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The conference “Accountable Budgets – Empowered Communities” took place on 26 February at Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University and brought together several hundred participants, both online and in person, including representatives of central government, local self-government, academia, and international partners. The discussions centered on practical solutions - including international experience - aimed at enhancing the transparency and accountability of local budgets and strengthening the financial capacity of communities.
The event was organised by the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine in partnership with Expertise France*.
Opening the conference, Chairwoman of the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine, Olha Pishchanska, noted that the analysis of local budget performance for 2022–2024 demonstrated growth in both community revenues and expenditures, shifts in the structure of capital investments, and an increased reliance on state subsidies. According to her, this dynamic raises demands for the quality of management decisions, strategic planning, and the effectiveness of internal control systems.
“Local communities have always been a cornerstone of state building. Significant donor support and international lending in recent years add an extra layer of responsibility. Such levels of international assistance require transparent reporting in line with international public finance management standards. The Accounting Chamber of Ukraine is ready to assist communities in establishing these processes to achieve the best possible outcomes,” emphasized Olha Pishchanska.
European audit institutions and members of the diplomatic community also participated in the conference. Natasha Rimbon, Director of the Department of International Relations, External Audit, and Francophonie at the Court of Auditors of the French Republic, highlighted that, under the current challenges posed by war, auditing becomes a key element of institutional resilience and state recovery.
Pierre Offret, Head of the Economic Department of the Embassy of the French Republic in Ukraine, emphasised that transparent public finance management forms the foundation of trust in government decisions and ultimately determines the quality of a democratic system.
Representatives of the supreme audit institutions of France, Croatia and Romania presented their practices in overseeing local budgets, focusing on standards of independence, professionalism and accountability that ensure the effective use of resources in times of transformation.
Addressing the participants, Roman Hreba, Deputy Head of the Chernivtsi Regional Military Administration, stressed the need to strengthen the managerial capacities of public authorities in order to ensure the efficient use of budgetary resources and to establish a transparent system of accountability.
In turn, experts from the Association of Ukrainian Cities and the All-Ukrainian Association of Territorial Communities outlined the current challenges in meeting specific local budget indicators and described how budget planning has evolved since the outset of the full-scale war. Tetiana Paliichuk, Local Finance Analyst at the Association of Ukrainian Cities, noted the alignment between the conclusions drawn by the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine following its analysis and the position of local self-government bodies regarding key risks in the area of budget provision.
During the thematic sessions and discussions, state auditors and experts of the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine, together with participants, examined practical aspects of applying audit as a tool for community development. The discussions addressed the role of institutional internal control, key risks in the execution of certain local budget indicators identified during the analysis, as well as the impact of selected audits on the effectiveness of state budget subventions and on managerial decision-making at the local level.
Particular attention was given to audit findings concerning broadband internet access in rural areas, housing financing for internally displaced persons, funding for district councils to perform their statutory functions, the construction of shelters in educational institutions, and the restoration of community infrastructure - as examples of how audit conclusions translate into practical change.
The strategic dimension of budget policy was outlined by academic experts. Ella Libanova, Director of the M. V. Ptukha Institute for Demography and Social Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, emphasised demographic and environmental factors that directly affect the long-term capacity of communities and the formation of local budgets. In turn, Ihor Liutyi, Honoured Economist of Ukraine and Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, presented an academic perspective on diversifying funding sources for territorial communities, stressing the need to balance budget policy amid structural changes in the economy.
Summing up the discussions, Virginie Ma-Dupont, Project Manager of the “Support to the State Audit Service of Ukraine (DASU)” project at Expertise France, underlined that even under conditions of financial constraints and imbalances in local budgets, independent oversight remains a key instrument for legitimising public decisions and strengthening democratic institutions on Ukraine’s path towards the European Union.
In response, Chairwoman of the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine Olha Pishchanska expressed her appreciation to international partners for their consistent support to the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine.
As part of the visit to Chernivtsi, the leadership of the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine held a working meeting with Roman Hreba, Deputy Head of the Chernivtsi Regional Military Administration; Mykhailo Pavliuk, Deputy Chair of the Chernivtsi Regional Council; and Ruslan Biloskurskyi, Rector of Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University.
The discussions focused on regional specificities of community development, issues of budgetary sustainability, and opportunities for further professional cooperation. The Chairwoman of the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine expressed her gratitude to the partners for their support in organising the event, as well as for their openness to dialogue and cooperation.
*Expertise France is a French public agency for international technical cooperation that provides expert support in the development of local government audit and the implementation of European public finance management standards.
