{"id":4681,"date":"2026-11-07T13:23:51","date_gmt":"2026-11-07T11:23:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/audit-mk.com.ua\/uk\/pomylky-pervynnykh-dokumentiv-npo-audyt\/"},"modified":"2026-11-07T13:23:51","modified_gmt":"2026-11-07T11:23:51","slug":"pomylky-pervynnykh-dokumentiv-npo-audyt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/audit-mk.com.ua\/en\/pomylky-pervynnykh-dokumentiv-npo-audyt\/","title":{"rendered":"NGO primary documents in Ukraine: 10 errors that make auditors disallow costs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<p>An auditor disallows an NGO cost when the primary document does not prove that the transaction happened as described and for the project: it lacks the mandatory details required by Article 9 of Ukraine&#8217;s Accounting Law, the signature of the right party, a link to the contract and budget, or evidence that the service was actually delivered. The money may have been spent honestly, but without the document the auditor cannot confirm it.<\/p>\n<p>Below are ten errors that most often lead to ineligible costs in grant projects, from an act with no description of the service to an incomplete procurement file. For each one we explain why the auditor will not accept it and what to fix while the project is still running.<\/p>\n<h2>What changed and what the auditor relies on<\/h2>\n<p>The basic requirements for primary documents are set by Article 9 of the Law of Ukraine &#8220;On Accounting and Financial Reporting in Ukraine&#8221;. There are six mandatory details: the document title, the date it was drawn up, the name of the organisation on whose behalf it was issued, the content and volume of the transaction with a unit of measure, the positions and surnames of the responsible persons, and a personal signature or other data that identify the person. Text of the law: <a href=\"https:\/\/zakon.rada.gov.ua\/laws\/show\/996-14#Text\" rel=\"nofollow\">zakon.rada.gov.ua<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The version of the law in force from 01.04.2026 (amended by Law No. 4791-IX of 24.02.2026) contains a new paragraph. If a document states the date or period of services, works or rent, the absence of the customer&#8217;s position, surname and signature is not a breach. There are two conditions: this procedure is expressly provided for in a written contract, and the transactions are recorded in the accounting period in which they took place.<\/p>\n<p>For NGOs the key part of this paragraph is the exception. The simplification does not apply, among others, to transactions paid from public funds, to construction contracts, or to contracts on donations, charitable or humanitarian aid. So if your organisation documents charitable or humanitarian aid, a one-sided document will not do.<\/p>\n<p>The law also says that minor defects are not grounds to disregard a transaction if the document still identifies the person, the date, the organisation and the content and volume of the transaction. A donor, however, assesses a cost against the grant agreement as well, so a defect that is &#8220;minor&#8221; for the tax authority will still end up in the project auditor&#8217;s findings.<\/p>\n<h2>Who this applies to<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>civil society organisations and charitable foundations that implement grant projects and undergo an audit or expenditure verification at the donor&#8217;s request;<\/li>\n<li>NGO accountants who accept acts from sole proprietors (FOP), consultants, trainers and non-residents;<\/li>\n<li>programme managers who approve services and sign acts without always checking the details;<\/li>\n<li>organisations that document charitable or humanitarian aid: the exception in the new paragraph of Article 9 applies to them.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What to do while the project is running<\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li>Take the ten largest costs of the project and check each one against the table below. Auditors almost always include large amounts in the sample.<\/li>\n<li>Reconcile each act with its contract: subject, price, term, parties. Fix discrepancies with an amendment or a correcting document, not with a new backdated act.<\/li>\n<li>Attach evidence of the result to each service: the contractor&#8217;s report, materials, participant lists, correspondence.<\/li>\n<li>For contracts on charitable or humanitarian aid, check that the documents are signed by both parties.<\/li>\n<li>Set out in an order or a document flow policy who may sign primary documents: Article 8 of the law leaves this decision to the organisation itself.<\/li>\n<li>Keep the procurement file for each purchase in one folder, on paper or electronically.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2>10 errors that make the auditor disallow costs<\/h2>\n<div class=\"mk-table-wrap\">\n<table class=\"mk-table\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th scope=\"col\">Error<\/th>\n<th scope=\"col\">Why the auditor rejects it<\/th>\n<th scope=\"col\">What to do<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>1. Act without a date or dated outside the project period<\/td>\n<td>The date is a mandatory detail, and the donor pays only for costs within the project period<\/td>\n<td>State the date of the document and the service period, check them against the grant agreement dates<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>2. &#8220;Consulting services&#8221; with no description<\/td>\n<td>No content or volume of the transaction, so the cost cannot be linked to project activities<\/td>\n<td>Describe what exactly was done, the number of hours or days, and the result<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>3. No surnames or signatures of responsible persons<\/td>\n<td>It is impossible to identify who carried out and who accepted the transaction<\/td>\n<td>Positions, surnames and signatures or qualified e-signatures of both parties<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>4. One-sided act under a charitable or humanitarian aid contract<\/td>\n<td>The simplification in the new paragraph of Article 9 does not apply to such contracts<\/td>\n<td>Signatures of both the provider and the recipient on every document<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>5. Contract signed after the act, or amounts do not match<\/td>\n<td>The documents contradict each other, and the basis for payment is unclear<\/td>\n<td>Contract first, then the service and the act; changes only by amendment<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>6. No evidence that the service was delivered<\/td>\n<td>An act alone does not prove that a training or a study took place<\/td>\n<td>Report, agenda, participant lists, photos, output files<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>7. Sole proprietor&#8217;s details differ across contract, act and payment<\/td>\n<td>The auditor cannot confirm that the person who delivered the service received the money<\/td>\n<td>The same name, details and bank account in all documents<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>8. Non-resident invoice with no service description or signature<\/td>\n<td>No content of the transaction and no data to identify the contractor<\/td>\n<td>Contract, invoice with a description, evidence of the result, translation of key documents for the accounting team<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>9. Incomplete procurement file<\/td>\n<td>It is not clear how the supplier was chosen and whether there was a conflict of interest<\/td>\n<td>Request, offers, selection minutes with reasons, declarations of no conflict of interest<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>10. Corrections in documents and entries in the wrong period<\/td>\n<td>The law requires preventing unnoticed corrections and recording a transaction in the period it took place<\/td>\n<td>Document every correction, record transactions on time<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>The most expensive of these errors are the sixth and the ninth. An act can be reissued, but evidence that a training took place a year ago, or a comparison of offers that nobody kept, cannot be recreated. We wrote more about sole proprietors as project contractors in <a href=\"\/en\/fop-u-hrantovomu-proiekti\/\">Sole proprietors in a grant project<\/a>, and about signatures on documents in our note on <a href=\"\/en\/faksymile-pervynni-dokumenty-nakaz-514\/\">facsimile signatures on primary documents<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>FAQ<\/h2>\n<details>\n<summary>Can only the contractor sign an act of completed works in an NGO project?<\/summary>\n<p>The law allows the customer&#8217;s signature to be missing if the document states the date or period of the service, this procedure is set out in a written contract, and the transaction is recorded in the period it took place. This does not apply to contracts on donations, charitable or humanitarian aid, or to transactions paid from public funds. Also check what your grant agreement allows.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary>Will an auditor accept a document with a small error?<\/summary>\n<p>The Accounting Law does not treat minor defects as grounds to disregard a transaction if the person, date, organisation, content and volume can be established. A grant auditor also applies the donor&#8217;s conditions, so it is better to correct a typo before the audit.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary>How long must an NGO keep primary documents?<\/summary>\n<p>Article 8 of the Accounting Law sets a period of no less than three years. The grant agreement and other rules may require longer, so follow the longest period that applies to you.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<h2>How we help<\/h2>\n<p>Before an audit we review the project&#8217;s primary documents the way the donor&#8217;s auditor will and tell you what to complete while there is still time. See <a href=\"\/en\/audyt-grantu\/\">grant audit<\/a>, <a href=\"\/en\/bukhhalteriia-npo-biznes\/\">NGO accounting<\/a> and <a href=\"\/en\/uslugi\/buhgalterskieuslugi\/vosstanovlenie-ucheta\/\">accounting recovery<\/a>. For NGO teams we run <a href=\"\/en\/zakhody\/\">free webinars for NGOs<\/a>. Write to us via <a href=\"\/en\/kontaktyi\/\">contacts<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><em>Prepared by the MK Audit team<\/em><\/p>\n<p><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Why auditors disallow NGO costs in Ukraine: acts without descriptions, signatures or proof of service. 10 primary document errors and what to fix.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[96],"tags":[190,189,188,187,186],"class_list":["post-4681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hranty-npo","tag-ngo-primary-documents","tag-189","tag-188","tag-187","tag-186"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t<!-- All in One SEO 5.0.5 - aioseo.com -->\n\t<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Why auditors disallow NGO costs in Ukraine: acts without descriptions, signatures or proof of service. 10 primary document errors and what to fix.\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"max-image-preview:large\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\"\/>\n\t<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/audit-mk.com.ua\/en\/pomylky-pervynnykh-dokumentiv-npo-audyt\/\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"generator\" content=\"All in One SEO (AIOSEO) 5.0.5\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"MK Audit\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NGO primary documents: 10 audit errors\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Why auditors disallow NGO costs in Ukraine: acts without descriptions, signatures or proof of service.\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/audit-mk.com.ua\/en\/pomylky-pervynnykh-dokumentiv-npo-audyt\/\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-11-07T11:23:51+00:00\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-11-07T11:23:51+00:00\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:locale:alternate\" content=\"uk_UA\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:locale:alternate\" content=\"ru_RU\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/audit-mk.com.ua\/wp-content\/plugins\/mk-landing\/img\/og-default.jpg\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:image:secure_url\" content=\"https:\/\/audit-mk.com.ua\/wp-content\/plugins\/mk-landing\/img\/og-default.jpg\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:image:alt\" content=\"MK Audit, an audit firm in Kyiv and a full member of DFK International\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"NGO primary documents: 10 audit errors\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Why auditors disallow NGO costs in Ukraine: acts without descriptions, signatures or proof of service.\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/audit-mk.com.ua\/wp-content\/plugins\/mk-landing\/img\/og-default.jpg\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"twitter:image:alt\" content=\"MK Audit, an audit firm in Kyiv and a full member of DFK International\" \/>\n\t\t<!-- All in One SEO -->\n\n","aioseo_head_json":{"title":"NGO primary documents: 10 audit errors | MK Audit","description":"Why auditors disallow NGO costs in Ukraine: acts without descriptions, signatures or proof of service. 10 primary document errors and what to fix.","canonical_url":"https:\/\/audit-mk.com.ua\/en\/pomylky-pervynnykh-dokumentiv-npo-audyt\/","robots":"max-image-preview:large","keywords":"","webmasterTools":{"miscellaneous":""},"schema":null,"og:locale":"en_US","og:site_name":"MK Audit","og:type":"article","og:title":"NGO primary documents: 10 audit errors","og:description":"Why auditors disallow NGO costs in Ukraine: acts without descriptions, signatures or proof of service.","og:url":"https:\/\/audit-mk.com.ua\/en\/pomylky-pervynnykh-dokumentiv-npo-audyt\/","article:published_time":"2026-11-07T11:23:51+00:00","article:modified_time":"2026-11-07T11:23:51+00:00","og:locale:alternate":["uk_UA","ru_RU"],"og:image":"https:\/\/audit-mk.com.ua\/wp-content\/plugins\/mk-landing\/img\/og-default.jpg","og:image:width":1200,"og:image:height":630,"og:image:secure_url":"https:\/\/audit-mk.com.ua\/wp-content\/plugins\/mk-landing\/img\/og-default.jpg","og:image:alt":"MK Audit, an audit firm in Kyiv and a full member of DFK International","twitter:card":"summary_large_image","twitter:title":"NGO primary documents: 10 audit errors","twitter:description":"Why auditors disallow NGO costs in Ukraine: acts without descriptions, signatures or proof of service.","twitter:image":"https:\/\/audit-mk.com.ua\/wp-content\/plugins\/mk-landing\/img\/og-default.jpg","twitter:image:alt":"MK Audit, an audit firm in Kyiv and a full member of DFK International"},"aioseo_meta_data":{"post_id":"4681","title":"\u041f\u0435\u0440\u0432\u0438\u043d\u043a\u0430 \u041d\u041f\u041e: 10 \u043f\u043e\u043c\u0438\u043b\u043e\u043a \u043f\u0435\u0440\u0435\u0434 \u0430\u0443\u0434\u0438\u0442\u043e\u043c | \u041c\u041a \u0410\u0443\u0434\u0438\u0442","description":"\u0410\u0443\u0434\u0438\u0442\u043e\u0440 \u0437\u043d\u0456\u043c\u0430\u0454 \u0432\u0438\u0442\u0440\u0430\u0442\u0438 \u041d\u041f\u041e \u0447\u0435\u0440\u0435\u0437 \u0430\u043a\u0442\u0438 \u0431\u0435\u0437 \u043e\u043f\u0438\u0441\u0443, \u043f\u0456\u0434\u043f\u0438\u0441\u0456\u0432 \u0456 \u0434\u043e\u043a\u0430\u0437\u0456\u0432 \u043f\u043e\u0441\u043b\u0443\u0433\u0438. 10 \u043f\u043e\u043c\u0438\u043b\u043e\u043a \u0443 \u043f\u0435\u0440\u0432\u0438\u043d\u0446\u0456 \u0437\u0430 \u0441\u0442. 9 \u0417\u0430\u043a\u043e\u043d\u0443 \u043f\u0440\u043e \u0431\u0443\u0445\u043e\u0431\u043b\u0456\u043a \u0456 \u0449\u043e \u0432\u0438\u043f\u0440\u0430\u0432\u0438\u0442\u0438 \u0434\u043e \u0430\u0443\u0434\u0438\u0442\u0443.","keywords":null,"keyphrases":null,"primary_term":null,"canonical_url":null,"og_title":null,"og_description":null,"og_object_type":"default","og_image_type":"default","og_image_url":null,"og_image_width":null,"og_image_height":null,"og_image_custom_url":null,"og_image_custom_fields":null,"og_video":"","og_custom_url":null,"og_article_section":null,"og_article_tags":null,"twitter_use_og":false,"twitter_card":"default","twitter_image_type":"default","twitter_image_url":null,"twitter_image_custom_url":null,"twitter_image_custom_fields":null,"twitter_title":null,"twitter_description":null,"schema":{"blockGraphs":[],"customGraphs":[],"default":{"data":{"Article":[],"Course":[],"Dataset":[],"FAQPage":[],"Movie":[],"Person":[],"Product":[],"ProductReview":[],"Car":[],"Recipe":[],"Service":[],"SoftwareApplication":[],"WebPage":[]},"graphName":"","isEnabled":true},"graphs":[]},"schema_type":"default","schema_type_options":null,"pillar_content":false,"robots_default":true,"robots_noindex":false,"robots_noarchive":false,"robots_nosnippet":false,"robots_nofollow":false,"robots_noimageindex":false,"robots_noodp":false,"robots_notranslate":false,"robots_max_snippet":null,"robots_max_videopreview":null,"robots_max_imagepreview":"large","priority":0,"frequency":"default","local_seo":null,"breadcrumb_settings":null,"limit_modified_date":false,"ai":null,"created":"2026-11-07 11:23:52","updated":"2026-11-07 11:23:52","seo_analyzer_scan_date":null,"focus_keyword":null,"additional_keywords":null,"truseo_locale":null},"aioseo_breadcrumb":"<div class=\"aioseo-breadcrumbs\"><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/audit-mk.com.ua\/en\/\" title=\"Home\">Home<\/a>\n\t\t<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb-separator\">\u00bb<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/audit-mk.com.ua\/en\/category\/hranty-npo\/\" title=\"Grants and NGOs\">Grants and NGOs<\/a>\n\t\t<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb-separator\">\u00bb<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb\">\n\t\t\tNGO primary documents in Ukraine: 10 errors that make auditors disallow costs\n\t\t<\/span><\/div>","aioseo_breadcrumb_json":[{"label":"Home","link":"https:\/\/audit-mk.com.ua\/en\/"},{"label":"Grants and NGOs","link":"https:\/\/audit-mk.com.ua\/en\/category\/hranty-npo\/"},{"label":"NGO primary documents in Ukraine: 10 errors that make auditors disallow costs","link":"https:\/\/audit-mk.com.ua\/en\/pomylky-pervynnykh-dokumentiv-npo-audyt\/"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/audit-mk.com.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4681","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/audit-mk.com.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/audit-mk.com.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/audit-mk.com.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/audit-mk.com.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4681"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/audit-mk.com.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4681\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/audit-mk.com.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/audit-mk.com.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/audit-mk.com.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}