FE Report

The preparation for the proposed Grant funded project "Strengthening Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General" is going on under the broad umbrella of "Strengthening Public Expenditure Management Program (SPEMP)" funded by Multi Donors Trust Fund.

The World Bank is administering the trust fund after the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) and development partners have reviewed the performance of OCAG and found that there is a substantial continuing need for assistance to improve operations to international standards.

An independent and a well functioning Supreme Audit Institution is essential for public financial management system to ensure accountability and good governance. The Constitution of Bangladesh established the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (OCAG) as the Supreme Audit Institution.

The proposed "Strengthening Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General" project's aims to support OCAG to attain enhanced professional capacity and operational practice to produce and disseminate timely quality audit reports to the public meeting international standards that earn enhanced responsiveness of the executives.

In December, through bilateral discussions and a widely attended brain storming workshop, the project preparations advanced significantly in defining the project components and activities. The preparation team also discussed expected time frame and identified associated key actions that would be critical to rationalize the project concept, expedite the approval process of the Government, World Bank and the development partners and support successful implementation of the project.

To achieve the broad objective, the proposed project is divided into three key components. The first component aims to strengthen independence and effectiveness of the OCAG. This component would support enhancing independence of OCAG through facilitating enactment and implement of a new audit law, improving OCAG's support to the Public Accounts committee.