Victor Sukhonos

Independent audit assurance of sustainability reporting is the basis for increasing the credibility of the stakeholders, its transparency and reliability; it is a means of implementing legal liability of the company and the evidence of achievement of its legitimacy to the public. The bases for providing such assurance are the standards of implementation of audit tasks in the sphere of sustainable development. Comparative analysis of international practice as for assurance regarding the SR with local realities, based on the reporting database of Ukrainian GRI companies for the 2005-2014 years, witnessed the initial phase of such practices among Ukrainian companies, and the need to strengthen regulatory efforts to determine the legal status of SR auditing standards in Ukraine, ensuring a legal environment and the development of corporate social responsibility initiatives.

The article analyzes concepts to determining the essence of the economic security management at an enterprise. The main features of identifying the effectiveness of economic security management at the enterprise are stipulated. The theoretical and methodological approach to determining the effectiveness of economic security management of the enterprise is proposed, which allows to identify the threats and predict their consequences, to provide internal balance in the enterprise activity and the compliance of its mission and strategic direction of the activity with its key interests. Moreover, it is proposed to use the matrix of comparing the level of the enterprise economic security (EES) and the total impact on the EES level in one of the scenarios (pessimistic, optimistic, and most probable), which allows to assess the effectiveness of the economic security management of the enterprises and provide recommendations to increase the latter, minimizing destructive effects of dominant threats in the context of certain functional components of the economic security.

Tracking progress in Sustainable Development Goals (especially Goal 2, Goal 17) substantiates the classification of stakeholders information requests in different sectors of the economy, as well as development of algorithms for selecting the most priority and relevant requests in the context of stakeholder cross-sector partnership. Capital concept and multi-stakeholder approach were recognized as the most appropriate for solving these tasks. This research of existing categories and groups of stakeholders in the real (food production) sector describes the proposed methodology for classifying their information requests and algorithm for their prioritization in relation to a certain type of capital, sustainability dimensions and material topics for stakeholders, SDG, targets, Global Reporting Initiative indicators. The developed methodology is universal both from the point of view of the investigated sectors, the number of alternative stakeholders requests, and the number of experts, as well as from the considerable world experience in prioritizing these requests.

The variability of companies stakeholders’ engagement forms, communication channels, approaches to disclosure of companies’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) and strategies for CSR achievement cause the formation of benchmarks – patterns of responsible behavior of these companies. Determination of companies’ CSR patterns plays is a ground of (plays a role or is a ground of) improving their strategies for responsible activities. These patterns were highlighted on the basis of comprehensive three-component indicator that illustrates the combination of parameters: models of companies’ communication with stakeholders, approaches to the disclosure of information on CSR and strategies for incorporating CSR and Sustainable Development Goals. Positioning of 22 Ukrainian companies for the period 2005–2017 was made. Results of positioning allowed to determine such clusters of the companies in accordance with the pattern of responsible behavior as А – innovators, B – leaders, C – pursuer, D – followers, E – starters, F – outsiders; to develop the measures on the improvement of their CSR activity.

Management report is a new form of sustainability reporting (SR) in Ukraine, and its assessment for quality of environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria disclosure and compliance among banks plays a crucial role for auditors in the verification process. The Quality and Compliance Bank Management Reports (Q&C BMR) Index methodology was developed for this purpose. The methodology includes a range of formal, content, assurance and disclosure scorings. According to the results of a continuous assessment of these management reports of 75 state, private and foreign-owned banks in Ukraine for the 2018 fiscal year, the average Q&C BMR Index is 61.2%. This indicates a fairly high level of quality and compliance with regulatory requirements for disclosure by banks of Ukraine in their SR. Differentiation of the studied population of banks in terms of Q&C BMR Index allowed distinguishing the following rating groups: А – leaders, B – pursuers, C – starters, and D – outsiders. There is a clear trend in the relationship between the ownership of a bank and its Q&C BMR index. Despite the rather high average value of the index, there is an opportunity to improve Ukrainian banks’ SR in the context of its further standardization and disclosure of the full set of ESGs – a criterion for all rating groups (especially C and D). Q&C BMR Index can be used as a benchmark by banks, regulators and auditors when comparing the level of disclosure by banks and their transparency.

Acknowledgment
The comments of an editor and anonymous referees have been gratefully acknowledged. Inna Makarenko gratefully acknowledges financial support from the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine – Corporate Social and Environmental Responsibility for Sustainable Development: Partnership of Stakeholders in the Real, Financial and Public Sectors of the Economy (0117U003933).

An important factor in restoring the confidence of financial consumers in banks is to provide auditors with credible and detailed financial statements and their solvency. This study is a pilot step in clarifying the auditor’s role in ensuring the banks’ reliability as public interest entities in Ukraine. It is aimed at investigating the segmentation of the banking audit services market in Ukraine and its comprehensive characteristics. Structural and dynamic analysis were applied to investigate market, regional and branch concentration, as well as main trends in bank audit market development within the data and registers of the Audit Chamber of Ukraine (ACU) and 75 annual reports of Ukrainian banks. Key aspects of the bank audit market in Ukraine are highlighted: the potential of the bank audit market, the ability of auditors to provide audit services and current characteristics of market conjuncture. Bank audit market is highly segmented: this study differentiates strong segments of international audit networks, associations and alliances, including Big 4 companies and the segment of weak Ukrainian audit companies. Kyiv and Kyiv region are the dominant economic active regions in terms of the regional bank market concentration and the presence of international audit networks. The study results are the basis for improving the regulation of the banking audit services market by the National Bank of Ukraine and ACU.