Internal audit gets an upgrade: Ministry of Finance and EU4PFM hosted webinar on new Standards

Representatives of the Department for Harmonisation of Public Internal Financial Control (PIFC) presented the latest changes to internal audit regulations, explained how to put them into practice and outlined the certification process for internal audit staff. EU4PFM International Expert on PIFC Manfred van Kesteren highlighted the importance of updating Ukraine’s national internal audit standards in line with the new Global Internal Audit Standards (GIAS 2025):

“EU4PFM has supported the update of Ukraine’s internal audit standards through expert advice, comparative analysis and review of draft versions – all working toward step-by-step alignment with GIAS. This work is directly in line with Negotiation Chapter 32, part of Cluster 1 ‘Fundamentals’ of the EU accession negotiations that recently got underway.

Aligning your standards and modernising your certification process is a significant step forward – and an important one for external assessments such as SIGMA OECD. But standards on paper are only the beginning. The real challenge lies in implementation: building institutional capacity, changing how managers perceive internal audit and ensuring it is genuinely used as a management tool. That is why, in the new Phase III of EU4PFM, we will shift our support from legislative processes to practical implementation.”

Ukraine’s national internal audit standards have been updated to reflect current requirements, and this update mirrors a broader evolution of the profession itself. The GIAS 2025 mark a shift away from one-off external reviews toward a culture of continuous quality improvement within audit units. During his presentation, Manfred van Kesteren also identified several areas for continued development that could further support the implementation of the standards and strengthen alignment with GIAS 2025 and EU expectations under Chapter 32.

The event brought together approximately 500 internal auditors from public institutions across Ukraine.