The IMF Code, Transparency International and the Open Budget Index

It is one thing to say that a government should be transparent and another to say how transparent it is. To make comparison possible, international bodies have set out codes of good practice and measures that score governments on what they publish.

Three are important for the Nigerian candidate:

• the International Monetary Fund’s code of good practices on fiscal transparency, which sets the standard
• Transparency International, a global movement against corruption whose Corruption Perceptions Index is the most quoted ranking of perceived public sector corruption
• the Open Budget Index of the International Budget Partnership, which scores how much budget information a government publishes, and how soon

This topic sets out the four pillars of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) code and the six good practices under assurances of integrity; the origin, mission, values and results of Transparency International; and the Open Budget Index, its three components, its eight key budget documents and their release deadlines, with Nigeria’s latest scores.

The next topic covers the conditions that promote public accountability in Nigeria and the factors that work against it.

The IMF code was tested in November Diet, 2022, Question 3 (20 marks), where part (b)(ii) (3 marks) asked for three codes of good practice, and in May Diet, 2025, Question 2 (20 marks), where part (a)(ii) (4 marks) asked for two good practices on assurances of integrity. Transparency International featured in the stem of May Diet, 2022, Question 2 (20 marks). Read public accountability and fiscal transparency first.

The IMF code of good practices on fiscal transparency

The code has four groups of good practice:

1. Clarity of roles and responsibilities. The government sector should be separated from the rest of the public sector and from the rest of the economy. Policy and management roles within the public sector should be clearly stated and publicly disclosed.
2. Open budget process. There should be clear procedures for budget execution, monitoring and reporting, and budget preparation should be guided by well-designed macroeconomic and fiscal policy objectives.
3. Public availability of information. The public should have comprehensive information on past, current and projected fiscal activity and on major fiscal risks. The central government should publish the level and composition of its debts and financial assets, significant non-debt liabilities and natural resource assets. The information should be presented in a way that helps policy analysis and promotes accountability.
4. Assurances of integrity. See below.

Assurances of integrity: six good practices

1. Data quality. Fiscal data should meet accepted data quality standards, and budget forecasts and updates should reflect recent revenue and expenditure trends and macroeconomic developments.
2. Consistency and reconciliation. Data in fiscal reports should be internally consistent and reconciled with relevant data from other sources. Major revisions to historical fiscal data and changes in classification should be explained.
3. Ethical standards. The standards of behaviour for public servants should be clear and made public.
4. Internal audit of assets. Purchases and sales of public assets should be internally audited, and the audit procedures should be open to review.
5. Independent scrutiny. Fiscal information should be independently examined: all public finances and policies should be subject to scrutiny by a national audit body, or equivalent, independent of the executive.
6. Reporting to the legislature. The national audit body should submit all its reports, including its annual report, to the legislature and publish them.

Applying it to Nigeria. The roles are set by the Constitution and the Financial Regulations (clarity); the budget cycle is set by the Constitution and the Fiscal Responsibility Act (open process); the Open Treasury Portal and published accounts serve availability; and the Auditor-General and the Public Accounts Committee provide independent scrutiny.

A weak point is the special funds and levies that are not part of the appropriations, which reduce the public availability of information (next topic).

Transparency International

In 1993 a few individuals decided to take a stand against corruption and created Transparency International. It is now present in more than 100 countries. It is committed to advancing accountability, integrity and transparency.

• Mission: to stop corruption and promote transparency, accountability and integrity at all levels and across all sectors of society.
• Vision: a world in which government, politics, business, civil society and the daily lives of people are free of corruption.
• Core values: transparency, accountability, integrity, solidarity, courage, justice and democracy.

Achievements

• the creation of international anti-corruption conventions;
• the prosecution of corrupt leaders and seizure of illicitly gained riches;
• national elections won and lost on the issue of corruption;
• companies held accountable for their behaviour at home and abroad;
• bribing foreign officials became an international crime in 1997;
• the United Nations Convention against Corruption was created in 2003; and
• in 2014 the leaders of the group of twenty industrial nations agreed to make it harder for the corrupt to hide behind secret companies.

Nigeria’s ranking

Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index scores countries from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). In the 2024 index, Nigeria was ranked 140th of 180 countries with a score of 26; in the 2025 index (released in February 2026) it again scored 26 but fell to 142nd of 182. A score of 26 is 7 points below the sub-Saharan African average of 33 (33 − 26). The index measures perceptions of public sector corruption; it is not a count of cases.

The Open Budget Index

The Open Budget Survey, using the Open Budget Index, assesses the three components of a budget accountability system:

1. Public availability of budget information (transparency);
2. Opportunities for the public to participate in the budget process; and
3. the role and effectiveness of formal oversight institutions, including the legislature and the national audit office (the supreme audit institution).

It is the world’s only independent, comparative measure of central government budget transparency. The index gives each country a transparency score from 0 to 100, using a subset of questions that assess how much, and how promptly, the government makes eight key budget documents public, according to international good practice.

A score of 61 or more indicates that a country is likely to publish enough material to support informed public debate on the budget.

The eight documents and the deadlines for “publicly available”

Examples. For a budget proposal sent to the legislature on 15 October, the pre-budget statement is due by 15 September. For a budget approved on 15 March, the enacted budget must be public by 15 June. For the year ended 31 December 2025, the year-end report is due by 31 December 2026 and the audit report by 30 June 2027.

Nigeria’s score

In the 2023 survey, Nigeria had a transparency score of 31 out of 100 (a fall from 45 in 2021), a public participation score of 19 and a budget oversight score of 61, and ranked 92nd of 125 countries. It was 30 points below the sufficiency level of 61 (61 − 31) and 14 below the global average of 45. Failure to publish in-year reports and the mid-year review in good time was among the reasons.

A 2025 survey has since been published and rates Nigeria low on transparency, oversight and participation; the current figures can be checked on the International Budget Partnership’s website.

The ideas in more depth

Why three measures and not one

The IMF code tells a government what good practice is. The Corruption Perceptions Index records how corrupt outsiders think the public sector is. The Open Budget Index counts what is actually published. Together they answer three different questions: is the government’s own framework sound, is it trusted, and does it publish. A government can score well on one and badly on another, and the gaps show where to act.

Why timing is part of the test

A budget document published after the legislature has voted is of no use to a citizen who wanted to comment on it. The deadlines in the index make timing a part of the score, so that late publication counts as non-publication. That is why the audit report, which often takes a year or more to finish, has an 18-month limit.

Sources and references

• The International Monetary Fund’s Code of Good Practices on Fiscal Transparency; Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index 2024 and 2025; the International Budget Partnership’s Open Budget Survey 2023 (Nigeria) and 2025.

These points are stated as at 5 November 2026.

Worked examples

1. Calculate.
   61 − 31 = 30 points.

1. Calculate.
   15 March + 3 months = 15 June.

1. Calculate.
   31 December 2025 + 18 months = 30 June 2027.

How to answer in the exam

• List the four pillars of the IMF code by name, then explain those asked for.
• For assurances of integrity choose practices that you can explain in one line each.
• Give figures for the indices with the year to which they refer.
• Link each standard to a Nigerian institution or law.

Common mistakes in the exam

• Listing five or six pillars of the IMF code.
• Mixing up the Corruption Perceptions Index and the Open Budget Index.
• Stating the index as a count of corruption cases.
• Saying that the deadline for the audit report is 12 months.
• Forgetting that a proposal published after approval is not “publicly available”.
• Quoting a ranking without the year.

Quick revision

• IMF code: roles, open budget process, public information, assurances of integrity.
• Transparency International: 1993; Corruption Perceptions Index; Nigeria 26, 142nd of 182 (2025).
• Open Budget Index: three components, eight documents, 61 sufficient; deadlines 1, 3, 3, 12 and 18 months.

Practice questions

These are original questions written in the style of the Institute’s exams. Try each one before you open the answer. Section A is a recall check, because the paper itself is written.

Recall check: multiple choice

Section B style: written questions

A further written question

Model answers

Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we will check it.