This paper reviews the tasks and design of audit committees, increasingly recommended as a way to strengthen financial accountability and good central bank governance. It outlines the motivations for the establishment of audit committees in commercial corporations and public sector entities, and...

The paper notes that the development of sound budgetary institutions in countries such as France, the U.K. and the U.S. has taken a very long time?200 years or more?and is still evolving. It discusses Douglass North's prediction?which is supported by available data?that institutional reform is...

This assessment of the Basel Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision has been completed as part of the IMF Offshore Financial Center (OFC) assessment program. First, the assessment benchmarks the current state of banking supervision, recognizing that there have been extensive changes...

The German financial system is complex and highly diversified. The second most important class of financial institutions is insurance and pension companies. Germany has taken steps to enhance accounting and auditing practices and to align corporate governance with best international practices....

This review of the financial sector regulation and supervision in Monaco in the context of the offshore Financial center assessment program contains technical advice and recommendations given by the IMF in response to the authorities of Monaco’s request for technical assistance. It...

Honduras’s Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes on fiscal transparency is discussed. Great strides have been made in coordinating preparation of the budgets of the central government and the noncommercial decentralized entities, and in timing their congressional presentation...

This paper analyzes the Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes on fiscal transparency for the United States. It assesses fiscal transparency practices in the United States against the requirements of the IMF Code of Good Practices on Fiscal Transparency. It reviews the description of...

This paper discusses key findings of the Fourth Review Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) for Bangladesh. Several quantitative and structural performance criteria have been missed for the fourth PRGF review. The nonobservance of these performance criteria largely reflects...

This Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes on Fiscal Transparency on El Salvador reviews the fiscal transparency module. El Salvador needs to make progress on a number of important aspects of the code on fiscal transparency. It is also important to clarify the distribution of functions...

The staff report for the Second Review Under the Three-Year Arrangement Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility highlights economic developments and fiscal policy. The political transition process has advanced significantly in 2005, and further progress has been made in securing peace....