KYIV, April 13, 2020 – The 2019 Ukraine Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) Assessment report was published today. 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. Development partners from the US Treasury Department and Sweden were part of the Assessment team.
The report presents an up-to-date diagnostic of the national-level public financial management (PFM) performance and describes the changes that have taken place since the previous PEFA Assessment in 2015.
“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
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 report demonstrates Ukraine’s willingness to further improve the management of its public finances,” said Ambassador Matti Maasikas, Head of Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine. “The EU will continue to support Ukraine’s public financial management reform agenda,” he added.
The 2019 PEFA Assessment indicates that the Government of Ukraine has made progress in the application of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS). According to the report the Government improved its macroeconomic and budget forecasting tools, as well as increase transparency in public financial management through introduction of an open budget portal and e-procurement system – ProZorro.
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.
The methodology is drawn from international standards and good practices identified by experienced practitioners. To date, almost 640 PEFA Assessments have been conducted in 152 countries. 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.
