On the use of electronic signatures in audit reports

23/ 06/ 2022

The letter of the State Institution Audit Public Oversight Body of Ukraine No. 02-05/161 dated 03.06.2022 states that an audit report can be prepared in electronic form with the use of electronic signatures. In particular, it is noted that there are no restrictions in existing legislation in respect of the preparation of audit reports in electronic form. BDO LLC fully supports the digitalization of audit services and offers its clients to use convenient electronic document management systems, enabling significantly speed up and simplify signing and exchanging documents. This possibility is more relevant in the current difficult circumstances in our country. In addition, in BDO in Ukraine, we are not indifferent to the fate of our planet. Therefore, one of our ESG goals is to reduce paperwork. Every year, 10 million hectares of forests and forest plantations are lost, an area the size of 12 Kyiv. An alarming statistic, isnt it? But, fortunately, through the joint efforts, we can influence it. Owing to the active transition to electronic document management due to the coronavirus pandemic, the volume of paper purchased by our company has decreased significantly during 2020-2022. And the possibility of using electronic signatures in audit reports will only improve these statistics. Moreover, BDO in Ukraine, as part of the BDO global network, has committed itself to supporting the goal of achieving zero greenhouse gas emissions (Net Zero) by 2050 or earlier by becoming part of the Net Zero Financial Service Providers Alliance. In the business context, this goal means achieving a state in which activities included in the value chain of the organization do not lead to an immediate effect on the climate. At BDO, we believe that each of us has a responsibility to help protect, conserve and renew our planets resources so that the way we live today does not have a negative impact on future generations.

BDO LLC fully supports the digitalization of audit services and offers its clients to use convenient electronic document management systems, enabling significantly speed up and simplify signing and exchanging documents. This possibility is more relevant in the current difficult circumstances in our country.

In addition, in BDO in Ukraine, we are not indifferent to the fate of our planet. Therefore, one of our ESG goals is to reduce paperwork. Every year, 10 million hectares of forests and forest plantations are lost, an area the size of 12 Kyiv. An alarming statistic, isn’t it? But, fortunately, through the joint efforts, we can influence it. Owing to the active transition to electronic document management due to the coronavirus pandemic, the volume of paper purchased by our company has decreased significantly during 2020-2022. And the possibility of using electronic signatures in audit reports will only improve these statistics.

Moreover, BDO in Ukraine, as part of the BDO global network, has committed itself to supporting the goal of achieving zero greenhouse gas emissions (Net Zero) by 2050 or earlier by becoming part of the Net Zero Financial Service Providers Alliance. In the business context, this goal means achieving a state in which activities included in the value chain of the organization do not lead to an immediate effect on the climate.

At BDO, we believe that each of us has a responsibility to help protect, conserve and renew our planet’s resources so that the way we live today does not have a negative impact on future generations.