Ukraine demonstrates progress in public financial management - World Bank

The Ukrainian government has made progress in the application of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), the World Bank said in the 2019 Ukraine Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) Assessment report published on April 13.
"The 2019 PEFA Assessment indicates that the Government of Ukraine has made progress in the application of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS)," the World Bank's press service said.

According to the report, the government improved its macroeconomic and budget forecasting tools, as well as increased transparency in public financial management through the introduction of an open budget portal and e-procurement system – ProZorro.

For Ukraine, this was the fourth PEFA Assessment at the national level. Previous PEFA Assessments were conducted in 2006, 2011, and 2015: the latter informed the country's Public Finance Management Reform Strategy for 2017-2020. The current Assessment has laid the basis for the Ukrainian government's new 2021-2024 PFM Reform Strategy.

The World Bank said that the comparison of the 2019 and 2015 PEFA Assessments reveals that many indicators and dimensions have improved, specifically those related to fiscal discipline, the strategic allocation of resources, and the efficient use of resources for service delivery. However, some indicators have deteriorated since the last PEFA. For instance, the time for budget preparation was shortened, and there was a reduction in competitive procurement bidding and fewer payroll audits compared to the previous PEFA.

"Why does the PEFA matter to ordinary Ukrainians? Because it measures whether taxpayers' money is spent where it's meant to be spent. It helps understand what needs to be done in order to minimize waste and corruption risks in public spending," said Alexander Kremer, Acting World Bank Director for Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine.

The Ukraine PEFA Assessment Report is now available on the websites of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, the World Bank, and the PEFA Secretariat.

The assessment was carried out by the World Bank as part of the Parallel European Commission-World Bank Partnership Program for the Reform of Public Administration and Finances (EURoPAF) and closely coordinated with the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine. To date, almost 640 PEFA Assessments have been conducted in 152 countries.