MPs supported the reform of the Accounting Chamber in the second reading. The main points

On October 30, MPs of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the reform of the Accounting Chamber (AC) as a whole.

This was reported by the parliamentarian from "Voice" Yaroslav Zheleznyak.

Draft law No. 10044-d was supported by 240 MPs. All edits have been approved, Zheleznyak added. The document proposes a list of key changes, including:

• transparent competition for the selection of new members of the Chamber. The voice of international experts will be decisive;
• political and financial independence of the state body;
• reduction of the number of members of the Chamber from 13 to 11;
• expansion of the powers of AC to audit the funds of local budgets, state enterprises and extrabudgetary funds (for example, the Pension Fund);
• external evaluation by independent experts with international audit experience every five years;
• adjustment of work in accordance with INTOSAI standards;
• the obligation of the specialized committees of the Council to review the reports of the Accounting Chamber and monitor compliance with its recommendations.

As reported by the head of the Verkhovna Radaʼs budget committee Roksolana Pidlasa she and her colleagues added the following provisions to the draft law for the second reading:

• evaluation of the Accounting Chamber itself once every three years by INTOSAI experts (similar to the NABU audit);
• financial audit of AC;
• expanding the Chamberʼs mandate to audit budget funds used by appellate and local courts;
• correction of the rule on the audit of the National Bank (AC will only audit the NBUʼs administrative expenses so as not to devalue the independence of the regulator);
• clarification regarding openness to the media and society of experts who will select candidates for the positions of members of AC. They will host an online broadcast and publish all announcements and decisions;
• calculation of salaries for the management and auditors of the RP according to the model of the law "On NABU".

If the law is signed by the president, the salary of the secretary of the House, his deputy and other employees will consist of four parts. This is the official salary, additional payment for a special title for state auditors, additional payment for work with state secrets, bonus (its amount cannot exceed 30% of the official salary).

The head of the Accounting Chamber will receive a financial reward in the amount of 55 living wages for able-bodied people. That is, we are talking about the amount of 166 540 hryvnias per month. Since January 2024, Olha Pishchanska has been the head of the body. Her deputy will receive a salary in the amount of 50 subsistence minimums — 151 400 hryvnias. Serhiy Klyuchka has been holding the post since April.

For comparison, the salary of the head of the Chamber was currently estimated at 30 subsistence minimums (90 840 hryvnias), the deputyʼs salary at 27 (81 756 hryvnias). Other members of AC received a remuneration of 25 subsistence minimums per month (75 700 hryvnias).

The Accounting Chamber is a body that controls the receipt and use of budget funds. He is also responsible for overseeing international aid. Adoption of the listed rules was a requirement for Ukraineʼs financing of more than $2 billion from the International Monetary Fund and the United States.

• The day before, IMF updated the memorandum on economic and financial policy within the framework of the fifth review of the credit program. According to the new requirements, by the end of December 2024, Ukraine had to implement a number of reforms, including the adoption of a law on restarting the Accounting Chamber. Before that, there were other structural beacons that related to customs and the Bureau of Economic Security (BES).
• On October 17, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky signed Law No. 6490-d on the reset of customs. The document provides for a transparent competition for the position of the head of the State Customs Service and his political independence. It was also proposed to start integrity checks and monitoring of lifestyle, interviews of customs officials with the use of a polygraph.
• In the summer of the same year, the parliament adopted draft law No. 10439 on the restart of BES. The norm provides for mandatory re-certification of employees, and also establishes that international partners will have a decisive vote in the selection and re-certification of employees. Volodymyr Zelensky signed the draft law on June 28, 2024, it entered into force at the beginning of July.

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Author: Anastasiia Mohylevets