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The Accounting Chamber of Ukraine and the Supreme Audit Office of the Czech Republic are planning to carry out an international parallel audit on ensuring the rights of migrant workers. This issue was discussed by the Chairman of the Accounting Chamber Valeriy Patskan with the President of the Supreme Audit Office of the Czech Republic, Vice-president of EUROSAI Miloslav Kala, during his visit to Kyiv.
Valeriy Patskan noted that the Czech Republic is one of the most attractive countries where Ukrainians go to work and study, and this is a very painful issue for Ukraine. The Chairman of the Accounting Chamber stressed that the data on the number of Ukrainians in the Czech Republic differ. “But we have to make sure that they have proper protection in another country. As well as Czech citizens who come to Ukraine”, Valeriy Patskan said. He stressed that such an audit would be useful not only for Ukraine but also for the Czech Republic, as it is important to know exactly how many Ukrainians are officially employed. The Chairman of the Accounting Chamber noted that agreements on such an audit have already been reached with Polish and Slovak colleagues.
In turn, the President of the Supreme Audit Office of the Czech Republic, Vice-president of EUROSAI Miloslav Kala noted that such an audit is important not only for the above countries. According to him, this project could be expanded, as Ukrainians work in many European countries. Miloslav Kala added that the results of such an audit could be used by other countries later to conduct audits to ensure the rights of their migrant workers. In particular, we are talking about Belarus, the Baltic countries and the Balkans.
During the visit, Valeriy Patskan and Miloslav Kala signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the Accounting Chamber and the Supreme Audit Office of the Czech Republic.
The Chairman of the Accounting Chamber emphasized that the visit of Miloslav Kala has already become a powerful impetus for development of a bilateral cooperation between the SAIs of Ukraine and Czech Republic, as well as in the framework of INTOSAI and EUROSAI. “Such a meeting is significant also considering that next spring the Congress of EUROSAI will be held – of the organization uniting the SAI of 49 countries and the European Court of Auditors. It is no secret that it will be headed by Mr. Kala and the Accounting Chamber is ready for even more active work within EUROSAI”, Valeriy Patskan said.
He reminded that the Accounting Chamber chairs the EUROSAI Working Group on the Audit of Funds Allocated to Disasters and Catastrophes, and the SAI of the Czech Republic actively cooperated with this Group as an observer. Valeriy Patskan invited Czech colleagues to join the Group as a permanent member. “At the next EUROSAI Congress in Prague, the issue of extending the mandate of our Working Group will be raised. And we hope for the support, in particular, of Czech colleagues in this matter. We are committed to evolving and transforming, expanding the sphere of our activity to respond to the challenges that arise”, Valeriy Patskan said.
The issue of holding a regional conference EUROSAI-ARABOSAI in 2021 in Kyiv was also discussed during the meeting. The Accounting Chamber enlisted the support of Miloslav Kala in this matter.
In addition, the issue of cooperation with the regional association of leaders of the SAIs of Visegrad Four + 2 was raised. “The Accounting Chamber considers such cooperation as an additional tool for the implementation of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union. I am convinced that the cooperation of the Accounting Chamber with the SAIs of the Visegrad Four + Group 2 will be aimed at further rapprochement of Ukraine with the European Union and unification of methods and rules for external control of public finances. Cooperation in this format with further accession to the regional association of supreme audit institutions is one of the strategic goals for the Accounting Chamber, the achievement of which we set for ourselves in the near future”, Valeriy Patskan said.
The delegation of the Supreme Audit Office of the Czech Republic presented to the staff of the Accounting Chamber areas where it is already possible to start active cooperation and shared the achievements of its SAI. “We have to cooperate, share methodologies, ideas, knowledge and data. In order that we be stronger and work better for the benefit of our citizens”, the President of the Supreme Audit Office of the Czech Republic said. Miloslav Kala invited IT specialists of the Accounting Chamber to participate in the international hackathon organized by SAI of the Czech Republic, which will take place in March 2020 in Prague. As part of the event, they will work on an electronic application that will help identify priority areas of audit, as well as look for tools to compare these audits. The parties agreed on the internship of the auditors of the Accounting Chamber in the Czech Republic.
“We have many common challenges with our Czech colleagues and we are ready to respond together to problems in the field of ecology and social policy, share experiences, improve audit methodologies and improve the skills of our specialists”, Valeriy Patskan said.
