From local budget audit to IT audit: the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine held a week of working meetings with foreign experts in the field of audit

Within the framework of the international technical assistance project "Technical Assistance Fund mAIDan Ukraine", implemented by Expertise France, a series of working meetings with French experts in the field of audit took place in the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine in early June.

Throughout the week, the French experts worked with the leadership, Members of the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine and state auditors on the development of modern audit approaches.

During the welcome meeting, the Chairwoman of the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine Olha Pishchanska, her Deputy Serhii Kliuchka and the Secretary of the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine Vasyl Nevidomyi, together with French partners, summed up the results of 1.5 years of cooperation and discussed further areas of expert support for the institutional development of the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine, including data analysis, public policy evaluation, audit of state-owned enterprises, training on the practical application of economic analysis in audits and unification of terms in the field of financial control.

"We highly appreciate the willingness of French partners to share practical experience, professional approaches and methodological expertise. It is especially important that this cooperation is applied and today already gives concrete results for the development of the Accounting Chamber's capacity, " Olha Pishchanska stressed.

The Chairwoman of the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine also highlighted the value of the series of specialised online seminars delivered for state auditors, as well as the support provided by the French partners during the establishment of the newly created IT Audit of Processes and Systems Sector.

The Project team was represented by the international expert on public finance management Pascal Mounier, Presidents of the Sections of the French Regional Chambers of Accounts Vincent Sivre and Martin Launay, Project Manager of "Support to the State Audit Service of Ukraine (DASU) and financial control" by Expertise France Virginie Ma-Dupont, Deputy Project Manager Serhii Zakyrenyi, as well as legal expert at Expertise France Nataliia Yakymchuk.

Virginie Ma-Dupont noted the positive results of joint initiatives, in particular, the successful conduct of training courses on local budgets and financial control, as well as a conference on the audit of local communities held in Chernivtsi and received positive feedback from the professional community.

Overall, throughout the mission, the discussions focused on practical aspects of auditing regional and local authorities, state-owned and municipal enterprises, public policy evaluation, the audit of the use of European Union funds, data analytics, the detection of fraud in Interreg programmes, as well as the application of modern digital tools and artificial intelligence in audit.

French experts presented their own experience in organizing audit work, approaches to planning and selecting audit subjects, assessing corporate governance, using analytical tools and preparing audit opinions in accordance with international standards. In particular, Pascal Mounier presented the French experience of auditing state-owned enterprises and local authorities, drawing attention to the peculiarities of planning and conducting such audits.

"I sincerely thank the French partners for their support, openness and readiness to develop a long-term partnership with the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine. I am convinced that the results of this mission will become the basis for new joint initiatives that will further strengthen the institutional capacity of the SAI of Ukraine and develop public audit in accordance with European best practices", concluded the Chairwoman of the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine Olha Pishchanska.

Deputy Chairman of the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine Serhii Kliuchka thanked his French colleagues for continuing active cooperation and personal participation in professional dialogue, which contributes to the development of modern approaches to public audit.

As a result of the meetings, the parties agreed to continue cooperation within the framework of international technical assistance projects, focusing on the exchange of professional experience, the development of certain areas of audit and the improvement of audit practices in accordance with international standards.

For reference:

In 2024–2026, the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine cooperates with the French agency Expertise France within the framework of the project "Technical Assistance Fund mAIDan Ukraine". The cooperation covers the audit of local budgets, data analysis, public policy evaluation and development of professional competencies of auditors.