Investing in Ukraine's future

Over the years, PwC in Ukraine has supported the reforms agenda of the Ukrainian Government.

Our experts have taken part in a number of initiatives, including development of the Ukrainian Tax Code and new Labour Code, Ukrainian transfer pricing and 'deoffshorization' regulations, opening the farmland market, the introduction of transparent customs clearance (AEO), tax rulings and FATCA procedures. Our support has been a combination of pro-bono projects, as well as contributing to the activities of AmCham, where our experts over the years have held the positions of Co-Chairs of relevant committees, and PwC cooperation with the UK Good Governance Fund/DFID.

The Ukrainian Labour Code, a key piece of legislation regulating employment matters, was first adopted in 1971. This Code was largely prescriptive and contained outdated provisions in relation to protections of employee rights and employers’ interests. The changes to the Code had been ad hoc and inconsistent, and failed to reflect adequately the current needs and potential of the Ukrainian labour market. As a result, the norms inscribed in this Code were not reflected in real-life relations between employers and employees, including the role of female workers. The shortcomings of this legal framework had contributed to a situation where the proportion of illegal or undeclared work in Ukraine, according to the State Statistics Committee of Ukraine in 2018, was 20%. As a result, for 3.5 million Ukrainians, or every third working citizen, there was no formal registration of their labour arrangement. The failings of this Code also contributed to poor practices in other key areas of labour conditions, such as: a lack of respect for appropriate working hours, late payment of salaries, employment without a written employment contract, health and safety violations, gender disparity in salaries, and non-payment of contributions for mandatory social security. With this in mind the Government has requested the Good Governance Fund support in developing a new labour law.

The project team within PwC in Ukraine delivered the following outputs:
- Technical support with key reform legislations
- Public consultations and outreach with social partners
- Development of a roadmap to support implementation of the labour market reform

The project team helped the Ministry of Economic Development to review some of the law written in the Labour Code and amend them to be more in line with the best international practices and International Labour Organisation (ILO) Standards. Public consultations were held with the shareholders during which their perspectives and suggestions were taken into account when advising MEDTA (Ministry of Economic Development) on amending some of the policies to satisfy the standards of the ILO. Finally, a roadmap was created to outline the additional legislative changes needed to implement the new labour law so that it would have the highest positive impact on the labour market and the economy in the future.

The three aforementioned outputs provided for a holistic approach to the labour market reform, looking not only at the legal but also at the social aspects (via public consultation with key social partners) and implementation-related considerations (via the roadmap). The project team provided the government with a suite of tools which helped them encompass all relevant streams of a well-thought-out reform which took into account the views of key stakeholders. In conjunction with other inputs (e.g. reform of the State Employment Service), the reform of the labour market in general and amendment of the Labour Law in particular helped deliver effectively against the goals which the government had set for itself, namely a more flexible and competitive labour market which attracts external investments, reduces informal employment, stimulates job creation and facilitates economic growth. At the same time, this reform took account of employees’ rights and key social protection issues, addressed the prevailing gender deficit, and struck an appropriate balance between different players in the labour market.

The PwC in Ukraine team prepared the recommendations for the MEDTA with regard to the most critical novelties of the Draft Labour Law that need to be assessed more thoroughly to make sure that the Draft Labour Law complies with the Constitution of Ukraine, relevant International acts (e.g. ILO Conventions and recommendations, EU Association Agreement, EU Directives). Once implemented, the new Labour law will bring Ukraine in line with good international labour practices, which would in turn have a positive effect on the economic development and growth of Ukraine’s investment potential.

During 2016-2019 the PwC in Ukraine team provided support to the Verkhovna Rada Fuel and Energy Sector Committee (FEC) on policy design and implementation. The project was instrumental in creating and driving an effective platform for public policy debate and bringing the required expertise to support the development of progressive, EU-compliant policies in these areas.

21 policy workshops organised during the project have increased the quality and transparency of the discussion process and development of relevant legislation within the FEC, improved the liaison process between the FEC and its stakeholders, laying a strong foundation for future collaboration, and enhanced the capacity of civil society to assess the progress of reform in the energy sector through an online portal (www.energydialog.com).

As a result of the engagement, Ukraine has intensified its energy reform efforts, bringing its legislation into compliance with the EU Directives and fulfilling its commitments under the Energy Community Treaty. The new legislation already adopted with GGF support is helping to address Ukraine’s multiple energy sector challenges, create a competitive national market and ensure true energy independence.

In 2015-2016 the PwC in Ukraine team supported the State Agency for Donbas Recovery with the implementation of recovery and peace-building initiatives in Eastern Ukraine (Ukraine Conflict Security and Stability Fund).

Our experts were engaged to:
- Provide support for the operationalisation of the Steering Committee and Donbas Recovery Agency, including support for staff recruitment, capacity-building, and strategic planning
- Plan and implement strategic communication activities
- Develop a recovery and peacebuilding communications strategy
- Deliver propositions for amendments to Ukrainian legislation, etc

In 2016-2017 the PwC in Ukraine team supported the Ministry for the Temporarily Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons of Ukraine (MTOT).

To support the operationalisation of recovery and peacebuilding efforts under the National Steering Committee and newly created Ministry (MTOT), it was expected that the GGF Project would provide the following support to the MTOT, as the beneficiary organisation:
- Strategic communications implementation support
- Support with development and implementation of the target operating model
- Capacity building support for the MTOT’s staff
- Support with the establishment of a consultation processes between the central government and regional authorities.

The project aimed to support the design and provision of professional administrative, management and capacity building to MTOT; and provide support related to communications on recovery and peacebuilding initiatives in order to enhance civil society dialogue as well as reconciliation and trust building.

All the above contributed toward an efficient, timely and strategic recovery process, which contributed to the stabilisation of the overall social, political, and economic situation in Ukraine as well as established a basis for future growth.

Among other PwC engagements with MTOT, the World Bank (co-funded by the UK Government) was focused on support to the Government of Ukraine-led Coordination Platform on Peacebuilding and Recovery. The PwC in Ukraine team provided support in the establishment of a Secretariat/unit within the Ministry for Temporarily Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons (MTOT) to provide the coordination platform, build capacity for implementation of projects within the framework of the State Target Programme and to provide secretariat support to the Multi-Partner Trust Fund. We also enhanced MTOT’s capacity by conducting training for recovery program design and implementation.

During 2015-2018 PwC was acting as a trusted advisor to the Ministry for Temporarily Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons of Ukraine (MTOT) and advised to the Minister Vadym Chernysh on design and implementation of recovery and peacebuilding (R&PB) policy in Eastern Ukraine. The program that PwC was implementing has been designed to support the operationalisation of R&PB efforts under the National Steering Committee and MTOT. As an outcome of this assignment, a more efficient and effective MTOT was better able to prevent, manage and respond to crisis and conflict in Eastern Ukraine. With this project we established/developed from the scratch a several new functions to drive R&PB initiatives within MTOT, i.e. project management and strategic planning, donor coordination, strategic communications. PwC also participated in development and coordinated the successful launching of an advanced tool for consolidation, monitoring and evaluation, and information sharing with all stakeholders on all active R&PB initiatives in Eastern Ukraine, i.e. Geoportal "Data Platform to Monitor Socio-Economic Impacts of Conflict and Displacement in Eastern Ukraine".

One of the achievements is that successful completion of this program, in a long-term perspective, established the basis for future growth and indirectly benefited almost 4 million of people directly affected by the conflict in the Donbas, as well as millions of citizens all over Ukraine, and contributed to stabilisation of the overall social, political, and economic situation of Ukraine.

The PwC in Ukraine team performed an assessment of 2 regional and 15 local (city/combined communities) state administrations within 3 project streams:
- Functional diagnostic review, in particular, allocation of operational areas and the subordination procedure in organisational structures, and segregation of roles and responsibilities
- Assessment of functional capabilities of administrations in terms of provision of public and administration services, strategic planning, project management, monitoring and evaluation, stakeholder relationship management, HR management and financial management
- Budget analysis, specifically, actual vs planned allocation of funds, key income and expense drivers, making of potential alternative financial decisions.

Based on this analysis, UNDP was provided with a comprehensive report covering recommendations on the improvement of internal processes and capacity building, and Investment development plans for each administration were analysed.

As part of its GGF support, the PwC in Ukraine team helped the Kyiv City State Administration to review and update the strategy of Kyiv.

The project helped to address some of the serious challenges in the strategic, management and financial performance of the City of Kyiv. Thanks to the support from the project team, the first annual report of Kyiv City was published in 2015, helping the State Administration to reach a debt restructuring agreement with its bondholders and therefore saved Kyiv City citizens hundreds of millions of dollars.

Moreover, the process of developing the Kyiv City Strategy 2025 helped to build a consensus among the top management of Kyiv City on the long-term vision and priorities of the city’s development.

Under the UK-UA: Reform Assistance programme funded by UKAID, PwC in Ukraine has provided a technical assistance to the National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) during 2015 -2019.

The technical assistance was aimed at:
- Detailed planning of establishment of NABU
- Minimal operational capacity building of NABU
- Strategic development of NABU within key operational areas: IT, Information Security, HR and Public Communications

In total the PwC in Ukraine team has delivered 11 projects for the NABU.

The European Union (EU) – Ukraine Association Agreement (AA), signed in 2014, is the most extensive international legal document that has ever been signed by Ukraine, both in scope and thematic coverage. It lays the roadmap for Ukrainian convergence with EU legislation, standards and principles of operating. Under the UK-UA: Reform Assistance programme funded by UKAID, PwC project team in Ukraine designed a methodology and monitoring system, consisting of ‘scorecards’ for each AA thematic area. The scorecards contain plans with milestones and expected results for each thematic area in order to improve planning, monitoring and the coordination of the AA implementation process. The project team also designed a web tool called ‘Agreement Pulse’ for the online presentation of the scorecards, to communicate achieved progress to a wide audience including civil society.

The monitoring system became a practical tool for the control and monitoring of Ministries on the implementation of EU-related commitments as well as a single source of information about Ukrainian progress towards EU association. As a public tool, it helps to engage civil society in the implementation process and make the government more accountable.

On November 12, 2015 Ukraine joined the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) – a plurilateral agreement within the framework of the WTO. At present, the Agreement has 21 parties comprising 48 WTO members. The fundamental aim of the GPA is to open government procurement between its parties. The GPA parties have opened procurement activities estimated to be worth more than US$ 1.7 trillion annually to international competition.

Under the UK-UA: Reform Assistance programme funded by UKAID, with support of PwC, a pilot unit named “GPAinUA” was established, focusing its efforts on encouraging Ukrainian suppliers to take part in public procurement tenders abroad. Moreover, PwC developed promotional campaign materials on participation in Ukrainian public tenders for exporters from the GPA countries as well as conducted a series of workshops on participation in tenders abroad for Ukrainian exporters.

The delivered outputs contributed towards the achievement of the intended outcome of the project of increased two-way participation in public procurement between Ukraine and Government Procurement Agreement parties as 39 Ukrainian companies have won in USA public procurement (tenders) since November 2016 and 47 foreign suppliers have participated in Ukrainian public procurement since February 2017.

Under the UK-UA: Reform Assistance programme funded by UKAID, the PwC in Ukraine team supported the ProZorro team within the MEDT to implement a Human Resources Management (HRM) model based on the High Performing Organisation (HPO) concept of HRM, which is based on line managers rather than a dedicated HR team.

With project support, the ProZorro team defined annual personal goals and KPIs as well as annual strategic KPIs for the organisation aligned with the long-term strategic goals of the organisation. It was the first time such project was implemented in the first time this was done in the public sector in Ukraine.

PwC, jointly with The World Bank Group, conducts an annual study called Paying Taxes (part of Doing Business ranking). This is our pro bono work which evaluates the ease of paying taxes in 190 countries across the globe, including Ukraine. Upon completion of a study for a particular year, our tax team led by Partner Viacheslav Vlasov presents proposals to the Ukraine’s Ministry of Finance aimed at improving tax policy in our country.

Throughout the years of PwC presence on the Ukrainian market, the PwC audit team in Kyiv has continuously taken part in Eurobonds issues by large Ukrainian enterprises, with the aim to increase investments in the Ukrainian economy.

PwC's scope of work in this kind of transaction usually includes the provision of Comfort Letters which assure the participants of the transactions that the figures in an Offering Memorandum were accurate.

The project aimed to support the Ministry of Finance to develop a unified, clear and transparent procedure that will allow Ukrainian customs authorities to process applicants for Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) status.

AEO status is an internationally recognised quality mark indicating that a business’ role in the international supply chain is secure, and that a business’ customs controls and procedures are efficient and compliant. Full implementation of the AEO process will provide Ukrainian companies with quicker access to simplified customs procedures and should contribute to an increase in the volume of Ukraine’s foreign trade, which is vitally important for economic growth.

In order to achieve the project goals, the PwC project team delivered the following outputs:
- Guidelines and methodology for assessing AEO applicants developed and agreed by beneficiary
- Architectural Technical Requirements (ATRs) for an IT tool and external-facing portal to support the AEO assessment procedure prepared and agreed with the beneficiary
- Training materials developed and training sessions conducted with relevant staff, with the result that the State Fiscal Service (SFS) staff are able to implement the methodology for the AEO process

As a result of this project, AEO is now fully functional in Ukraine and the first AEO certificate was presented in March 2021.

Ukraine signed an Association Agreement (AA) with the European Union (EU) in 2014. This included the creation of a DCFTA that will allow for free trade between the EU and each country, with the DCFTA in Ukraine only entering into force in January 2016. The expectation is that this will enable more exports to the EU, especially for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).

In order to take advantage of the DCFTA, firms must not only get market access, but must also comply with EU regulatory requirements on hygiene, product safety, labelling and intellectual property, amongst other issues. Unless a firm complies with these rules, it cannot export to the EU and take advantage of preferential tariff access. However, achieving compliance is often a complex and potentially expensive process. Numerous studies, most notably for the EU, have identified a lack of understanding by SMEs in Ukraine, limited knowledge in Business Support Organisations (BSO) and only general and superficial awareness raised by the government. This issue was tackled during the pilot CU09 project, which aimed to build Ukrainian, Georgian and Moldovan firms’ capacity and understanding at a sub-sector product level of how they can comply with EU standards (to make it easier for them to export their goods to EU).

The project proved to be successful in Ukraine and the partner associations in Ukraine (toys, cosmetics and agro-machinery) were satisfied with the results of the assistance provided and have requested further support to be provided in order to build on the results of the pilot stage of the project.

The project delivered the following outputs:
- Analysis of the potential export sectors (including those identified in the National Export Strategy of Ukraine) facing compliance constraints under the DCFTA
- Enhanced capacity of RCCIs / existing trade associations to deliver compliance services to SMEs
- Industry groups in place, partnered by EU trade associations and RCCIs providing to new and existing companies in groups and individual companies (supported by project experts) in preparing their technical files
- Sector groups facilitated to take first steps for export for companies close to compliance, through B2B export events

As a result of the support provided, the project counterparts provided support to their members in helping them comply with EU (and aligned Ukrainian) technical requirements for export resulting in safer products for all Ukrainians and increased export potential to the EU market through mentoring in the preparation of required documents, specifically helping 76 companies to become EU-compliant, supporting over 15 companies to get new EU contracts and supporting three companies to start exporting to the EU.

As a result of the project, the counterparts now have the training and experience to continue to support existing and new clients, guiding them through the compliance process, with the result that some companies have managed to start exporting to the EU (some of them leveraging the relationships built during B2B events). The counterparts have all signed contracts with clients to guide all 76 companies to the compliance plan stage. This means all of their clients will be aware of exactly which final steps (labelling of products, redesign parts, testing) are needed prior to declaration of compliance and beginning export activities. Moreover, since the companies in question have invested time and money in the process of receiving support, it is likely that they will continue to be compliant after the project (especially since all the sectors’ technical regulations in Ukraine are aligned with EU and so compliance is essential for smooth exporting). The project has thus had the ‘chain’ effect – enabling the counterparts (associations, chambers of commerce and EPO) to support businesses as they begin exporting to the EU.

The Government of Ukraine (GoU) has recognised that current structures in Ukraine to support trade are not sufficient to address the rapidly changing international and national trade environment.

According to the Strategic Trade Development Road Map for 2017-2021 as a part of the Export Strategy of Ukraine (developed and approved internally by MEDT), support for trade requires institutional enhancement and capacity building for both institutions and personnel. The strategy therefore proposed establishing a dedicated institution to promote exports. An Export Promotion Office (EPO) was set up in November 2016; however, this is only an advisory and consultative body to the MoEDT. The GoU needed to take the next step, turning this body into a fully-fledged export promotion support institution which can develop and support an export-friendly ecosystem between government institutions and the business community in Ukraine.

The project team analysed the benefits of the proper institutional establishment of the EPO and advised on the steps to be taken to transform EPO into a permanent export support and promotion body. In order to achieve it, the PwC project team delivered the following outputs:
- Concept paper on the optimal model for the export promotion support institution
- Advice on the optimal legal status of the export promotion support institution, including potential funding sources, regional network, and recommendations of any legislative changes, if required
- Recommendations on the key operational documents of the export promotion support institution, including staff schedules, key business processes, business plan and plan for roll-out activities

This led to the set-up to the State Institution: Export Promotion Office (SIEPO). The team then went on to help the young institution to improve its internal processes. The team delivered the following:
- Analysis of international good practice of using KPIs across international trade promotion organisations
- Development of the methodology for the development of KPIs system for EPO
- Development of KPI library for EPO

Our project team, together with SIEPO, developed a chain framework which will help to assign clear roles and responsibilities for every structural unit within the supply chain. The chain helped in two ways (i) it specified activities and responsible structural units for the activities within a new/existing exporter path from the beginning to the end; (ii) it set a clear vision for SIEPO’s personnel on how every unit contributes to the overall organisational impact. In this way, the project contributed towards improving the governance of the organisation, helping it to become more strategic and effective in its mission of supporting business-led export growth.

The PwC in Ukraine team helped to maintain the dialog between the authorities and business representatives providing valuable insight on the tax regulations in other countries exporting iron ore: Australia, China, India, South Africa, Russia, Kazakhstan, Brazil, and Canada.

In tight cooperation with PwC’s experts from each of these countries, we collected lots of information about tax regimes, analysed the tax burden for the companies producing iron ore and showed the impact of the possible rate increase on the Ukrainian companies and the competitive position of Ukraine on the world iron ore market.

PwC experts in Ukraine developed a free guide – Expats’ Handbook to encourage foreign investment in Ukraine and help foreigners coming to Ukraine for personal or business goals.

The Handbook provides a general overview of the key rules and requirements that foreigners need to know about the Ukrainian tax and legal environment to allow them to become comfortable and to avoid being overburdened with formalities. Expats’ Handbook is available online in many languages, including English, German, Chinese, French and Polish.

In our cities – in the streets, parks, neighbourhoods – we see empty bottles and cigarette ends every day. No outdoor picnic goes without looking for a clean, not littered place. These problems are not merely the legacy of the days bygone. This is happening in our lifetimes and it is our responsibility to find a solution to this problem. At PwC, we care.

We have the professional skills and strong personal commitment to contribute to the search for a solution to the waste management problem in Ukraine. We believe that the economic and social crisis currently spreading throughout the world can create a momentum for change. In this period, people think not about returning to the world they had, but rather about creating the world they have dreamt about. This is a chance for fundamental reforms. And now is time to act.

The foundation of the waste management system reform in Ukraine has been laid. We are confident that strong leaders sharing the same goal and working together can make the transformation a success.

We want to leverage our knowledge and unique positioning to share advanced ideas in order to raise awareness of all stakeholders and encourage working together.

During 2020 our team has been working on the in-depth research of waste management both in Ukraine and globally, involving key stakeholders of the sector. The ultimate goal of this work was to find an answer to the question why the reform has been moving slowly in Ukraine and how to find consensus with all the stakeholders of the sector to start moving with real speed and in the right direction.

The first outcome is the report, “From the third world to the first”, where we have analysed problems and perspectives of the waste management sector in Ukraine and compiled a list of tasks, which are, in our view, necessary steps instrumental to the success of the sector reform. Although this report is not an exhaustive roadmap, it helps to confirm that we are on the right track.

Our further efforts are directed to actively joining the public discussion on the waste management problem in Ukraine and helping stakeholders to find win-win solutions.

Sustainability issues are having an increasingly dramatic impact on businesses, investors, consumers, the workforce and governments. Whilst the Covid-19 pandemic has caused widespread disruption, it has also provided momentum and opportunity to rethink and reconfigure for resilience.

At PwC we help organisations plan, source, deliver, finance and measure the wider impact of products and services. We’re helping to future-proof businesses by making them more resilient, agile and sustainable.

For decades we have been providing guidance on a wide variety of issues, working with clients from the corporate, private equity and public sector.

We have seen an increase in the number of global companies committing to net zero; now companies need to translate pledges into real business transformation. This is key for both long-term business success and to address the climate crisis at the unprecedented scope and scale required.

We are proud to be a knowledge advisor to big corporations on their journey to net zero transformation.

Using PwC’s experience in supporting companies on net zero and on business transformation more broadly, we have come together to create a guide to help companies as they move from ambition to action.

For the last decade, PwC in Ukraine has been cooperating with the University of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine with the aim to develop smart future tax inspectors, well versed in tax trends and best international practices. PwC has contributed over 1000 pro bono hours into dozens of knowledge seminars and case studies, and developed a special training course on the practical aspects of international taxation, which was attended by more than 200 students. In addition, we helped the University to upgrade its IT infrastructure, and introduced a quarterly PwC stipend for the best tax student.

At PwC, we transformed ourselves through a global digital upskilling initiative that took 7 million hours of routine work and redirected it towards higher-value activities that clients needed and our people enjoyed doing. People and tech working together for a better outcome.

At PwC we constantly change the way we look at audits through our investment in technology. Tomorrow's audit today is real, and we are excited to share how PwC is reimagining the audit experience of our clients.

Technology shapes today's world, which is constantly changing and opening new opportunities, and business leaders have to be always one step ahead. This inspires PwC to move at the speed of innovation with regards to audit.

A blend of people + technology. That’s what drives us today and it’s how we are bringing the audit into the future.

Our unique value proposition is a symbiosis of professional skills and innovative enthusiasm of a highly qualified team and advanced technologies.

Find out how we are reimagining the possible for our clients and companies around the world every day

Forensic experts from PwC in Ukraine and Kinstellar lawyers jointly assessed the potential corruption risks in the activities of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy (NaUKMA).

During the project, the team analyzed the structure, key processes and internal policies of the academy, as well as interviewed representatives of the administration, students and faculty.

As a result, the team identified the most vulnerable activities to corruption; identified key potential threats of corruption at the university; analyzed existing anti-corruption measures; formed a list of possible corruption risks, determined the probability of their occurrence and potential consequences.

The project was initiated by the academy itself. Aiming to meet the standards of integrity and transparency, NaUKMA turned to the international practices of Kinstellar and PwC, which is an unprecedented phenomenon among Ukrainian universities.

NaUKMA actively promotes the development of a culture of academic integrity and the formation of an anti-corruption worldview among its community. In addition, the academy seeks to improve its own tools and measures to prevent corruption in accordance with the requirements of Ukraine's anti-corruption legislation and best international practices. The joint team of both companies considers it an honor to help the academy in this project.

Since 2009 we have been developing our talent and skills business through PwC Academy in Ukraine, which is a part of the growing network of PwC Academies present in over 40 countries worldwide.

Through the decade of our presence in Ukraine, we have invested over 20,000 hours into the development of professional skills of our clients’ staff, with 12,000 graduates enjoying new career horizons upon the completion of our 3000 training sessions.

We constantly adapt our courses to meet the needs of modern business, customising them to our clients’ requirements and helping both our clients and individuals to win in the market. Our experts have developed 135 unique programs; we offer 14 professional qualifications and certifications (incl. ‘blue ocean’ ones), and constantly continue to develop and deliver solutions to address in detail markets’ needs, aspirations and challenges in order to assess current competencies, identify knowledge and skills gaps.

We have been chosen as a the trusted Learning Partner by such reputable companies (both private and state businesses) as Ukrainian Railways, Naftogaz Ukraine, Ukreximbank, Oschadbank, Reckitt Benckiser, Toyota, Ukrainian Sea Ports Administration, IMC, Teva Ukraine, Watsons, Ascania, Moneyveo, Yazaki, ATB, Acino, Vodafone, OTP Bank, Smart-Holding, EPAM, Softserve, Global Logic, KWS, Metlife Ukraine, Philip Morris Ukraine, IDS Group, EU Anti-corruption Initiative, Ukrsibbank, Agrokebets, Ukrhydroenerho and many others.

PwC Academy deploys the social mission of providing high quality professional education and expertise to the Ukrainian professional community and networks. Academy regularly shares expertise at a variety of professional events, conferences and webinars. The Academy's team cooperates closely with the leading professional bodies both locally and internationally.

In today's global crisis of trust, the business and art communities are united in their desire to embrace genuine, infallible and time-tested values. From 2018, the PwC team led by Partner Viacheslav Vlasov contributed to this by launching a new cultural project that promotes world and Ukrainian arts among the business community. Under the umbrella of "Exploring art masterpieces with PwC", PwC together with the talented Ukrainian pianist Yevgen Gromov annually hold a music evening devoted to the works of Richard Wagner. In 2019, in collaboration with the Kyiv Art Week and Bereznitsky Art Foundation, PwC presented to a wider audience the works of the Ukrainian sculptor and visual artist Oleksandr Sukholit.

The PwC in Ukraine team ensured the integrity and accuracy of the voting process by verifying the correctness of the voting results at the National selection of Ukraine's participant for the 2016-2020 Eurovision Song Contests.

Eurovision is one of the most exciting social projects delivered by the PwC Assurance team driven by Partner Olena Volkova.

We are honored to have secured the transparency and accuracy of the voting process of the Contest, as Eurovision provides Ukraine with an opportunity to promote our talents and our country itself as a marvelous cultural and tourist destination.

Gender democracy and, particularly, creation of equal conditions and opportunities for professional development across gender is one of the key priorities of the firm's internal policy.

In terms of the gender profile, we are in the lead of global trends and are proud that over 70% of employees of PwC in Ukraine are women and that they hold over 50% of managerial positions.

In 2018, Olga Balytska, Real Estate Practice Leader, was ranked among the TOP 100 most successful women in Ukraine (according to nv.ua).

Starting from 2018, Zhanna Brazhnyk (Tax Litigation) has been named as Women in Tax in Ukraine by the International Tax Review, which recommends the best female professionals in taxation.

The professional achievements of Olga Trifonova (Transfer Pricing), Olga Melnychenko (Employment Law) and Vita Miroshnychenko (International Trade and Customs) are regularly recognized by independent international rankings.

At PwC, we are committed to creating a fully inclusive workplace where everyone can be themselves. This is not just because it is the right thing to do, but because an inclusive workplace enables us to embrace the diverse backgrounds and perspectives of all our people to create better outcomes for our clients and society.

To "Celebrate & Educate" is the purpose of this second year's PwC EMEA Pride Week programme with discussions around the importance of bringing visibility into the workplace, real-life examples of stepping up, Shine communities educating people on gender identity and many more.

PwC’s in Ukraine's corporate social responsibility goes beyond donating to charity. We have been constantly investing both money and effort to create impact and value where it is the most needed.

We work alongside organisations from across the globe to help solve important social and environmental problems. Our people are our greatest asset, and by using their skills and sharing their time we contribute to the communities in which we live and work.

All these years we have been working closely with Tabletochki Charity Fund, Down Syndrome Organization, International Women's Club of Kyiv, Korosten Rehabilitation Centre, and Laska Charity Shop. We follow and support their activities and initiatives as well as frequently organise various fundraising events for the respective NGOs.

In Ukraine, more than a thousand children are diagnosed with cancer each year. Unfortunately, not all of them have access to quality medical care. Since 2011, Tabletochki Charity Foundation has been helping Ukrainian families to beat cancer as well as helping doctors to save the lives of children with cancer.

In 2020 the PwC in Ukraine team was engaged by the Tabletochki Charity Foundation to conduct a Feasibility Study for establishing a Children's Cancer Centre that could offer a world-class care for all Ukrainian children with cancer and their families for free.

According to the project, the Centre will be able to provide medical care in accordance with the most effective treatment protocols, a powerful rehabilitation program and a multidisciplinary approach to the treatment - with this improving patient survival rates up to 75% to the level of countries with developed medical infrastructure. It will be equipped with unique for Ukraine technologies that will allow patients to undergo a full cycle of diagnostics and treatment of childhood cancer within the country, which will fully meet international standards.

The PwC in Ukraine team is committed to support Tabletochki Charity Foundation further with both professional advice and cooperation within CR programmes.