The 15th edition of the Biennial CIGAR (Comparative International Governmental Accounting Research Network) conference was organised by the Department of Accountancy within the University of Malta. Bank of Valletta extended its support to this conference which saw accounting professionals from across the globe come together to discuss how to make governmental accounting research more relevant in today's world.
Founded by Klaus Lüder (University of Speyer, Germany), Rowan Jones (University of Birmingham, UK) and Jim Chan (University of Illinois at Chicago, USA), CIGAR Network organises conferences and workshops to stimulate debates about international comparative governmental accounting research as well as a broad spectrum of accounting research subjects such as financial reporting, management accounting and auditing.
Inaugurated by the Minister for Finance, Professor Edward Scicluna, this conference is one of the most important appointments for CIGAR. It provides a platform for scholars to network, in a bid to promote broad discussion and research on comparative governmental accounting. The two-day conference itself was preceded by a one-day PhD seminar.
Speaking about the bank's involvement, Elvia George, chief Finance officer explained that: "The importance of continuous research and networking cannot be overemphasised, in all sectors, including the financial services world. Thus it gives us great satisfaction to support the Department of Accountancy within the University of Malta in hosting a conference of this calibre that brings together the most brilliant minds from around the globe to discuss government accounting research."
In order to provide further opportunity for networking, Bank of Valletta hosted a reception for all the delegates and the organisers at The House of The Four Winds in Valletta.