Accountancy firms are being encouraged to set up shop in Iraq to take part in what was last week billed as a modern-day 'gold rush'.
The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), keen to encourage businesses into the shattered country to help with the job of reconstruction, has been pushing for more firms to follow the lead of PricewaterhouseCoopers and others by entering the Iraqi market.
Tom Foley, the CPA's director of private sector development, compared the business climate of Iraq to the California gold rush in the mid-1850's, saying that it rewarded 'nimble, scrappy risk-takers'.
In the supposed oil-led 'black-gold rush', two major wells of audit have so far drawn accountancy firms' interest. One is the newly created office of Iraqi ministry auditors, known as 'inspector generals'. The second - and possibly the greatest Iraqi audit prize of all - is that of the $8bn (£4.2bn) Development Fund for Iraq. The window for submissions closed yesterday, and a decision is expected soon.
http://www.accountancyage.com/News/1136281