Monitoring the use of budget support

The Department for International Development and many other donors increasingly use budget support as the aid modality of choice. It is seen to have many advantages, particular that it encourages ownership and use of partner government systems and increases predictability of funding.

Since 1993, Crown Agents has carried out a series of budget support verification exercises in countries around the world, including Pakistan, Vietnam, Rwanda, Ghana, Tanzania, Mozambique, Sierra Leone and elsewhere. The aim has been to establish audit trails between the initial foreign exchange transfers and the local currency equivalent used in the government's accounts. The scope of each exercise varies between country and grant, but often includes reviews of financial safeguards and level of compliance with grant conditions; assessments of pro-poor expenditure; audits of financial management systems; and reviews of budgeting and planning.