On April 8, Rustem Umierov, the Ukrainian Minister of Defense, signed an order creating the Audit Committee—a new coordinating advisory body for the Internal Audit Department. The committee will include qualified auditors from NATO member states and Ukraine. According to NAKO, reforming financial control in the Ministry of Defense is moving in the right direction regarding transparency and accountability.
The main purpose of creating the Audit Committee is to provide consultations and discuss issues related to the internal audit of the Ministry of Defense. He will also be responsible for developing recommendations for improving work in this area and ensuring a high level of public trust in the Ministry's activities as a public institution. The audit committee should strengthen the role of internal audit and, at the same time, will be a body that will help develop its functionality, and also, according to Deputy Minister of Defense Yuriy Dzhighir, will serve as a "safeguard" against political interference.
NAKO welcomes the implementation of a systematic approach to using the best practices of NATO member states in the Ministry of Defense's activities because the work of such an advisory body should strengthen the audit function's independence and improve its effectiveness.
For reference. The Audit Committee of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine includes:
Francois Gauthier — head of the External Oversight Service of the NATO headquarters (Brussels);
Joseph Ingignoli — Oversight Program Analyst/Evaluator, Office of the Inspector General, US Department of Defense;
John Cheshire is the head of the internal audit company JC Audit Training Ltd (Oxford), a member of the International Institute of Internal Auditors;
Manfred van Kesteren is an international expert on state internal financial control within the framework of the EU4PFM program in Ukraine;
Ruslana Rudnytska is a Ukrainian expert on national and international projects under the auspices of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine and the Accounting Chamber.
The Audit Committee includes Deputy Minister of Defense Yuriy Dzhigyr and State Secretary of the Ministry of Defense Lyudmila Daragan.