RICHARDSON, Texas (May 19, 2005) – Recommendations on instituting internationally accepted accounting standards to encourage foreign investment and the growth of a free market economy in countries of the former Soviet Union are part of a study by a University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) accounting professor published this week in the International Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Performance Evaluation.

The study, “An International Accounting and Auditing Programme and Certification in the Russian Language” by Dr. Adolf J. H. Enthoven, reports that there are now more than 3,300 certified accounting practitioners in Russia and its former republics. In addition, the article states that, to date, 34 accountants in former Soviet Union countries have earned the final Certified International Professional Accountant (CIPA) designation, which is comparable to being a Certified Public Accountant in the United States.

“The results [of the examination program to date] have been very encouraging,” the study reports, noting that the CIPA exams were first given in former Soviet Union countries in May 2002. Between then and June 2004, some 35,000 accountants in those countries took one or more of the eight individual exams that make up the CIPA program.

“The CIPA programme’s intent and structure are to create an independent …accounting certification” that is recognized not only by both domestic and foreign governments but also by both the accounting professions and market forces, the study says.

“The aim of the CIPA programme is also to substantially raise the quality of accounting and its profession in a number of countries of the former Soviet Union through the promotion of international accounting standards, international financial reporting standards, international standards of audit and professional ethics.”

 To ensure future success of the program, the study recommends such measures as updating existing training manuals and translating them into Russian, reviewing examination preparation materials with instructors and apprising them on how to prepare their students to take the exams.

“The accounting and auditing comprehensive professional certification in the Russian language and related programme is a much needed effort . . . and should fill a major gap in the convergence of the former Soviet system with the international accounting and auditing system and standards,” the study concludes.

Enthoven, who is director of the Center for International Accounting Development at UTD’s School of Management, has worked as a U.S. State Department-sponsored consultant with the Russian government since 1990. Working together with the U. S. Treasury, the International Monetary Fund, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Russian Ministry of Taxation, he developed and administered the computer-based “training the trainers” program for Russian tax inspectors. A long-time consultant to the United Nations and the World Bank, Enthoven also has organized and led courses in Russia, the Baltic countries, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Moldova that have trained more than 1,000 accountants in the basics of international accounting principles.

About the UTD School of Management

The School of Management is the largest of UTD’s seven schools, with an enrollment that has increased 92 per cent over the last seven years to more than 4,400 students. The school’s new 204,000-square-foot building features classrooms with state-of-the-art audio and visual equipment, wireless connectivity, video-conferencing facilities, a computer lab, faculty offices, meeting rooms and an executive education center. The faculty ranks 37 th in research productivity among business school faculties nationwide, based on publications in the top 22 business journals spanning all areas of business, and the school’s Cohort MBA program ranks among the top 32 full-time MBA programs at public colleges and universities in the U.S.

About UTD

The University of Texas at Dallas, located at the convergence of Richardson, Plano and Dallas in the heart of the complex of major multinational technology corporations known as the Telecom Corridor®, enrolls more than 14,000 students. The school’s freshman class traditionally stands at the forefront of

Texas state universities in terms of average SAT scores. The university offers a broad assortment of

bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs. For additional information about UTD, please visit the university’s web site at www.utdallas.edu.