USAID Fiscal Transparency Activity (FT) Helps Honduras Strengthen Internal Controls

The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) framework, an internationally recognized set of standards, served as the basis for this initiative. ONADICI had previously released a handbook summarizing the COSO framework, but lacked a training program for its auditors and field officers to implement internal controls. To address this gap, USAID FT implemented a Sustainable Learning Transformation methodology with a Training of the Trainers Program (TOTP) for a cohort from ONADICI and 13 other institutions. The TOTP selected 21 instructors who underwent two months of training on topics such as adult learning principles, course content development, and training facilitation. Following the training, these instructors led a round of pilot replication courses to train 54 staff across 13 counterpart organizations. The results of the Training of the Trainers Program indicate that ONADICI has strengthened its institutional capacity in internal controls. The program has also standardized knowledge dissemination of internal control leading practices via the internal control committees at 13 of its counterpart institutions. This has been achieved through an established network of trainers who participated in the TOTP and now have in-house professional training materials. The training program focused on comprehensive courses on internal controls, including topics such as adult learning principles, course content development, evaluation of knowledge gain, and training facilitation. The program's success has been demonstrated by the increased capacity of ONADICI's staff in internal controls and the standardized dissemination of internal control leading practices. The geographic focus of this initiative is Honduras, where ONADICI is responsible for promoting good governance through internal control. The program's implementation has been facilitated by USAID FT's collaboration with ONADICI and other institutions, resulting in a strengthened institutional capacity in internal controls and a standardized knowledge dissemination of internal control leading practices.