The Republic of Montenegro became an independent nation in June 2006, following the national referendum held in May 2006. Previously, Montenegro had been a republic of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, formed after World War II, and, when this dissolved in 1992, in a federation with Serbia, initially as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and, after 2003, in a loser union named the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. Economically, Montenegro has privatized its large aluminum complex - the dominant industry - as well as most of its financial sector. Montenegro has also begun to attract significant foreign direct investment in the tourism sector in coastal regions, and the country is being promoted as an environmental tourist destination. Severe unemployment remains a key political and economic problem for the country, as for much of South East Europe. Elections held in Autumn 2006 did not bring a new ruling coalition, but has sgnificantly refreshed the Montenegrin political stage. There are clear signs of continuity in the previous government policies, but it is also expected that some new ideas and political actions will take place. In the last year the Government has pursued the active employment policies trying to tackle the problem of constantly rising unemployment. Macroecnomic indicators for Montenegro shows that the country is still well below its 1989 GDP and that both industrial and service sectors' outputs have not reached its 1989 levels. The particular problem that the country has faced was induced by the long-standing international sanctions (1992-1995 formally or 1992-2001 de facto). However, as the political underdestanding between the Montenegrin leadership and Slobodan Milosevic faded away in 1997, Montenegro has taken some significant steps in liberalising its economy and attracting foreign investments. With small and medium sectors growing signifinantly, either through national organic growth or through smaller-scale FDIs, it is logical to expect that the demand for well trained profesionals in accounting (and finance) will grow. The infomation from the Institute of Certified Accountants of Montenegro shows almost non-existent unemployment amongst professionally qualified accountants (both at degree and technician levels).

The Faculty of Economics at the Univeristy of Montenegro in Podgorica is the longest established Economics teaching establishement in Montenegro. Intitially it was operating as a detachment of the Belgrade Univerisity Faculty of Economics, and for years professors have been travelling from Belgrade to teach in Podgorica. Even today a number of courses delivered on the masters programme in accounting and auditing are delivered by visiting staff who are full time employees at the universities in neighbouring countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia), although there is an increasing number of international staff teaching for short periods. At present the standard BSc Economics degree that Univesity of Montenegro currently offers does not have much accounting content in it. In fact, the Faculty teaches not more than 3 accounting and finance related courses at undergraduate level. The recently validated and approved MSc in Accounting and Auditing has recruited in its first year of operation 46 candidates and in its second year 34 candidates. It is assumed that the full undergraduate degree in accounting and finance attracts much attention and will be a star recruiter. The need for the establishment of an accounting degree in Montenegro has been noticed in the EU PLAC National Report on Accounting. At present, the most recent Law on Accounting requires a professional qualification for a candidate to get an audit licence from the Minsitry of Finance. However, the Ministry has delegated training and examination for professional accouting denominations to the Institute of Certified Accountants of Montenegro. However, the Ministry has expressed interest in the development of a full undergraduate accounting degree in order to secure future and strengthen the compentency levels of the accounting profession in Montenegro. It is evident that more and more employers seek full professional certification and licence, but are also interested in recruiting young university leavers who are willing and capable to work in the accounting and related fields. It is generally perceived by stakeholders (Chamber of Economy, Banks, other major employers, Insitute of Certified Accountants) that a new degree in accounting would certainly be attractive to all of them and they would welcome university leavers to professional training. Interestingly, none of the private higher education providers offer accounting and finance degrees, but rather operate very general and very vague programmes. Their stategy is to enjoy full economy of scope and focus on generalist degrees that can attract high number of students. As Montenegro is a small country, we plan to ensure that the best practices and gained institutional knowledge is shared amongst stakeholders in the process. In the past the Univeristy of Montenegro Faculty of Economics has participated in two TEMPUS projects, and a number of other projects funded directly by EU member state government, but none of these projects have come even close to the area of accounting and finance in its breadth and focus.