November 2019 was the starting point for the development of the Interactive Platform for SMEs, and it will be officially launched within a few months thanks to the active cooperation of BRDO, the USAID’s Competitive Economy of Ukraine (CEU) program and EasyBusiness.
In December, with the purpose of better understanding the needs of entrepreneurs when working on the Platform’s functionality and content, the initiators of the Platform development conducted a survey of SME representatives, preliminary results of which indicate the following:
54% of entrepreneurs are most often looking for information on how to prepare for inspections.
83% of respondents search for information about inspections on various online resources: from official websites of regulatory bodies to various forums and profile articles. In addition, the information found is not always accurate and relevant.
58% of respondents are convinced that a significant factor that doesn’t allow businesses to comply with the law and be inspected without violations is the activity of inspectors who try to find out any reasons to record the violations.
At the same time, a third of respondents believe that the biggest problem with inspections is a lack of awareness of own rights and legal remedies among SMEs.
“The vast majority of entrepreneurs do not know where to find complete and relevant information about inspections. Its search is time consuming and does not allow to be adequately prepared for the inspector’s visit. The interactive platform will not only become a resource containing all the necessary information, but will also show entrepreneurs how to protect their rights in case of abuse,” Yana Horiunova, BRDO expert, said.
“In the vast majority of cases, Ukrainian small and medium-sized businesses do not have a large staff of qualified lawyers who would advise how to be properly prepared for scheduled and unscheduled inspections and avoid abuses by government agencies on a regular basis. That is why there is a need for a tool that would provide every entrepreneur with at least basic knowledge of how to prevent the abuse of inspectors,” Kyrylo Kryvolap, EasyBusiness expert, added.
In such a way, soon Ukrainian entrepreneurs will be able to find absolutely all the necessary information about inspections on a single resource as convenient and prompt as possible. Transparency and clarity of state requirements for SMEs will reduce corruption and enhance accountability of inspection bodies.
As a reminder, the plan of comprehensive measures of state control for 2020 can be found on the Inspection Portal by following the link.
You can still participate in the survey here.
For information:
The USAID “Competitive Economy of Ukraine” Program (USAID CEU) supports business startups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in becoming more competitive in the domestic market of Ukraine and international markets, assists in creating a simplified and transparent business climate as well as helps to develop an effective trade policy to enable SMEs to take advantage of international trade.
BRDO is a leading independent expert-analytical center for regulatory policy in Ukraine.
EasyBusiness is an independent analytical center focused on improving the business climate in Ukraine.