the
is responsible for setting overall professional risk prospective client, its key management and beneficial
management and quality control policies and monitoring owners. A key focus is on the integrity of management
compliance for the firm. She has a direct reporting line at a prospective client and the evaluation considers
to the Managing Partner. The seniority of the reporting factors such as breaches of law and regulation, anti-
lines underlines the importance that the firm places on bribery and corruption and human rights among others.
risk and quality issues. The Balkan Cluster Quality and A second partner, as well as the evaluating partner,
Risk Management Partner is supported by central quality approves the prospective client evaluation. Where the
and risk management team and by a team of partners client is considered to be “high risk” a risk management
and professionals in each of the functions. partner is involved in approving the evaluation.
The Audit, Tax and Advisory functions – Function Heads The prospective engagement partner evaluates each
The Heads of the client service functions (Audit, Tax prospective engagement. The evaluation identifies
and Advisory) are accountable to the Managing Partner potential risks in relation to the engagement. A range of
for the quality of service delivered in their respective factors is considered as part of this evaluation including
functions. They determine the operation of the risk potential independence and conflict of interest issues
management, quality assurance and monitoring (using Sentinel™ our global conflicts and independence
procedures for their specific functions within the checking system) as well as a range of factors specific to
© 2016 KPMG Albania Shpk, an Albanian limited liability company and a member firm of the
KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with
KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. All rights reserved.
Transparency Report 2015 9
the type of engagement, including for audit services, the unable to deliver to our expected level of quality or if
competence of the client’s financial management team we consider that it would not be appropriate to continue
and the skills and experience of personnel assigned to be associated with the client. More commonly we
to staff the engagement. The evaluation is made in use the re-evaluation to consider whether or not any
consultation with other senior member firm personnel additional risk management or quality control procedures
and includes review by quality and risk management need to be put in place for the next engagement (this
leadership as required. would include the assignment of professionals or the

need to involve additional specialists on the audit).
Where audit services are to be provided for the first
time, the prospective engagement team is required to Client portfolio management
perform additional independence evaluation procedures Engagement partners and key auditors who have the
including a review of any non-audit services provided to appropriate competence, capabilities, time and authority
the client and of other relevant relationships. to perform the role are appointed for each engagement.

Any potential independence or conflict of interest issues Where relevant, the policies and procedures described
are documented and resolved prior to acceptance. in this report applicable to audit engagement partners
equally apply to key auditors as defined in the Audit Law.
Depending on the overall risk assessment of the

prospective client and engagement additional
Clear standards and robust audit tools
safeguards may be introduced to help mitigate the
Professional practice, risk management and quality
identified risks.
control are the responsibilities of every KPMG
We will decline a prospective client or engagement if professional. Our professionals are expected to
a potential independence or conflict issue cannot be adhere to the clear policies and procedures (including
resolved satisfactorily in accordance with professional independence policies) we set and we provide a range
and firm standards, or there are other risk issues that of tools to support them in meeting these expectations.
cannot be appropriately mitigated. The policies and procedures we set for audit incorporate

the relevant requirements of accounting, auditing,
The Non-Audit services and Conflicts of interests
ethics, and quality control standards, and other relevant
sections provide more information on our independence
laws and regulations.
and conflict checking policies.
Audit methodology and tools
Continuance process
Significant resources are dedicated to keeping our
An annual re-evaluation of all audit clients and audit
standards and tools complete and up to date. Our
engagements is undertaken. In addition, clients are
global audit methodology, developed by the Global
re- evaluated earlier if there is an indication that there
Service Centre (GSC), is based on the requirements
may be a change in their risk profile. Recurring or long
of International Standards on Auditing (ISAs). The
running engagements are also subject to re-evaluation.
methodology is set out in KPMG International’s
KPMG Audit Manual (KAM) and includes additional
This re-evaluation serves two purposes. Firstly we will
equirements that go beyond the ISA and which KPMG
decline continue to act for any client where we are
believes enhance the quality of our audits.
© 2016 KPMG Albania Shpk, an Albanian limited liability company and a member firm of the
KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with
KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. All rights reserved.
Transparency Report 2015 10
eAudIT’s activity-based workflow provides engagement KAM contains, among other things, procedures intended
teams with ready access to relevant information at to identify and assess the risk of material misstatement
the right time throughout the audit, thereby enhancing and procedures to respond to those assessed risks.
effectiveness and efficiency and delivering value to Our methodology encourages engagement teams
stakehoders. The key activities within the eAudIT to exercise professional skepticism in all aspects of
workflow are: planning and performing an audit. The methodology
encourages use of specialists when appropriate, and
Engagement setup
also requires involvement of relevant specialists in the
• Perform engagement acceptance and scoping core audit engagement team when certain criteria
• Determine team selection and timetable are met.
Risk assessment KAM includes the implementation of quality control
procedures at the engagement level that provides
• Understand the entity
us with reasonable assurance that our engagements
• Identify and assess risks
comply with the relevant professional, legal, regulatory,
• Plan for involvement of KPMG specialists and
and KPMG requirements.
external experts, internal audit, service organizations
and other auditors as required The policies and procedures set out in KAM are specific
to audits and supplement the policies and procedures
• Evaluate design and implementation of relevant
set out in the Global Quality & Risk Management
controls
Manual (GQ&RMM) that is applicable to all KPMG
• Conduct risk assessment and planning discussion
member firms, functions and personnel.
• Determine audit strategy and planned audit
approach Independence, integrity, ethics and objectivity
Overview
Testing
Member firms and KPMG professionals are required to
• Test operating effectiveness of selected controls
comply with independence standards that meet or
• Plan and perform substantive procedures
exceed those set out in the IESBA Code of Ethics
Completion together with those of other applicable regulatory
bodies (which may include those of a foreign jurisdiction
• Update risk assessment
where those requirements apply extraterritorially). These
• Perform completion procedures, including overall
policies are supplemented by other processes to ensure
review of financial statements
compliance with the standards issued by IEKA.
• Perform overall evaluation, including evaluation of
significant findings and issues To help ensure ethical conduct, including integrity
and independence, KPMG International requires that
• Communicate with those charged with governance
each member firm, and its personnel, must be free
(e.g., the audit committee) and
from prohibited financial interests in, and prohibited
• Form the audit opinion
relationships with, the network’s audit clients, their
management, directors, and significant owners.
© 2016 KPMG Albania Shpk, an Albanian limited liability company and a member firm of the
KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with
KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. All rights reserved.