The Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (OCAG) of Bangladesh for the first time conducted two pilot performance audits using climate lens with technical support from the Inclusive Budgeting and Financing for Climate Resilience (IBFCR) project of Finance Division funded by UNDP. The successful implementation of the pilot audits prompted IBFCR project to extend further support to develop relevant guidelines and work out addenda to the protocol set out in the existing auditing standards, audit code and performance audit manual to embed the climate dimension in the auditing practice.
The documents will help the auditors in bringing climate dimension into sharper focus while carrying out audit of different development projects/programs.
A workshop on Climate Performance Audit was held on 11th April 2018 at Audit Bhaban where the documents were presented, discussed and recommended for adoption. Based on the workshop recommendations, the OCAG finally approved the documents on 25th April 2018.
The inclusion of climate change dimensions in the performance audit is a key milestone in climate finance governance and climate change mainstreaming in Bangladesh. On this occasion Mr. Masud Ahmed, Comptroller and Auditor General of Bangladesh said, “The documents will guide the auditors to examine whether the Government is coming up with appropriate response to the shocks arising from climate change and the benefits of climate investments are reaching the communities most exposed to climate vulnerabilities.”