Елецкова
Ю.С.
Научный
руководитель: Рассолова Л.В.
Донецкий
национальный университет экономики и торговли им. М.И.Туган-Барановского
THE
HISTORY OF ESTABLISHMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE ACCOUNTING CHAMBER
The Accounting Chamber is a permanent acting body of
external state financial control that has been functioning in Ukraine since
1997.
The Constitution of Ukraine adopted by Verkhovna Rada
of Ukraine on June 28, 1996, fixed constitutional status of the
Accounting Chamber as the body acting on behalf of Verkhovna Rada of
Ukraine and executing control over use of the funds of the State Budget of
Ukraine. On July 11, 1996, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine approved the Law of Ukraine "On the
Accounting Chamber of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine". On August 19,
1996, the President exercised veto of the approved law. Verkhovna Rada overrode
veto in October and the President signed the law.
In December of 1996 Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine assigned
Mr. Valentyn Symonenko the Head of the Accounting Chamber. On December 11,
2003, he was re-assigned to this position by the absolute majority of the
constitutional composition of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
On December 28, 1996, the President of Ukraine
appealed to the Constitutional Court of Ukraine requesting about conformity of
the Law of Ukraine "On the Accounting Chamber of Verkhovna Rada of
Ukraine" with the Constitution of Ukraine. Having considered the request
the Constitutional Court approved the judgment No. 7-zp from December 23, 1997
that recognized some provisions of this law non-constitutional, namely:
- Definition of the Accounting
Chamber as body of "supreme state financial and economic" control;
- Authority of organization
and control over revenues of the State Budget of Ukraine;
- Authority of control over "revenues
of the State Budget of Ukraine obtained from state property management
including privatization, selling, property management subjected to state
property right".
Provisions of the law prevented the Accounting Chamber
from full controlling over execution of the State Budget as integrated process
because budget revenues were left out of control that was integral part of the
budget process in the state. Reversing this situation needs amendments to the
Constitution and further improvement of the Law of Ukraine "On the
Accounting Chamber".
On January 17, 2002, people deputies of Ukraine at the second session of
the fourth convocation
approved the Law of Ukraine "On Amendments to Article 98 of the
Constitution of Ukraine" by the constitutional majority (300 votes
for) that was the first time in the history of Ukrainian parliamentarism.
According to this Law "Parliamentary control over forming and execution of
the State Budget of Ukraine and local budgets regarding financing of local
state administrations on behalf of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine shall be exercised
by the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine".
It means that according to the amendment to article 98 of the
Constitution of Ukraine approved by the Parliament, the Accounting Chamber got
the right to control not only use of the budget funds but forming of revenues
of the state and local budgets regarding financing of the local state
authorities. However, the President of Ukraine exercised veto again on the
amendment to the Constitution introduced by the Parliament.
On December 8, 2004, Verkhovna Rada adopted the Law of
Ukraine No. 2222-IV "On Amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine"
that reads article 98 of the Constitution of Ukraine as following:
"Article 98. Control over revenues of the State
Budget of Ukraine and their use on behalf of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine shall be
exercised by the Accounting Chamber".
Thus, amended article 98 of the Constitution of
Ukraine extended authorities of the Accounting Chamber regarding control over
revenues and use of the funds of the State Budget of Ukraine.
The Accounting Chamber is established by Verkhovna Rada
of Ukraine and reports to it. Staff of the Accounting
Chamber shall be appointed by Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine through secret
balloting.
Relations between the Accounting Chamber and Verkhovna
Rada of Ukraine are based on accountability, its independent status as the body
of special constitutional competence being preserved.
The Accounting Chamber makes annual reports to
Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on its performance results. By consent of Verkhovna
Rada its committees may hear reports, information (statements) of the
Accounting Chamber on results of audits, revisions and inspections in line with
the necessary deadlines.
Relations between the Accounting Chamber and other
state authorities are based on organizational and functional independence
within the band of authorities set by the applicable legislation.
The applicable law envisages that the scope of control
authorities of the Accounting Chamber includes administrative staff of
Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, administration (secretariat) of the President of
Ukraine, state authorities including their administrative staffs, the National
Bank of Ukraine, the State Property Fund of Ukraine and other state authorities
and institutions established according to the legislation. The Legislation also
envisages right of the Accounting Chamber to obtain information while its
functioning in response to its inquiries from the state and local authorities,
enterprises, institutions and organizations regardless of the form of
ownership.
Thus all the operations having fiscal consequences for
the State Budget of Ukraine conducted by any institutions, organizations,
business entities regardless of the form of ownership are subjected to control
by the Accounting Chamber. According to terms of effectiveness of the Law No.
2222-IV amended article 98 of the Constitution came into force on January 1,
2006.
Besides, the Accounting Chamber is granted the right,
in case of necessity, to involve the experts of any control bodies to its
audits. Relations between the Accounting Chamber and audited objects are
regulated by the applicable legislation.
In 1998 the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine joined
International Organization of Supreme Auditing Institutions (INTOSAI) and in
1999 it was admitted to European Organization of Supreme Auditing Institutions
(EUROSAI). Thus, the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine has been recognized by the international community as the supreme
auditing body of Ukraine since 1998. Other supreme auditing bodies of foreign
countries also cooperate actively with it. Today the Accounting Chamber of
Ukraine has signed agreements on cooperation with supreme auditing
bodies of Poland, Russian Federation, Republic of Bulgaria, Republic of
Moldova, Republic of Belarus, Georgia, Republic of Lithuania, Slovak Republic, Hungary, Republic of Korea, People Republic of China. It cooperates
actively with the respective Committees of INTOSAI and EUROSAI.
Besides, the Accounting Chamber supports and pays much
attention to the cooperation with supreme auditing bodies of CIS that
established Board of Heads. Second session of this Board that took place in
Kyiv in 2001 chaired by Mr. V. Symonenko approved Declaration of
General Principles of Activity of Supreme Auditing Bodies of CIS and Address to
the leaders of the countries and parliaments of CIS on formation and
development of independent audit.
The Accounting Chamber has managed to solve main task
for nearly ten years of its existence - to form as viable constitutional body,
to create basis and elaborate new concept of public, independent external state
audit in Ukraine. It managed to draw attention of society to the vicious system
of budget funds management, to show that the state budget funds belong not to
the Government and Ministry of Finance and taxpayers' money and community funds
belong to each of us. Noteworthy, that it is the core of the Accounting Chamber
as the body whose activity cannot be limited to auditing only. The Accounting
Chamber is the body providing society and authorities with real information on
the State Budget funds management.
Auditors of the Accounting Chamber apply systematic
approach to the organization of audits and
analysis of their results. Experts of the Accounting Chamber pay much
attention in their routine work to analytical activity, appraisal of management
effectiveness of the audited objects.
The Accounting Chamber launched new promising areas in response to
nowadays challenges, such as audit of the state management informatization,
audit of public procurements, ecologic audit, energy saving audit,
international audits jointly with foreign partners etc.
The Accounting Chamber is guided in its activity by
the principles of legitimacy, planning, objectiveness, independence and
publicity considering the law of state budget as the concentrated expression of
economic policy for the respective year.
Conclusions and proposals of the Accounting Chamber
are oriented primarily to elimination of flaws of the budget process causing
ineffective use of budget funds. Examining the draft laws on the state budget,
developing proposals for Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on the use of the funds of
the State Budget of Ukraine the Accounting Chamber is directly involved in
improvement of the budget process.
Legislative field of Ukraine undergoes permanent
changes. Thus priority of the Accounting Chamber is to search for "black
holes" in the financial system of the country that allow
"leakage" of state resources. It not only detects violations but
identifies causes and pinpoints ways of violation elimination and prevention.
The Accounting Chamber has detected many violations of
misuse of the budget funds both in central and local authorities for the years
of its functioning. Materials on the violations are submitted to the
prosecutor's bodies to take appropriate measures. Various state authorities
made many conclusions and proposals of the Accounting Chamber the basis of
flaws elimination and took them into account in economy reforms, in financial
and economic crisis management plans.
Inter alia, these are the proposals of the Accounting Chamber on the
budget legislation improvement, effective use of the budget funds, eradication
of the vicious netting practices, appraisal of the state debt of Ukraine and
the debt management.
The Accounting Chamber informs regularly the
President, headship of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the government on the most
important performance results. Information bulletins are issued in the
follow-up to auditing, auditing and analytical and expert measures, which are
disseminated among people deputies of Ukraine, central authorities; mass media
announcements are issued.
Ten years of the Accounting Chamber activity proves
growing interest of all branches of power and public to it and its rising
authority.
International recognition of the Accounting Chamber
also advanced, as being a full-fledged member of international organizations of
supreme audit bodies INTOSAI and EUROSAI the Accounting Chamber is deeply
involved in their activities.
In view of the flaws in the sate financial resources
management of Ukraine the Accounting Chamber should take higher profile in the
nearest future in fulfilling the regulations set by the Constitution and Laws
of Ukraine. Mr. V. Symonenko, the Chairman of the Accounting Chamber
of Ukraine is convinced that today reform of the state finance control system
is crucial and the Accounting Chamber should be leader in this process as
independent state body accountable only to the Parliament of Ukraine. To raise
the effectiveness of the use of the funds of the state budget of Ukraine, to
ensure control functions of the Accounting Chamber imposed by the Constitution
and laws of Ukraine territorial offices were set up on with the status of
structural divisions of the Accounting Chamber in regions according to
Resolution of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine from June 15, 2004.
The Accounting Chamber is the chief advisor of society
and state leadership on all issues concerning effective and transparent
management of the budget resources including reduction or canceling of state
activities unjustified under market economy as only the Accounting Chamber can
make qualified audit of revenues and expenditures of the State Budget of
Ukraine which secures the right of people to control transparent, appropriate
and effective use of the community funds, i.e. taxpayers' funds.