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During the annual meeting of the International Board of Auditors for NATO (IBAN)* and the Supreme Audit Institutions of NATO member states, held on 21 May at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine presented practical insights into how the ongoing war is changing approaches to public administration, resource management, and public audit.
Russia’s full-scale armed aggression against Ukraine has significantly changed the logic of public resource management and decision-making. In these conditions, traditional approaches to public audit, which primarily focus on reviewing procedures and assessing decisions retrospectively, do not always allow for a timely assessment of processes in the context of rapid changes and prolonged crises. As Olha Pishchanska, the Chairwoman of the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine, noted in her speech to partners, the role of public audit is increasingly shifting from identifying specific violations to assessing the resilience of public systems, the quality of management decisions, and the state’s ability to respond effectively to crisis challenges.
During her address, to the International Board of Auditors for NATO (IBAN)* and members of the delegations of the Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) of NATO, were presented practical cases of the ACU’s audits in the fields of defense procurement, defense innovation development, fortification construction, critical infrastructure protection, humanitarian demining, the functioning of the blood donation system, and the rehabilitation of affected territories.
As the Chairwoman of the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine noted the audit results showed that in the context of prolonged war the speed at which government systems adapt, the quality of coordination among public authorities, strategic planning, and the ability to manage resources effectively under high uncertainty conditions have become critically important for the state.
In the context of a prolonged war, national security increasingly depends on the ability of public administration systems to adapt rapidly and maintain effective governance. In the security and defense sector, the particular importance lies in logistical flexibility and the ability to respond quickly to changes in the military environment. At the same time, in the field of recovery, strategic planning, coordination, transparency in resource management, and the state’s ability to maintain control over complex, multi-level processes become critically important,” noted Olha Pishchanska.
Olha Pishchanska also noted that during a prolonged war, the quality of public resource management gradually becomes just as important as the quantity of resources themselves. In such conditions, public audit increasingly focuses on evaluating management decisions, coordination among institutions, and the state’s ability to operate effectively in the context of prolonged crises.
The annual IBAN meetings are devoted to the discussion of current issues related to external audits of NATO authorities, audits in the field of security and defense sectors, and international cooperation between IBAN and national SAIs.
During the panel discussion held as part of the current meeting, participants also discussed the confidentiality issues in defense sector audits, specifically approaches to ensuring the necessary level of confidentiality during audits and maintaining a balance between protecting confidential information and accountability to the public.
Traditionally, the participants reviewed the IBAN Annual Activity Report and received an update on international cooperation between IBAN, the BOA, and INTOSAI.
It should be noted that last year, during the meeting of the IBAN Council, Olha Pishchanska, the Chairwoman of the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine, presented a report to her colleagues on the specific challenges faced by external auditors during wartime and the role of the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine in strengthening financial transparency and accountability in the use of state budget funds.
*The IBAN is an independent external audit body for NATO that conducts external audits of the Alliance’s common funds and provides the North Atlantic Council and the governments of NATO member states with guaranteesregarding the proper use of common resources. Representatives of the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine participate in IBAN meetings as part of professional dialogue and exchange of experiences on audit issues in wartime conditions.
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