“Financial support from the USA in 2022-2024 was used in accordance with the agreements – Accounting ChamberThe Accounting Chamber confirmed the effective use of over $30 billion in aid from the USA in 2022-2024. Audits confirmed the
targeted use of funds for social payments and medicine.”, — write: unn.ua
The Accounting Chamber of Ukraine carries out systematic control over the use of international budget support and provides recommendations to improve the efficiency of the use of these funds. The implementation of the recommendations provided as a result of its relevant audits contributes to improving financial discipline and transparency in the management of state resources and maintaining trustful relations between partner countries
Details
The assistance of the United States of America accounted for a significant part of Ukraine’s international support during 2022–2024, which determined this source as a key factor in ensuring economic and social stability in times of war.
The total amount of direct budget support provided by the US government during the specified period is more than $30 billion*. These funds were implemented through several main agreements:
Conducted audits and their resultsThe Accounting Chamber, within the framework of four audits, carried out an inspection of the use of a part of the direct budget support of the United States to Ukraine. The results of audits, carried out including with the support of the Audit Excellence Center of the United States Government Accountability Office, confirmed that the financial support provided to Ukraine by the United States 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 large-scale invasion. Partner funds made it possible to avoid a crisis in the field of social payments, to pay pensions and salaries in a timely manner, to support the health care system and to ensure the basic humanitarian needs of the population.
1. Financial audit of the grant of the Multi-Donor Cooperation Target Fund (decision of the Accounting Chamber dated 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 detected.
2. Efficiency audit “Direct budget support of the US Government and other donors to ensure the vital needs of the population of Ukraine in times of war” (decision of the Accounting Chamber dated 21.12.2023 No. 31-1).”
The audit confirmed the targeted use of grant funds to ensure the basic needs of the population, in particular for the payment of salaries to educators and medical workers. According to the results of the audit, the Accounting Chamber recommended improving the procedures for verifying recipients, establishing information exchange between state IT systems and registers, and introducing mechanisms for streamlining and optimizing social payments.
3. Efficiency audit “Direct US budget support at the beginning of the Russian military invasion of Ukraine: Preventing collapse and maintaining the stress resistance of the Ukrainian medical service system” (decision of the Accounting Chamber dated 21.12.2023 No. 31-2).”
The audit of the Accounting Chamber confirmed that 1.7 billion US dollars of direct budget support were directed to the financing of the program of state guarantees of medical care for the population, which ensured the uninterrupted provision of medical services in martial law. At the same time, according to the results of the audit, recommendations were given to strengthen the internal control of the National Health Service of Ukraine (hereinafter – NHSU) to prevent certain overpayments in the future.
4. Efficiency audit “Sustainability of the Pension Fund of Ukraine in martial law” (decision of the Accounting Chamber dated 22.10.2024 No. 49-2).”
Auditors of the Accounting Chamber confirmed that in the conditions of war, the Pension Fund of Ukraine managed to ensure stable pension payments for more than 10 million pensioners, including through the attraction of loans and grants under the PEACE Project, the main donor of which was the United States. The mentioned funds, namely 12.7 billion US dollars, were used for their intended purpose, at the same time, 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.
Main conclusions based on the results of auditsThanks to the audits carried out, the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine confirmed that US financial support was used effectively and in accordance with the defined goals, contributing to ensuring the financial stability of the country in the conditions of martial law.
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Also, these audits revealed a number of factors, the elimination of which will contribute to greater efficiency in the use of funds in the future, including international support, and better functioning of the relevant state systems in general. This concerns 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 the identified shortcomings and improving budget management in general. Their implementation will contribute to increasing the efficiency of the use of funds, which is an important step for maintaining the trust of international partners and strengthening Ukraine’s financial stability in the conditions of war and further recovery of the country
Key results of the implementation of recommendations for US aid audits
- Medical services:
– In pursuance of the recommendations of the Accounting Chamber, provided based on the results of the audit, UAH 14.6 million (500 thousand US dollars) were returned to the budget in 2024, which in general amounts to 75% of the funds overpaid under the medical services package “Ensuring the preservation of personnel potential for the provision of medical care”.
– In addition, in pursuance of the recommendations of the Accounting Chamber, the internal audit unit of the NHSU revealed an overpayment in the amount of UAH 46.8 million (1.6 million US dollars), of which UAH 4.3 million (140 thousand US dollars) has already been reimbursed as of 05.03.2025.
- Verification of aid recipients:
– The Ministry of Economy of Ukraine verified persons who illegally received assistance through the “eSupport” Program. UAH 122.7 million (4.2 million US dollars) was reimbursed from 19,000 people.
– Compatibility and electronic interaction of the Central Database of the electronic health care system with the State Register of Individuals – Taxpayers and the Register of Insured Persons of the State Register of Mandatory State Social Insurance has been ensured.
– Procedures for verifying aid recipients have been improved, information exchange between state IT systems and registers has been established, and mechanisms for streamlining and optimizing social payments have been introduced.
- Improving the work of the Pension Fund:
– Special pensions exceeding the maximum amount have been limited.
– Electronic document circulation has been introduced for pension recipients who have left for permanent residence abroad.
– Methodological recommendations on the transfer of funds to institutions in which persons are fully supported by the state have been approved.
– A new version of the protocol on information exchange for conducting verification of pension payments has been approved.
– The mechanism for assigning and paying surcharges to non-working pensioners for living in the zone of radioactive contamination for the period of martial law in Ukraine has been improved.
– Monthly selective processing of information about pension recipients who receive increases in accordance with the Law of Ukraine “On the Status of Mountain Settlements in Ukraine” is carried out.
– Persons responsible for updating the directories of settlements where hostilities are taking place or temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation have been identified.
– Passports for budget programs in the field of pension provision have been introduced.
– Criteria and logic for building reporting for centralization of accounting of accrued and paid amounts based on court decisions have been developed.
– A circle of persons with disabilities and clear circumstances under which the medical advisory board will not send such persons for re-examination have been identified.
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 the accounting of funds, ensuring the confidence of key stakeholders in the use of these funds in accordance with the terms of the agreements and their receipt by the proper beneficiaries.
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