До питання визначення повноважень Рахункової палати під час проведення публічного зовнішнього фінансового контролю

The article analyses the national research of financial law scholars on defining the main approaches to understanding the legal category of «competence». It is substantiated that there is no single approach to the interpretation of the legal category of «competence». The author suggests that the term ‘competence of the Accounting Chamber’ should be defined as the range of powers enshrined in the regulatory legal acts which define the rights and obligations of the members of the Accounting Chamber with regard to exercising financial control over the controlled objects, cover the organisation, conduct and monitoring of financial and budgetary activities, and also ensure the implementation of responsibility for non-performance or improper performance of the tasks assigned to the Accounting Chamber. It is established that the model of operation of the Accounting Chamber as the supreme audit institution of Ukraine, which has already been formed and tested in practice, requires more detailed enshrining in the provisions of the Constitution of Ukraine. It is argued that all financial transactions that cause financial consequences for the public budget of the State and are carried out by institutions, organisations or business entities are subject to external financial control carried out by the Accounting Chamber. It is substantiated that national legislation generally complies with the provisions of the Lima Declaration, which recommends that supreme audit institutions be granted extended powers of access to public information. It is concluded that it is advisable to clearly define the powers of the Accounting Chamber in the course of public external financial control so that the said financial control body has the right to ensure compensation for damage caused to the State by financial offences, to eliminate the detected financial offences and to bring to justice those guilty of ineffective management and violation of financial legislation. It is proposed to amend Article 7 of the Law of Ukraine ‘On the Accounting Chamber’ and supplement this article with provisions that would oblige the objects of financial control to comply with the decisions of the Accounting Chamber, as well as provide for the liability of the perpetrators for violations detected by the Accounting Chamber in the course of public external financial control.