Imperfect forest accounting and shortcomings in asset inventory: what the audit of the Holosiivskyi National Nature Park revealed

The lack of accounting for perennial plantings and their inventory on areas with an area of ​​over 1,700 hectares, distortion of reporting and the risk of loss of land due to self-grabbing were discovered by the auditors of the Accounting Chamber during the financial audit of the National Nature Park "Holosiivskyi". The audit was conducted in 2024, the amount of funds covered by the audit amounted to over UAH 13.5 million.

Responsible for the audit is Deputy Chairman of the Accounting Chamber Serhiy Klyuchka. The audit report was approved at the meeting on April 30, 2025.

So, based on the results of processing the financial and budget reporting of the NPP "Holosiivskyi", its accounting policy, financial and business operations and other accounting and registration documents, errors were found for a total amount of almost  2.7 million UAH.

In particular, the auditors established that the NPP "Holosiivskyi" did not carry out accounting, inventory and valuation of the value of perennial plantations on 9 plots with a total area of ​​1,700 hectares. This led to an underestimation of the total book value of fixed assets. In addition, the lack of quantitative accounting of forests in these areas creates risks of their irreversible loss.

Insufficient control and accounting of property also led to the self-seizure of 16 land plots with a total area of ​​about 3 hectares within the territory of the Holosiivskyi National Park. 16 cases are already being considered in the Holosiivskyi District Court of Kyiv on these facts.

The auditors also revealed facts of overstatement of expenses for exchange transactions in the amount of UAH 1.1 million and understatement of expenses for non-exchange transactions in the amount of UAH 1.24 million due to incorrect disclosure in the reporting of expenses for payment of land tax and court fees. 

During the discussion of the aforementioned Report at the meeting, members of the Accounting Chamber particularly emphasized that one of the main tasks of the Holosiivskyi National Park - preservation and reproduction of valuable natural and historical-cultural complexes and natural objects of Kyiv Polissya, primarily species of flora listed in the Red Book of Ukraine and international Red Lists. Therefore, proper accounting of such plantations is extremely important for the national park to fulfill its functions.

As noted during the review of the report Serhiy Klyuchka, according to the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, there are 80 reserves and natural national parks in Ukraine, the area of ​​which is more than 2 million hectares. At the same time, only a third of them have permanent land use rights, and perennial plantations are not reflected in accounting and financial reporting at all. This contradicts the National Regulations (Standards) of Accounting in the Public Sector.

Following the audit results, the Accounting Chamber provided six recommendations to eliminate the identified violations and shortcomings, in particular:

Ministry of Environment:

– take measures to conduct an inventory of forests of the nature reserve fund institutions that fall under its management;

– take measures to develop methodological recommendations for assessing the value of perennial plantings in national natural parks.

NPP «Golosiyivskyi»:

– conduct an inventory of perennial plantings and reflect their value in accounting documents;

– improve internal control to ensure reliable accounting for exchange and non-exchange transactions in compliance with legislative norms;

– make changes to the accounting policy regarding the disclosure of information on payments upon dismissal of employees, etc.

It should be noted that the objects of control during the meeting did not agree with the need to revise the system for reflecting green plantings in accounting documents.

«Due to the lack of forest inventory, a large number of illegal deforestations are currently taking place with impunity in Ukraine. There is a lack of clear understanding of the general condition of forest plantations in the country. Therefore, we will cooperate with the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to ensure that the objects of control fulfill all our recommendations," emphasized the Head of the Accounting Chamber,   Olga Pishchanska.

The Accounting Chamber will send the corresponding Report to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Finance and the National Nature Park "Holosiivskyi", and will also soon publish it on its website.

Report on the results of the financial audit of the National Nature Park "Holosiivskyi" for 2024