EY Survey on Coordinated Oversight of International Aid for Ukraine's Recovery and Reconstruction

Ukraine presents a unique and pressing case for studying International Financial Institutions' (IFIs) coordinated oversight and assurance activities compared to other countries due to three critical factors:

1. Unprecedented Scale of Damage and Needs: The ongoing war has resulted in massive destruction of Ukraine's infrastructure and economy, with recovery and reconstruction needs estimated at close to $500 billion [1] as of last year. This scale surpasses many post-conflict scenarios since World War II, requiring a concerted and well-coordinated international response.
2. Active Conflict Environment: Unlike other countries that may be in post-conflict recovery, Ukraine is managing reconstruction while the conflict is still ongoing. This presents unique challenges for oversight and necessitates robust coordination mechanisms among IFIs to adapt to rapidly changing conditions.
3. Significant IFIs Involvement: Multiple IFIs2, including the World Bank Group (WBG), European Union (EU), and United Nations (UN), are deeply involved in Ukraine's recovery efforts. The complexity of managing such extensive support from various institutions makes Ukraine an ideal case to examine how IFIs coordinate oversight to ensure effective use of funds and prevent overlap. This situation also offers a rare opportunity to analyze how IFIs manage large-scale aid delivery in a high-stakes environment, ensuring accountability and maximizing impact.

By focusing on Ukraine, the survey can capture lessons learned in a context where effective coordination is not just beneficial but essential for the country's recovery and for setting leading precedents in international aid management oversight activities. These insights can then inform and enhance IFI oversight coordination in other countries facing complex crises.

Institutions supporting the reconstruction and development of Ukraine, including IFIs, have a key role in providing funding related to reconstruction efforts. Current discussions are taking place among many of those institutions to coordinate Ukraine financial aid efforts and share best practices (i.e., Multi-Agency Donor Coordination Platform for Ukraine). However, this coordination is not always easy to achieve since each of these institutions has its own mandates, stakeholders, and specific requirements regarding the process that must be followed, the reliable data that should be provided, and oversight procedures that need to be performed.

This survey aims to provide institutions and their stakeholders with valuable insights to support the alignment of their coordinated oversight and assurance efforts, leveraging best practices and available data. Our goal is to facilitate the implementation of these efforts, improving the efficiency and effectiveness of aid fund utilization for Ukraine. By promoting a collaborative and informed approach to monitoring, we seek to enhance the impact of contributions towards Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction.

This survey aims to:

1. Discuss existing best practices around governance and oversight of fund flows in relation to Ukraine.
2. Identify possible collaborative opportunities and tools, which could help increase effectiveness and efficiency of aid distribution and monitoring.

For participation in this survey we invite Global Leaders in the Internal Audit and Investigation functions across IFIs supporting the recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine (collectively referred to as supporting partners).

The survey will be conducted in two stand-alone steps:

• Completion of an online form with basic information on practices that IFIs use to monitor funds. This can be filled out at participant’s convenience and should take approximately 15 minutes. This part can be completed via mobile devices.
• An interview (either in person or via video call) with EY partner to discuss your professional insights and opinions. This should take approximately 1 hour.

The data collected in this survey will be treated as confidential. All information will be aggregated and anonymized, ensuring that results cannot be attributed to any specific participant. Participants will be able to view their own responses alongside the aggregated results of other participants.

The outcomes of the survey will be compiled into a summary report, which will act as a tool to identify further actions and facilitate increased collaboration among institutions supporting the reconstruction of Ukraine for harmonization of oversight efforts and better transparency of funds. The summary would include:

1. A presentation of current and planned oversight approaches by institutions supporting the reconstruction of Ukraine, featuring leading practices and any challenge areas encountered.
2. Surveyed institutions’ perspectives on value-adding areas in future oversight cooperation, identified opportunities and challenges, potential participants for wider involvement, and other possible areas for collaboration.

Recommended follow-up steps and actions to continue.