THE STATE AUDIT SERVICE OF UKRAINE AS A SUBJECT OF COMBATING VIOLATIONS OF BUDGET LEGISLATION

Abstract

The article examines the activities of the State Audit Service of Ukraine as a subject of combating violations of budget legislation. It is emphasized that under martial law, in the context of Ukraine's post-war recovery and the implementation of its European integration commitments, the effective functioning of the system for preventing and counteracting violations of budget legislation has acquired strategic importance for ensuring the financial and national security of the State. The study analyzes the regulatory framework governing the powers of the State Audit Service of Ukraine to prevent, suppress, and eliminate the consequences of violations of budget legislation. Particular attention is paid to the newly expanded powers of the State Audit Service regarding the control of international financial assistance provided to Ukraine under the Ukraine Facility instrument and the Interreg and Interreg NEXT programmes. The article substantiates the expediency of conceptualizing the activities of the State Audit Service through an integrated system of preventive, coercive, and restorative measures. Such an approach makes it possible to comprehensively characterize the functional purpose of the State Audit Service, which consists not only in detecting and terminating violations of budget legislation but also in restoring the financial interests of the State and eliminating the causes and conditions contributing to such violations. The study argues that preventive activities should be regarded as the priority area of the Service's functioning under current conditions. Particular emphasis is placed on public procurement monitoring, risk-based planning of control measures, and the application of digital data analytics tools, which demonstrate the gradual transformation of the State Audit Service from a model primarily focused on detecting and responding to already committed violations of budget legislation towards a preventive model based on the early identification of budgetary risks, their mitigation, and the prevention of budget offences.