The United States has issued eight key recommendations to improve transparency in Bangladesh’s financial sector, according to the 2025 Fiscal Transparency Report released by the State Department.

The report called for the timely publication of end-of-year reports, budgets aligned with international standards, detailed breakdowns of revenues and expenditures, an independent and well-resourced audit institution with full access to accounts, and the release of substantive audit findings.

It also recommended disclosure of information on natural resource extraction and public procurement contracts.

Bangladesh’s non-political interim government has followed budgetary procedures inherited from the former administration while initiating reforms, the report noted.

“The prior government made its executive budget proposal and enacted the budget publicly available, including online. It did not make its end-of-year report publicly available within a reasonable period,” the report said.

Budget information was considered broadly reliable, with data on debt obligations disclosed. However, expenditure details for executive offices were missing, and the budget did not fully capture revenues and expenditures.

The State Department also observed that Bangladesh’s supreme audit institution lacked international standards of independence, though it did release some summarized findings.

On natural resources, the government appeared to follow legal procedures for awarding contracts, but only limited details were made public on procurement.

The interim government has since suspended all direct negotiations initiated by the former administration to ensure greater transparency.

Of 140 governments assessed, 71 met minimum fiscal transparency standards. Bangladesh, along with Pakistan and the Maldives, fell short but was among 26 countries making progress.