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The United States has recommended that Bangladesh make information on government procurement contracts publicly available and bring its budget documents in line with internationally recognised standards to improve fiscal transparency.
It has also urged Bangladesh to ensure the independence of the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), the country’s supreme audit institution, in accordance with international standards.
The observations and recommendations were made in the “2026 Fiscal Transparency Report: Bangladesh”, recently published by the US Department of State.
According to the report, Bangladesh’s interim government made significant progress in fiscal transparency by publishing year-end financial statements within a reasonable timeframe.
While continuing to follow the previous government’s budget formulation and implementation procedures, the interim government also initiated several reforms aimed at improving fiscal transparency.
The US Department of State said the government published its executive budget proposal and approved budget online. Although the documents did not fully comply with international standards, the information provided was generally reliable.
Information on the government’s debt obligations was also publicly accessible, the report said.
It noted that the budget documents provided a reasonably comprehensive picture of the government’s planned revenues and expenditures, including revenue generated from natural resources.
However, the United States identified several shortcomings in Bangladesh’s fiscal transparency.
The report said the budget did not provide separate accounts for the operating expenses of executive offices. In some cases, the budget also failed to provide a complete picture of the government’s revenues and expenditures.
The US Department of State further said Bangladesh’s supreme audit institution, the CAG, has not achieved the level of independence required under international standards. This has limited its ability to effectively scrutinise government accounts, according to the report.
Regarding government procurement, the United States acknowledged that Bangladesh has an electronic government procurement (e-GP) system but said access to the system and the availability of procurement information could be further improved.
The US Department of State made several recommendations to Bangladesh to strengthen fiscal transparency.
These include publicly disclosing basic information on contracts related to the extraction of natural resources, ensuring that actual revenues and expenditures are consistent with the approved budget, and providing the CAG with adequate funding and the necessary operational autonomy.
The United States also urged Bangladesh to ensure that the CAG can audit the entire annual budget in a timely manner and with