Bangladesh鈥檚 fiscal transparency has come under renewed scrutiny in the US State Department鈥檚 2025 Fiscal Transparency Report, which acknowledged steps taken by the country鈥檚 interim government to improve budgetary openness but pointed out continuing gaps in practice and compliance with international standards.
During the review period, the interim government followed the budget recommendations and implementation procedures of the prior government and initiated significant reforms to improve fiscal transparency, said that report released on September 19.
It said while the interim government largely followed budget recommendations and procedures introduced earlier, it also initiated reforms aimed at enhancing fiscal transparency, particularly in natural resource procurement.
The report said that the prior government made both its executive budget proposal and enacted budget publicly available, including online. However, it failed to release its end-of-year report in a timely manner.
Although budget information was considered generally reliable, the documents did not fully conform to internationally accepted principles, nor did they provide a complete breakdown of expenditures, especially those related to executive offices.
Publicly available documents did include data on state-owned enterprises and debt obligations, offering what the report described as a 鈥榬easonably complete picture鈥� of planned expenditures and revenue.
Still, shortcomings remained in presenting a substantially comprehensive account of revenues and expenditures, it observed.
The US report outlined a series of measures that Bangladesh could adopt to strengthen fiscal transparency.
It recommended that the country publish end-of-year reports promptly and ensure that budget documents are prepared in line with international standards.
The report further suggested providing detailed breakdowns of expenditures for executive offices and presenting a more comprehensive account of government revenues and spending.
In addition, it emphasised the need to strengthen the independence and resourcing of the supreme audit institution and to publish audit reports in a timely manner, including substantive findings and recommendations.
The report also called on Bangladesh to release information on natural resource extraction awards and to make the details of public procurement contracts publicly available.
The 2025 Fiscal Transparency Report forms part of the State Department鈥檚 annual review under the Fiscal Transparency Act, assessing governments worldwide against minimum transparency benchmarks.
While acknowledging Bangladesh鈥檚 progress under the Interim Government, the report stressed that sustained reforms are essential to ensure accountability and public trust in the country鈥檚 financial governance.