The Professional Foundation of Forensic Accounting in Georgia
The credibility of forensic accounting in Georgia rests on the institution of the certified accountant, defined by the Law of Georgia on Accounting and Financial Reporting. Under Article 11 of the law, the Service establishes the standards of professional certification and continuing education which comply with the requirements of European Union directives and with the International Education Standards set by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). Professional certification is carried out by those professional organizations whose certification programs and/or examination processes meet the standards set by the Service and are recognized under the established procedure; upon successful certification the person acquires the status of certified accountant. In litigation it is precisely this status — and its verification through the public registry — that forms the first evidentiary basis of the expert's qualification, before any substantive analysis of the figures begins.
Certified Status and the Registries
The status carries strict integrity conditions. Under the note to Article 11, a certified accountant must not have been convicted of, or have an unexpunged record for, an intentional economic crime — including offences in the sphere of financial activity — or an intentional grave or especially grave crime; the record must be expunged or extinguished. The Service maintains and makes public the registry of certified accountants. Article 12 continues the same logic for the audit side: the Service maintains the state registry of auditors and audit firms, the registry is public, and every auditor is identified by an individual registration number. The registry reflects the auditor's name and place of activity, the firm where the auditor is employed or is a partner, information on registration as an auditor in another country, the professional organization of which the auditor is a member, the results of quality-management-system monitoring, the income from non-audit activity over the last 3 years, and professional liability insurance. Administrative acts imposing sanctions are published by the Service for at least 5 years — information that can be used to examine not only one's own expert but also the opposing party's.