Valeriy Patskan reported on the year of work of the renewed membership of the Accounting Chamber

Chairman of the Accounting Chamber Valeriy Patskan reported on the year of work of the renewed membership of the Accounting Chamber. The event was also attended by the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Andriy Parubiy, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Hennadii Zubko, Mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko, representatives of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, law enforcement bodies, leaders of parliamentary groups and committees, members of parliament, representatives of diplomatic institutions and international organizations, heads of higher education institutions, the Accounting Chamber’s staff.

“The Accounting Chamber is a constitutional independent state body of external audit. We have a huge responsibility for every hryvnia of taxpayers – citizens, who expect the state to be effective and transparent. The well-being of every citizen and the state’s strategic development depends on how efficiently the state plans and spends money. This responsibility requires us to be as effective and efficient as possible”, – Valeriy Patskan said.

He outlined the main priorities of the institution’s work: new quality of audits, new quality of auditors, integration into the world audit system and openness. He noticed that audits of the Accounting Chamber should bring real benefits to society, which means - helping to use budget funds for its benefit.

“For the previous year we have audited 598 objects. This is almost 305 billion UAH. We have prepared and approved 91 audit reports. Our auditors found violations for the total amount of about 17 billion UAH. These are violations of budgetary and other legislation, ineffective management and use of budget funds, – Chairman of the Accounting Chamber said. – On average, for the previous year, every auditor of the Accounting Chamber checked 1 billion 73 million UAH of budget funds and found violations and shortcomings in the amount of 60 million UAH”.

Valeriy Patskan noted that the Accounting Chamber should be where society needs it most. Where every hryvnia can save human lives or natural resources and work for sustainable development of the country. “Therefore, we approve audit plans, taking into account, first of all, the public resonance and the relevance of the topics. This year, the priority directions for us are health care and education, expenditures for militaries and internally displaced persons, social sphere, ecology, road repair”, – he said.

Another important task I have set for myself as the Chairman of the Accounting Chamber is performance, – Valeriy Patskan stressed. “We don’t want to write audit reports “for show”. We strive to ensure that our recommendations are 100% taken into account by the authorities and the guilty of misappropriation of the state budget were punished”, – the Chairman of the Accounting Chamber emphasized.

He noted that he communicates with all law enforcement authorities. And during the work of the renewed membership of the Accounting Chamber, the agreements on cooperation and exchange of information were signed with the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the State Bureau of Investigation, and preparation of an agreement on cooperation with the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine is at the final stage.

“According to our audits, 62 criminal proceedings have already been initiated. And we expect feedback and proper response to other materials”, – Valeriy Patskan said.
He stressed that to implement all ambitious plans the Accounting Chamber is counting on effective collaboration with the President, the Parliament and the Government.

“We expect legislative changes to strengthen the independence of the Accounting Chamber and the responsibility for not complying with our requirements and recommendations. We must get the right to fully check local budgets. We need to extend the authority to audit state-owned enterprises and expand the list of databases we will have access to. A strong state needs a strong and independent supreme audit institution”,– Chairman of the Accounting Chamber said.

“I want to thank everyone who was with us this year, who helped us to change and become better, more efficient, stronger. I am grateful for the support of the leadership of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Budget Committee, the Government, representatives of the international community and the diplomatic corps. And of course, I thank all our great team – each employee of the Accounting Chamber, who contributed to our progress and development, – Valeriy Patskan said. – We continue our work. Let's start the second year of change!”