Organisational and financial audit of the National Public Broadcaster of Ukraine ISK granskning av Ukrainas Nationella Television (public broadcaster) As of 2017 television remained the key source of information about social and political processes for the majority of Ukrainian population (86% according to December 2016 poll of Kyiv Institute of Sociology). More than 80% of the broadcast media market has been owned and controlled by four domestic oligarchs. According to December 2015 GfK values study among the TV audience, 49% of Ukrainian televiewers could not identify a Ukrainian TV channel that would meet the criterion of independence (either from government or oligarchs). The appetite for truth and fair information in the society has increased dramatically after 2014 Euromaidan, while the Ukrainian broadcast media market concentrated in the hands of a few oligarchs remained the same. In 2014-2016 the legal framework for establishing a public broadcasting system has been finally put in place by Parliament and government under strong pressure of civil society. In the first six months of 2017 the legal entity National Public Broadcaster of Ukraine has been established and its governing bodies have been formed. The newborn public broadcaster of Ukraine has a challenging task to become an efficient and competitive media organisation, which would gain public trust by providing a fair and objective alternative to the existing mainstream oligarch media.

The establishment of a genuine public broadcasting system in Ukraine has been one of the three media-related criteria of the EU-Ukraine Association Agenda. When the environment for technical implementation of this reform became enabling in 2017, EU Delegation in Ukraine prepared to launch a four-year technical assistance programme aiming to substantially modernize the public service broadcaster facilities in the capital. 

The National Public Service Broadcaster of Ukraine is being established on the basis of former national state television and radio as well as 26 regional and local TV and radio stations. The audit is to comprehensively map out how the NPBU operates. The recommendations provided will be the basis for further transformations in NPBU, as well as for an assessment of entity’s budget needs and a subsequent reallocation of funds within the approved state funding. The deliverable of this audit should be a detailed report on findings and a roadmap for the use of the Supervisory Board, Management Board, and other parties engaged into the reform of public broadcasting in Ukraine and NPBU operations. Under 2017 hade en majoritet av Ukrainas befolkning (84% enligt en undersökning från Kiev Institute of Sociology 2016) TV som sin huvudsakliga källa för information om samhällets sociala och politiska utveckling. Mer än 80% av Ukrainas TV-bolag ägs av 4 ukrainska oligarker. En studie från 2015 visar att 49% av tittarna inte kunde identifiera någon ukrainsk Tv-kanal (varken statlig eller oligark-ägd) som uppnår kriterierna för att klassas som oberoende. Trots att intresset för fria och oberoende informationskällor ökat kraftigt i landet sedan Euromaidan 2014 fortsätter media att kontrolleras av oligarker. Under 2014-2016 togs ett ramverk fram för etablering av ett ”public service”-system, vilket nu sätts på plats av parlament och regering under hårda påtryckningar från civilsamhället. National Public Broadcaster of Ukraine (NPBU) etablerades under första halvan av 2017. NPBU står inför en svår uppgift för att kunna bli en effektiv och konkurrenskraftig organisation och utgöra ett alternativ till existerande oligark-media.

Etableringen av ukrainsk public service har utgjort ett av tre mediarelaterade kriterier inom EU-Ukraine Association Agenda. När denna reform blev tekniskt möjlig att genomföra under 2017, har EU-delegationen i Ukraina tagit fram ett fyra år långt kapacitetsstöd med målsättning att modernisera NPBU:s Kievbaserade delar. 
NPBU skall etableras utifrån tidigare statlig ukrainsk television samt 26 lokala och regionala TV och radiostationer. 

Revisionen avser att genomgripande kartlägga hur NPBU arbetar. Revisorernas rekommendationer kommer att vara utgångspunkt för vidare utveckling inom NPBU och påverka bedömningen av organisationens budgetbehov och en efterföljande omdisponering av statligt finansierade medel. Revisionen skall överlämnas i form av en detaljerad rapport över slutgiltiga undersökningsresultat samt en handlingsplan till tillsynsnämnden (Supervisory Board), styrelsen (Management Board) och andra parter engagerade i reformprocessen. Project goal: evaluate governance, key processes and internal control system, examine financial statements; provide recommendations and step-by step roadmap for further transformation of NPBU on the way to becoming and efficient and competitive public broadcasting organization. 
Objectives:
1) Evaluate governance and provide recommendations for its improvement based on leading practices;
2) Examine key processes and procedures; identify areas for improvement in terms of efficiency and effectiveness;
3) Analyze HR activities, policies and practices, behaviors, risks and internal controls; 
4) Validate the financial statements as at 31 December 2017 and for the period then ended (including the opening balances).