The Accounting Chamber of Ukraine systematically controls the use of funds from international partners. Their recommendations contribute to the transparency and efficiency of state resource management. Audits have confirmed the targeted use of funds for social payments and medicine. This is stated on the website of the supreme body of financial and budgetary control of Ukraine, writes UNN.
The Accounting Chamber of Ukraine exercises systematic control over the use of international budget support and provides recommendations to improve the efficiency of using these funds. The implementation of the recommendations provided based on the results of its relevant audits contributes to improving financial discipline and transparency in the management of state resources and maintaining trusting relations between partner countries.
Details
United States assistance constituted a significant part of international support to Ukraine during 2022–2024, which determined this source as a key factor in ensuring economic and social stability in wartime conditions.
The total amount of direct budget support provided by the US government during the specified period is over $30 billion*. These funds were implemented through several main agreements:
- Project "Support for Public Expenditures to Ensure Sustainable Public Administration in Ukraine" (PEACE in Ukraine) – $27.05 billion, of which for the PFU – $12.7 billion.
- Additional Agreement No. 8 to the Development Objective Agreement (09.07.2022 No. TF0B9122) – $1.7 billion.
- Grant of the Multilateral Donor Cooperation Trust Fund (21.04.2022 No. TF0B8350) – $1.1 billion.
Audits conducted and their results
The Accounting Chamber, within the framework of four audits, checked the use of part of the direct budget support from the US to Ukraine. The results of the audits, conducted including with the support of the Center for Audit Excellence of the US Government Accountability Office, confirmed that the financial support provided to Ukraine by the US was used effectively and in accordance with the defined goals. It was a decisive factor in the country's resilience, especially at the beginning of the full-scale invasion. Partner funds made it possible to avoid a crisis in social payments, timely pay pensions and salaries, support the healthcare system, and ensure the basic humanitarian needs of the population:
1. Financial audit of the grant of the Multilateral Donor Cooperation Trust Fund (decision of the Accounting Chamber of 11.07.2023 No. 14-1).
The audit confirmed the reliability of the financial statements related to the grant. No violations of legislation regarding the receipt and accounting of grant funds were found.
2. Performance audit "Direct budget support from the US Government and other donors to meet the vital needs of the population of Ukraine in wartime conditions" (decision of the Accounting Chamber of 21.12.2023 No. 31-1).
The audit confirmed the targeted use of grant funds to meet the basic needs of the population, in particular, for the salaries of educators and medical workers. Based on the results of the audit, the Accounting Chamber recommended improving recipient verification procedures, establishing information exchange between state IT systems and registers, and introducing mechanisms for streamlining and optimizing social payments.
3. Performance audit "Direct budget support from the US at the beginning of Russia's military invasion of Ukraine: Preventing collapse and maintaining the resilience of the Ukrainian healthcare system" (decision of the Accounting Chamber of 21.12.2023 No. 31-2).
The audit by the Accounting Chamber confirmed that $1.7 billion of direct budget support was directed to finance the program of state guarantees of medical care for the population, which ensured the uninterrupted provision of medical services in conditions of martial law. At the same time, based on the results of the audit, recommendations were made to strengthen the internal control of the National Health Service of Ukraine (hereinafter - NHSU) to prevent individual overpayments in the future.
4. Performance audit "Sustainability of the Pension Fund of Ukraine in conditions of martial law" (decision of the Accounting Chamber of 22.10.2024 No. 49-2).
Auditors of the Accounting Chamber confirmed that in wartime conditions, the Pension Fund of Ukraine managed to ensure stable pension payments for more than 10 million pensioners, including through attracting loans and grants under the PEACE Project, the main donor of which was the US. The specified funds, namely $12.7 billion, were used for their intended purpose, while the Accounting Chamber recommended that the Pension Fund continue to improve its internal work processes and ensure interaction between state registers to increase the efficiency and transparency of pension payments.
Key findings from the audits
Thanks to the conducted audits, the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine confirmed that US financial support was used effectively and in accordance with the defined goals, contributing to ensuring the country's financial stability in conditions of martial law.
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These audits also revealed a number of factors, the elimination of which will contribute in the future to greater efficiency in the use of funds, including international support, and better functioning of relevant state systems in general. This refers to the need to improve the internal control of responsible bodies, the need to increase the transparency of financial processes, establish modern mechanisms for verifying social payments, improve the accounting of aid recipients, etc.
The recommendations proposed by the Accounting Chamber are aimed at strengthening control over the use of international aid, eliminating identified shortcomings, and improving budget management in general. Their implementation will contribute to increasing the efficiency of funds use, which is an important step to maintain the trust of international partners and strengthen Ukraine's financial stability in wartime and the country's further recovery.
Key results of implementing recommendations from US aid audits
Medical services:
- in fulfillment of the recommendations of the Accounting Chamber, provided based on the results of the audit, in 2024, UAH 14.6 million (USD 500 thousand) was returned to the budget, which in total constitutes 75% of the overpaid funds for the medical services package "Ensuring the preservation of human resources for providing medical care";
- in addition, in fulfillment of the recommendations of the Accounting Chamber, the internal audit unit of the NHSU identified an overpayment of UAH 46.8 million (USD 1.6 million), of which as of March 5, 2025, UAH 4.3 million (USD 140 thousand) has already been reimbursed.
Verification of aid recipients:
- the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine verified individuals who unlawfully received assistance through the "ePidtrymka" Program. UAH 122.7 million (USD 4.2 million) was reimbursed from 19 thousand individuals;
- ensured compatibility and electronic interaction of the Central Database of the electronic healthcare system with the State Register of Individuals — Taxpayers and the Register of Insured Persons of the State Register of Compulsory State Social Insurance;
- improved procedures for verifying aid recipients, established information exchange between state IT systems and registers, and introduced mechanisms for streamlining and optimizing social payments.
Improving the work of the Pension Fund:
- limited special pensions that exceed the maximum amount;
- introduced electronic document flow for pension recipients who moved abroad for permanent residence;
- approved Methodological recommendations for transferring funds to institutions where individuals are on full state support;
- approved a new version of the protocol on information exchange for verifying pension payments;
- improved the mechanism for appointing and paying additional payments to non-working pensioners for living in a radioactive contamination zone for the period of martial law in Ukraine;
- monthly selective processing of information on pension recipients who receive increases in accordance with the Law of Ukraine "On the Status of Mountain Settlements in Ukraine" is carried out;
- identified those responsible for updating the directories of settlements where hostilities are taking place or which are temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation;
- introduced passports for budget programs in the field of pension provision;
- developed criteria and logic for building reporting for centralizing the accounting of accrued and paid amounts based on court decisions;
- defined the circle of persons with disabilities and clear circumstances under which the medical advisory commission will not send such persons for re-examination.
The implementation of the recommendations provided by the Accounting Chamber based on the results of these audits contributes to systemic improvements in management and transparency in accounting for funds, ensuring the confidence of key stakeholders in the use of these funds in accordance with the terms of the concluded agreements and their receipt by the proper beneficiaries.
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