Perspectives on Aid Control. A case study of internal control in Zambian development NGOs.

Abstract: The monitoring and control of development aid disbursements is constantly a hot topic. This thesis is a qualitative case study of the systems for internal control in civil society organizations operating in Zambia. It is focused on two donor organizations, Sida and the Global Fund, and their respective chains of partner organizations. These organizations are subjected to demands to follow the principles of both the COSO model and the Paris Declaration in their practice of internal control. In this study their systems are described and judged from these two perspectives. The applications of the perspectives come to very different conclusions regarding both organizations. The inconsistencies in the demands placed on the organizations point towards a dilemma in the practice of internal control.