Key Points of the ITU Legal Talks ‘How to Prepare for Audits: Grants, Tenders, Law Enforcement – Business Protection in 2025’

On July 24th, an online meeting was held as part of ITU Legal Talks, organised by the IT Ukraine Association with the participation of legal partner — Juscutum. The topic of the meeting was ‘How to Prepare for Audits: Grants, Tenders, Law Enforcement – Business Protection in 2025’.

 

 

The speaker of the event, Oleksandr Horobets, Head of Business Security Practice at Juscutum, discussed how to protect a business from legal risks, including grant documentation, actions during searches or inquiries from law enforcement, as well as common violations in public procurement. Among the information shared:

 

The Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine has initiated a study to analyse issues in the field of public IT procurement. The total funding allocated for 2024–2026 exceeds ₴13 billion, highlighting the strategic importance of this sector for the national economy, particularly under martial law conditions.

 

The analysis identified several core categories of IT procurement, each with its own challenges:

 

• Technical equipment (e.g., servers, computers) and software (e.g., office suites, operating systems) are standard procurements with clearly defined specifications.
• Software development is the most complex category, requiring the creation of bespoke solutions that demand significant flexibility.
• Other services include technical documentation and user training.

 

Key issues identified include:

 

• Insufficiently specific requirements — vague or generic terms in tender documentation often lead to misunderstandings about the scope of work, reducing competition and final output quality.
• Lack of standard pricing models — this complicates cost estimation and may result in either inflated or underestimated budgets.
• Inflexibility in working with technical specifications — rigid contract terms hinder prompt adjustments during project implementation.

 

Solutions include the introduction of market consultations to better define procurement requirements, greater flexibility in adjusting technical specifications and budgets, and the use of non-price evaluation criteria to assess vendors’ experience and innovative approaches. Additionally, access to open source code and documentation is essential for accurate project scoping.

 

Challenges in public IT procurement are not insurmountable. Implementing these solutions can significantly enhance the efficiency of public spending and enable the development of high-quality digital government products — a cornerstone of Ukraine’s digital transformation.

 

Got questions? Use є-Support — a free legal consultation service for ITU Members.