We’ll check ourselves; you can trust us: an internal audit service is being established in Mykolaiv

The new agency is being established with EU support, but its independence and the transparency of its inspection results remain important concerns

Цей матеріал також доступний:

04 Nov 2026

0 703

The Mykolaiv City Council has announced a recruitment drive for a new internal audit service that will review the activities of city officials, executive bodies, and municipal enterprises. The future auditors will be expected to oversee the use of community budget funds and property, and identify risks and shortcomings in officials’ work. However, there is an interesting detail: the new service will be directly managed and coordinated by Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych. In other words, City Council employees will be auditing other bodies within the same municipal government.

The recruitment announcement was published on November 4, 2026, on the official Telegram channel of the Mykolaiv City Council.

Who will oversee the overseers?

The internal audit service is being established with support from the European Union Anti-Corruption Initiative (EUACI). Its goal is to make the city government more transparent, improve the management of municipal resources, and prevent financial violations.

At the same time, the new unit will not be an independent external oversight body. It will operate within the local self-government system.

By City Council Resolution No. 53/2 of April 30, 2026, an “Internal Audit Service” department with a staffing complement of 5 positions was established among the executive bodies. This is set out in the official City Council resolution.

And under Mayor’s Order No. 489r of October 5, 2026, Oleksandr Sienkevych is responsible for managing and coordinating the work of this unit. In addition, the mayor has the authority to appoint and dismiss officials of the City Council’s executive bodies.

This arrangement is not in itself a violation: internal audit, by its nature, operates within an institution, and its organizational independence includes accountability to the head of that institution. However, this does not remove the need to ensure that audits are impartial.

This raises some entirely reasonable questions: will auditors be able to objectively assess decisions made by the leadership on whom their appointments depend, and will residents learn about all the violations uncovered?

What exactly will the new service audit?

According to the City Council, the future auditors’ duties will include:

planning and conducting internal audits of City Council departments and municipal enterprises;
assessing the effectiveness of internal controls and risk management;
checking whether budget funds are used lawfully and effectively;
analyzing financial and operational processes;
preparing findings and practical recommendations for management.

The City Council says that internal audits should help identify weaknesses in institutions’ work, improve complex processes, and ensure that city resources are used efficiently.

So the purpose is not just to look for potential violations, but also to assess how effectively officials perform their duties and spend community funds.

Hiring will take place without a competition

The City Council has currently announced 3 vacancies:

department head — 1 position, with a master’s or specialist degree required;
chief specialist — 2 positions, with at least a bachelor’s degree required.

Thus, although the unit’s approved staffing complement is 5 positions, the current announcement covers only 3 vacancies. The announcement does not say whether the remaining positions are occupied.

Applicants with backgrounds in accounting and auditing, bookkeeping, economics, finance, and law are invited to apply.

The main requirements for candidates are:

fluency in Ukrainian;
strong analytical skills and attention to detail;
a basic understanding of financial and operational processes;
willingness to learn and develop in the field of public governance.

Relevant professional experience will be an advantage.

The City Council, together with international partners, promises to provide new employees with training and mentorship from experienced specialists.

There will be no competitive selection process. Candidates will be appointed based on interviews and the completion of test assignments.

The announcement does not specify the salary.

Will internal audit provide real oversight?

The need for careful oversight of budget spending in Mykolaiv is particularly pressing in light of the findings of previous audits of municipal enterprises.

In particular, Korabelov.info previously reported on the results of an audit of the Mykolaivpastrans municipal enterprise, during which state auditors uncovered violations that resulted in resource losses of more than 1.67 million hryvnias.

It also became known in October 2026 that prosecutors were investigating the circumstances surrounding 196.8 million hryvnias in funding for Mykolaivelektrotrans public transport services, which the State Audit Service had identified as an overpayment. The enterprise disputes the auditors’ findings and is challenging them in court.

Meanwhile, on October 2, 2026, our publication reported that an audit of the anti-corruption efforts at Mykolaivvodokanal had been assigned to a commission made up exclusively of employees from the mayor’s department. The results of the audit were to be submitted directly to the mayor.

These cases show that what matters is not only whether audits are conducted, but also whether the auditors are independent, their findings are transparent, and action is taken in response to the problems they identify.

The creation of another oversight unit does not, by itself, guarantee more effective use of budget funds.

What will matter is whether the new service can audit all branches of the city government without obstruction, whether its recommendations are acted upon, and whether the audit results are made available to the community.

When officials audit other officials, the public needs to know who oversees the auditors themselves.