Changes in the financing of grantees' project audit costs

The Ukrainian Cultural Foundation informs about changes to the regulations on the abolition of funding for audit services through a grant in 2021. The Foundation asks to treat the new conditions with understanding, because the management of budget funds requires, above all, compliance with the budget legislation of Ukraine.

This decision was made in view of the proposal set out in the audit report of the State Audit Service of Ukraine (SASU) dated 23.03.2021 No. 04-24/5. Thus, SASU recognized the inefficiency of using budget funds to pay for audit services to confirm the intended use of the grant.

Accordingly, at the meeting of the Supervisory Board on May 6, 2021 it was decided: to impose the costs of audit services to confirm the final report on the implementation of cultural and artistic projects at the expense of grantees (own funds, reinvestments or funds from other sources).

The Foundation is aware that such change in project financing conditions in the process of signing grant agreements causes some inconvenience to grantees, but this decision applies to organizations and institutions of all forms of ownership and does not provide for an exclusive approach. If the grantee is unable to meet this requirement, the Foundation will unfortunately not be able to enter into a grant agreement.

The independent auditor's report provides verification of the intended use of grant funds, as well as verification of the grantee's final reporting for compliance with the laws of Ukraine, other regulations, national accounting regulations (international financial reporting standards) and internal regulations of the Foundation. The updated requirements for the independent auditor's report will soon be published on the UCF website.

Another change concerns the form of the grantee's final report: in 2021, the submission of copies of primary financial documents to the Foundation was abolished, which simplifies and gives a boost to the reporting procedure. However, please note that all project documents must be kept by the grantee in accordance with the grantee's internal regulations, but not less than three years from the date of signing the project implementation act.