The 22nd meeting of the Europe Working Group began in Germany

The delegation of the Chamber of Auditors, headed by the Chairperson Olga Pishchanska, is participating in the 22nd meeting of the Working Group Europe (WG Europe),which is taking place in Darmstadt (state of Hesse, Germany). The meeting is hosted by the Hesse Chamber of Auditors.

The Working Group Europe meeting is an annual congress of representatives of the chambers of auditors of the federal states of Germany and the Federal Chamber of Auditors of Germany, which is the organizer of the event. Traditionally, within the framework of the event, German auditors and invited special participants exchange experience and discuss issues of developing cooperation. Representatives of the European Court of Auditors are participating in this year's meeting.

Among the agenda items of the meeting of the Working Group Europe: audit of the funds of the Recovery and Resilience Facility, current trends in the application of European Public Sector Accounting Standards (EPSAS),as well as discussion of the results of cooperation between the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine, the Federal Audit Chamber of Germany and the Accounting Chamber of the Federal State of Hesse.

During her opening speech, the Head of the Accounting Chamber, Olga Pishchanska, thanked her German colleagues for their support and emphasized the high efficiency of cooperation with German auditors.

«We highly appreciate the long-term partnership with the German audit authorities, the results of which are significant for both of our countries. The Federal Republic of Germany is one of Ukraine's key strategic partners, a reputable friend that provides support in the most difficult time for our country», – noted the Head of the Accounting Chamber.

Olga Pishchanska also told colleagues about the expansion of the mandate of the Accounting Chamber in connection with the latest legislative changes, and outlined priority issues in the work of the institution: proper preparation of the institution for the implementation of new powers, in particular, such as audits of local budgets, increasing the coverage of audits of consolidated financial statements of public sector entities and budgets, strengthening cooperation with the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and supporting dialogue with Ukrainian society. 

During the event, Olga Pishchanska also met with the President of the Federal Chamber of Auditors of Germany Kai Scheller and the President of the Chamber of Auditors of the State of Hesse, Dr. Walter Wallmann. They summarized the results of the joint audits and discussed plans for further cooperation.

Let us recall that last year the Accounting Chamber conducted a coordinated audit with the Federal Audit Chamber of Germany under the program "Housing for Internally Displaced Persons" and a parallel audit on the topic: "Civil Protection in Municipal Institutions of General Secondary Education" with the Accounting Chamber of the State of Hesse. Regarding the latest audit, a solemn signing of a Joint Statement by the Head of the Audit Chamber and the President of the Audit Chamber of the Federal State of Hesse based on the results of this audit is planned.

A joint audit on the digitalization of school education is also planned with colleagues from Hesse.

During the meeting, Dr. Walter Wallmann emphasized the special importance of direct contacts between auditors of the two countries and noted that the topic of a new joint audit on the digitalization of education is relevant for Germany in general and the state of Hesse in particular.

In response, the Head of the Accounting Chamber separately expressed gratitude to Dr. Walter Wallmann for his support, emphasizing the special importance of the exchange of experience between auditors of both chambers, which, according to her, stimulates Ukrainian specialists to professional growth and the application of best audit practices in their work. Olga Pishchanska told her colleague in detail about the current changes in the internal work processes in the Accounting Chamber, in particular, in the field of development and personnel management.

Also, during the meeting of the Senior Manager of the European Court of Auditors Andreas Bolkart with Olga Pishchanska, the discussion included, in particular, the practice of the European Court of Auditors regarding strategic and operational planning, resource allocation, formation of the organizational structure, interaction between departments and other experience that the Accounting Chamber seeks to adopt to improve its activities.

On January 21, during the meetings of the European Working Group, there will be a discussion of cooperation between the SAIs of Ukraine and Germany, as well as a summary of the results of the joint audits conducted.