Wefec held a meeting with Business Ombudsman Institution from Ukraine

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On September 27, 2022, representatives of West East Forum for Ethics and Compliance held an online meeting with Business Ombudsmen in Ukraine Roman Waschuk and Deputy business Ombudsman Tetyana Korotka.

Representatives of Business Ombudsman Institution (BOI) in Ukraine kindly shared their experience and provided valuable information about the process of establishment of BOI in Ukraine, its daily functioning, challenges they were facing or are still facing.

 

Mr. Waschuk stated that the BOI in Ukraine exists for the purpose of helping companies with practical problems, in terms of legal assistance for large, small and medium-sized enterprises. BOI tries to solve problems before they become court cases,on administrative level. Thus the reaction is faster, saving both time and money.

 

Mrs. Korotka stated that with the development of BOI, other anti-corruption mechanisms must be developed at the same time. For the establishment of BOI and defining the right model, the general context should be taken into account – the climate and every factor that may affect the establishment and operation should be examined.

As the biggest indicator of success in the past work and the real indicator of the need for this institution, Mr. Waschuk stated that in 2021, BOI helped companies in Ukraine to save or recover UAH 2 billion, and the operating cost of BOI is $2 million. Thus, the ratio of the cost of functioning and the effects of BOI work is 1:43.

Ms. Korotka emphasized that the independence of BOI is very important for the functioning, development and achievement of BOI’s goals. Any independence is important, independence in financing, decision-making, staffing and selection of the BO itself. Only independent  Institution of Business Ombudsman can work properly and correctly and fulfill the goals of the establishment.

The WEFEC team would like to thank Mr. Waschuk and Ms. Korotka and the Business Ombudsman Institution in Ukraine for valuable information and advice, as well as the support they provided for the Business Ombudsman Initiative  in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“This project was funded by a grant from the United States Department of State. The opinions, findings and conclusions stated herein are those of the author[s] and do not necessarily  reflect those of the United States Department of State”.