Our news
Estonian Auditors Support Ukraine!
10 Mar 2025
Grant Thornton Baltic has joined the initiative of sworn auditor Rein Ruusalu, who called on all auditors to donate Estonian defence industry products for Ukraine through the National Defence Promotion Foundation.
In early March, Rein Ruusalu, a member of the Auditors' Association and a sworn auditor at PKF Estonia OÜ, reached out to his colleagues, writing: "The world around us is turbulent, and there is a significant risk that the USA will stop providing military support to Ukraine and Europe. As citizens, we must do something to help Ukraine and protect our country. The past few years have been financially successful for auditors. Auditors have the opportunity to contribute financially."
Ruusalu added that by donating Estonian defence industry products, we would support the development of our country's defence industry while also helping Ukraine. The donation amount is voluntary, but it is recommended to be 1,000 euros per sworn auditor. There are about 350 sworn auditors in Estonia.
Grant Thornton Baltic donated 1,000 euros for each of our sworn auditors, totalling 11,000 euros. The company's Managing Partner and Sworn Auditor, Mati Nõmmiste, highlighted that supporting Ukraine has been important for Grant Thornton Baltic since the first day of the full-scale war. "For example, in 2022, we supported Ukraine through the Estonian Refugee Council and the Ukrainian Cultural Center, and we also made a transfer to the Grant Thornton Ukraine Support Fund established by Grant Thornton International to help our Ukrainian colleagues. I hope that many auditors will join Rein Ruusalu's initiative, and we will be able to raise a significant amount to support Ukraine's victory," said Nõmmiste.
Grant Thornton Baltic's Partner, Head of Assurance Services, and Sworn Auditor Mart Nõmper added that hopefully, other professional service providers, such as lawyers, accountants, notaries, consultants, and many others, will join the auditors' initiative. "Together we are stronger!" emphasized Mart Nõmper.
* Updated on March 28, 2025
In three weeks, auditors raised 62,600 euros to help Ukraine. The director of the National Defense Promotion Foundation, Mait Palts, informed the Audit Board that this money will be used by KrattWorks to produce and deliver five intelligence and observation drones to Ukraine, along with the necessary equipment (ground stations, batteries, cables, etc.). "The drones will be handed over to a unit that has previous experience with them and where they are expected. It is also important that the unit is ready to provide feedback to KrattWorks on the use of the drones to further develop the product," said Palts. He confirmed that the drones will be delivered to Ukraine during April, possibly already in mid-April.
"A small amount of the cost of the drones was left over. We will use it to deliver some thermal protection cloaks being developed in Estonia to the units of the Ukrainian National Guard for testing, as well as other simpler but locally produced equipment, such as sleeping mats and tactical meals," added Mait Palts.
