Improving audits to increase the effectiveness of development funding

Donors and development actors rely quite heavily on audit reports, despite their high cost and the disruption they cause. Yet it is questionable whether this reliance is justified as most development sector audits over-emphasise the testing of purchase vouchers, supplier quotations and payment receipts, and do not necessarily provide sufficient decision-making information for donors. Governments and development partners can assure the success of development funding by improving the terms of reference for audits. These should promote controls to detect fraud and corruption that are aligned with ensuring quality outputs for development outcomes.