Audit of USAID/El Salvador"s monitoring and reporting on completed projects

Audit report covers the period 1/91-12/93. USAID/ES had completed 13 projects that had PACDs during the audit period. Obligations and expenditures for these projects totaled $273.2 million and $273.1 million, respectively. The mission monitored the recommended actions identified in the completion reports for three projects reviewed. However, the mission could improve the project completion reporting process by ensuring that PACRs are prepared in a timely, reliable, and complete manner. Problems identified include the following. (1) USAID/ES completed 11 of the 13 required PACRs and the remaining two reports were being prepared. However, seven of the completed reports were not prepared within the required 6-month period and only two of these reports were sent to CDIE as required. (2) The four reports reviewed in detail did not effectively compare planned and actual outputs and/or progress towards achieving the project purpose. The mission also could not verify the accuracy of the project accomplishments reported. USAID spent $167 million on these four projects. (3) Although nine of the 13 projects required counterpart contributions, none of the PACRs included summaries comparing the counterpart contributions actually made versus those planned. (4) Three of the PACRs did not discuss the status of recommendations made in contracted final evaluations for their projects, nor the need for post-project monitoring to ensure implementation of those recommendations. The Mission had paid contractors $160,834 and had spent an estimated 269 staff days of its resources for the three external evaluations. Recommendations address the above four problems. USAID/ES agreed with the audit findings and identified actions to implement its recommendations.