Serbian Association of Accountants and Auditors has organized the traditional symposium: "Accountancy and Business Financies in the Contemporary Business Conditions" on Zlatibor, from May 29th until 31st, 2003. The topic of this, 34th Symposium, was: " Accountancy and Management in the New Business Environment", with a special emphasis on the necessity of the national financial reporting system harmonization under the International Accounting Standards / International Financial Reporting Standards. Since this is the thirtieth year of SAAA have been working on the national accountancy harmonization with the global professional practice, on the 34th Symposium there was a presentation of past activities and SAAA results, as well as of the future development and activities on complying with the international professional regulations requirements.
The participants - authors on the 34th Symposium were eminent accounting experts from the industry, education and domestic practice, as well as the foreign guests: Prof. Axel Haller, Ph.D., the Department of Accounting and Auditing of the Johannes Kepler University, Lynz, Austria, Mr. Ronnie Smith, special projects director within the ATC International, Great Britain, Mr. Matthew Macellaro, manager of the accounting development project within USAID (United States Agency for International Development). Among numerous participants, the Symposium were attended by the representatives of professional accounting associations from the Republic of Srpska, Macedonia and Bulgaria, as well as of professional SEEPAD member-bodies (SEEPAD -South-Eastern European Partnership on Accountancy Development).

On the second day of the Symposium there was highlighted mutual connection between the accountancy and management procedure, with a special reference on the accounting-informational support to the cost management. Represented reports have successfully, through their content and conclusions, elaborated the total management (internal) accounting concept, pointed out the management role and the importance of budgeting process in the contemporary cost management, as well as the significance of the cost accounting in building the system of motivation and remuneration.

The Symposium third day reports have practically presented different methods of cost accounting and their allocation to the participants, and their role in increasing the stating power of accounting reports.

Since the Law on Accounting and Audit, adopted at the end of the year 2002, proscribes the implementation of IAS for banks, other financial organizations and insurance companies beginning with the January 1st, 2003, as for the all other legal entities from the January 1st, 2004, during the Symposium on Zlatibor each day there have been organized the round table on the topic of "International Accounting Standards Implementation". The participants had opportunity to get to know better the peculiarities of practical implementation of the IAS, to express their additude and get answers from the competent experts on their questions.

Huge attendance and extreme concern of the 34th Symposium participants points out the actuality of the problems discussed and willingness of the accounting profession practitioners to contribute, through their individual improvement and continuing education, to the faster and more successful development and harmonization of the accounting profession towards the international professional regulating. SAAA, as an internationally recognized professional accounting organization, will, as up to now, continue to support its members and enable them to get prepared adequatelly for the IAS implementation in everydays practice.