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The need to ensure maximum transparency and accountability of budget processes, the prospects and challenges of creating a Budget Office in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, possible changes in the processes of preparation of expertise, discussion and adoption of the state budget were discussed on July 12 during a public discussion on strengthening the role of the parliament in the budget process. The event was held on the initiative of the USAID “RADA: the Next Generation” Program and the Westminster Foundation for Democracy.
In particular, the First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Oleksandr Kornienko, the Chairperson of the Committee on Budget of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Roksolana Pidlasa, the Member of the Committee on Budget of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Pavlo Frolov, the Director of the Office for Democracy and Governance of the USAID Mission in Ukraine Ann Hopper and others shared their opinions on the mentioned topic. The Accounting Chamber was represented in the discussion by the Acting Secretary of the Accounting Chamber – Chief Administrative Officer Vasyl Nevidomyi and the Advisor to the Chairwoman of the Accounting Chamber Dmytro Storozhuk.
The participants of the event discussed the effectiveness of budget process analysis tools and the best international experience in this field. In particular, experts from USAID and the Westminster Foundation for Democracy outlined models of budget offices of European parliaments.
The First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Oleksandr Kornienko emphasized the urgency of the issue of improving the approaches and principles of the Parliament’s work and the tools of the Accounting Chamber regarding budget analysis.
“It is necessary to work a lot in the direction of strengthening the financial control functions of the Parliament, in particular to modernize it. Our partners also emphasize this. At the same time, the issues of forming approaches and expanding the tools of the Accounting Chamber are outlined in the Ukraine Facility and in the requirements of our donors,” noted Oleksandr Kornienko.
The Chairperson of the Committee on Budget of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Roksolana Pidlasa supported the need to strengthen the control function of the parliament by improving the approaches of the Accounting Chamber. The head of the VRU Committee emphasized that people’s deputies and international partners pay considerable attention to this issue and it will be reflected in the draft amendments to the Law “On the Accounting Chamber”.
Also, the Director of the Office for Democracy and Governance of the USAID Mission in Ukraine Ann Hopper stressed the critical importance of controlling state budget funds in wartime. According to her, USAID also supports the interaction of the Accounting Chamber with a similar body in the US Congress, because it helps to find the best ways to control state and donor funds.
In turn, the Acting Secretary of the Accounting Chamber – Chief Administrative Officer Vasyl Nevidomyi noted that the Accounting Chamber is constantly working on improving its approaches. In particular, many financial audits based on international standards have already been conducted this year, and the practice of auditing consolidated financial statements has been initiated.
“We are expanding our capacity and intend to audit as many funds of the main managers as possible. Also, the Accounting Chamber initiated a shift in the issue of the need for the Government to prepare consolidated financial statements. This report, which is initially prepared by the Ministry of Finance, the Government and subsequently submitted to the Parliament, must necessarily contain conclusions based on the results of its audit by the Accounting Chamber. After all, this is a guarantee that this report is prepared correctly and reliably in all essential aspects,” emphasized Vasyl Nevidomyi.
Also, Vasyl Nevidomyi spoke about the Accounting Chamber’s plans to improve its annual report, in particular, to include in this document information about recommendations that did not receive a proper response from the audit objects, whether the measures taken by them were insufficient to eliminate those risks, etc.
It is worth recalling that at the end of June, a round table was held dedicated to the importance of the audit of consolidated financial statements at the Government level for improving the quality of state resource management. The event was attended by leadership and specialized specialists of the Accounting Chamber, as well as representatives of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Ministry of Finance, the Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine, the State Audit Service and the Audit Chamber of Ukraine, the State Treasury Service, the scientific community and the Project “Strengthening Capacities in External Audit in Line with International Standards in Ukraine” ( EU4ACU).
