Good practice monitoring - Advice from the Auditor-General
Ongoing monitoring gives the funder and the funded organisation confidence that the terms of the contract will be met. The process protects all partners by alerting them to any problems early on.
Key elements of good practice monitoring
Listed below are some key elements government agencies need to include in their plans when they monitor funding arrangements with non-government organisations (NGOs).
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Agree in advance a monitoring and reporting plan that is fair and reasonable, and addresses the key risks. You need to be sure that the NGO has the capability to meet the reporting requirements, and that you have not asked for more reporting than is necessary to manage the risks.
- Delivery of the agreed services or results should be able to be measured.
- Ensure all monitoring and reporting requirements are carried out.
- Document:
– compliance with contractual obligations under the contract or other agreement
– the results of site visits and management meetings
– all significant issues that arise during the funding relationship, and how these are handled (pages 10, 85,118). - Ensure that project milestone reports and the final project report are received promptly.
- Match instalment payments to actual delivery of services or results, with evidence of performance.
- Ensure that required site visits, milestone checking, and annual reviews do occur (page 69).
- Include independent review advice for large and/or sensitive contracts (page 65).
- Ensure follow-up on any issues identified from reports, reviews, or site visits (page 69).
- Ensure follow-up on any non-compliance with the terms and conditions (page 140).
Below are two examples of good monitoring practice:
See also the Auditor-General’s advice on contracting and risk management:
Reports from the Auditor-General
The elements above are drawn from the Auditor-General’s Report on an Inquiry into Public Funding of Organisations Associated with Donna Awatere Huata, M P ( 2003). Page numbers in brackets above refer to this report. Advice is also drawn from Risk-based Approach to Contracts (2004) and Funding for Results: What Does the Auditor-General Expect? (2005).
