Cost-effectiveness

For GIZ, acting cost-effectively means always achieving the optimal sustainable cost-benefit ratio. Cost-effectiveness, or value for money, is about achieving the optimal sustainable cost-benefit ratio. It is key to GIZ’s efficiency and long-term viability. 
To assess cost-effectiveness, we ask ourselves two basic questions: Are we doing the right things? And: Are we doing things the right way? This is how we evaluate whether the ratio of costs to results is optimal.

As a federal enterprise, GIZ is subject to two rounds of external audits since the mechanisms for public-sector entities and private-sector enterprises both apply. The company’s annual accounts are audited by external auditors and its use of public funds is audited by public audit institutions such as the Bundesrechnungshof (Germany’s supreme audit institution) and the European Court of Auditors. The cost of services invoiced by GIZ is subject to public price auditing, and the quality of our services is audited by external experts and evaluated by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) to determine whether funds are being used properly and whether the optimal cost-benefit ratio is being achieved.

GIZ also has its own internal control system, which is certified to the international standards of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA). GIZ’s internal Auditing Unit systematically reviews the functioning and effectiveness of the company-wide internal control system.

The two rounds of external audits and GIZ’s own internal audit ultimately benefit the people we are helping build a better future – and they therefore also benefit our partners, clients and the German taxpayer.