The General Audit Office (AGN, for its acronym in Spanish) made a special study that analyzed the consulting services paid by the Federal Government for programs funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (BID) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (BIRF).

In conducting its assessment, the AGN asked the head of each project related information consulting payments that were made for services and specific technical assistance, inspection work, accounting, and non-accounting audits, training seminars, among others.

At the request of the National Audit of 102 programs "97 responded, of which 62 paid private consultants during those years." On them, the watchdog conducted a special study which was approved in 2012 and produced some interesting data.

The study finds that if the “ends” of the period evaluated, i.e., comparing 2006 with 2010, we can see that the participation of consulting expenses increased 213%. While in 2006 they paid $17.3 million which amounted to 0.68% of total program expenditures in 2010 they spent $152.2 representing 2.13%.

Accounting Audits

The AGN devoted a special point in its analysis to the service 'financial audit' to "respond to the obligation of finance institutions seeking to hire independent studies for conducting accounting audits."

In relation, the auditors stated that there was "only five firms engaged in all projects" they received in the audited period "in the amount of $ 31,131,136.37." This shows a "concentration of these services in only a few companies."

Given the high number that the Federal Government used to pay financial audits, the AGN stated that "it is a decision of the projects and funding entities to choose a private study" for conducting audits of this type of "taking the option to choose the Auditor General's Office as an external auditor."

Consulting and Ministries

The AGN noted that "the Ministry that paid the most on this subject was Federal Planning and Public Investment Services." Specifically, in the evaluated time period, they "invested $ 182.5 million, representing 48.11% of the total expenditure in this area." In second place is Health with "expenses totaling $80 million, equivalent to 21.09%."

During the period analyzed, the "more than $ 379 million benefited 188 firms that provided services on the projects." Of these, only "16 companies accounted for 50.50% of the payments."

Taking into account the amounts invested by each area of the national government and the amount of recipient firms it can be said that the two ministries that have a higher concentration of money "are Health, which invested more than $ 89 million in 18 companies and Social Development distributed $ 17.440 million within 4 consultants."

Other Consulting Services

The most important category regarding invested funds “is the 'inspection work', with just over $116 invested, representing 30.64% of the total amount paid for consultancies". In this area, "almost the entire expenditure is concentrated in the Ministry of Planning with $ 115,991,265." The AGN noted that such outlays "are significant to the achievement of project objectives" because the service "directly impacts the performance of the respective jobs."

The items that remain on the list are the 'technical assistance' with 28, 88% of the amounts invested in consulting and 'audits in all matters except accounting' which took 18.70% of the total.