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The specifics of the work of external auditors during the war and the role of the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine in strengthening financial transparency and accountability in the use of public funds, especially in the issues of defense, security and civil protection, as well as the sustainability of management systems, were discussed by the Chairwoman Olha Pishchanska during her speech at the annual meeting between the International Board of Auditors for NATO (IBAN) and the Competent National Audit Bodies (CNABs) of NATO member states. The event took place on May 15 in Brussels, Belgium.
The IBAN is an independent external audit body for NATO, with the main mandate to provide assurance to the North Atlantic Council (NATO's main political decision-making body) and NATO member governments that common funds have been properly used to cover expenditures.
Every year, IBAN organizes a meeting with SAIs of NATO member states to discuss, among other things, the annual report on IBAN's activities, current issues of external audit in the field of security and defense, and the state of international cooperation between SAIs.
The Accounting Chamber of Ukraine was invited to participate in this year's meeting as a special speaker. In her report, Olha Pishchanska thanked the representatives of the Supreme Audit Institutions of the partner countries for their continued support of Ukraine and the Accounting Chamber in particular. She informed the partners about the peculiarities, challenges and the role of auditors in the conditions of war, and outlined the current state of institutional reform.
«The conditions of martial law require a flexible response to the requirements to ensure the transparency of the use of public funds in priority areas - first of all, to meet the needs of defense, restore energy and other civilian infrastructure, improve the quality and expand the possibilities for rehabilitation of the wounded, social protection of the population, and measures to support the national economy. These are the areas that have been in the focus of the audits of the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine for the last three military years,” the Chairwoman of the Accounting Chamber noted.
Olha Pishchanska also emphasized that during the war Ukraine receives significant financial assistance from international partners, which plays a significant role in ensuring and maintaining the sustainability of the national economy and is a catalyst for the implementation of comprehensive reforms.
“The Accounting Chamber of Ukraine “stands guard” over the targeted and most efficient use of partner assistance funds and promotes the implementation of priority reforms by conducting audits of internationally funded projects, as well as in the areas of reforms envisaged by the Ukraine Facility Plan. Such audits, in particular, are designed to provide reasonable assurance to international donors about the use of their budget support provided to Ukraine,” the Chairwoman emphasized.
During her speech, Olha Pishchanska noted that the martial law conditions accelerated the process of implementing reforms in the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine. In general, during the years of the full-scale invasion, the amount of funds audited by the institution using audit methodologies based on ISSAI standards increased by one third.
“The Accounting Chamber strives to promote Ukraine's European integration. In our audits, we also pay special attention to the adaptation of national legislation to the EU acquis, bringing public administration processes in line with the best European practices. We are open to launching joint initiatives with partner SAIs - joint audits, including those on modern security aspects. At the same time, we are ready to share our own experience of audits that may be of interest to our partners,” emphasized Olha Pishchanska.
Summarizing her speech, the Head of the Ukrainian SAI expressed the opinion that such cooperation would allow European colleagues to explore in more depth the measures that have a significant impact on the country's resilience in the face of extraordinary challenges. Representatives of SAIs of NATO member states present at the event showed their interest in the sustainability of the Ukrainian SAI in the extraordinary conditions of the ongoing full-scale war, as well as in the peculiarities of conducting audits in areas of exceptional importance for the state and society during martial law. Particular attention was paid to the coordination of professional cooperation in joint audits, as well as interaction between SAIs in the framework of international support for the institutional capacity of the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine.
Also on May 15, the Chairwoman of the Accounting Chamber met with Barbara Joziasse, Vice President of the Dutch Chamber of Auditors, and discussed, in particular, possible support of the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine in the development of professional capacity in conducting audits of consolidated financial statements. The issues of strategic planning for the development of the IT infrastructure of the institution and studying the relevant experience of the Dutch SAI were also discussed bilaterally.
Claudia Gardberg Morner, Deputy Auditor General of the National Audit Office of Sweden, discussed the possibilities of cooperation through the exchange of experience in financial audits and audits of consolidated financial statements.
The peculiarities of conducting real-time audits and the use of digital tools (in particular, platforms) to unify and automate audit products were discussed with Philippa Urbano Calvao, President of the Court of Auditors of the Portuguese Republic. The parties agreed to continue cooperation at the expert level, in particular through joint events in an online format, during which the Portuguese SAI will share practical experience in conducting relevant audits and talk about the importance of this type of audit in the implementation of individual projects.
With Ivan Klesic, Auditor General of the State Audit Office of the Republic of Croatia, they discussed the possibilities of cooperation in studying the experience of Croatian partners in planning and conducting audits of local budgets.
On May 16, Olga Pishchanska will also hold a series of bilateral working meetings, in particular with Radek Visinger, Chairman of the International Board of Auditors for NATO (IBAN), and Jan Koopman, Director General of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Enlargement and Eastern Neighborhood Policy (DG ENEST).
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