Donor Audit & Assurance Services

Efficiency, effectiveness and value-for-money

Why Donor Assurance Matters

HCO offers a comprehensive suite of services to meet the full lifecycle of donor-funded programmes and grant-financed projects. HCO brings years of experience to this field. We have been conducting donor-funded audits, including assignments for UN agencies, for a considerable period, which has given us practical insight into donor expectations and the operational realities of implementing partners. Our work helps strengthen trust between funders and organisations delivering development impact on the ground.

In an era of growing international cooperation, development support and grant-funded programmes, donors — whether multilateral agencies, bilateral bodies, philanthropic foundations or CSR-linked trusts — demand uncompromising transparency, accountability and stewardship of funds.

Through our Donor Audit & Assurance Services, HCO helps donors, grant recipients, and implementing organisations meet these demands by offering rigorous, independent audit, verification, and assurance services tailored to the unique requirements of donor-funded projects and grants.

Our Key Services

We perform independent financial audits of grantees, projects or programmes — on a periodic (interim/quarterly / annual) or end-of-project basis — to assess whether financial statements fairly reflect actual transactions and whether funds have been used in accordance with donor agreements. This provides donors and stakeholders with reasonable assurance about financial integrity and proper fund utilisation.

Through agreed-upon procedures or verification engagements, we validate expenses incurred by grant recipients against original grant terms, supporting documents and donor requirements. This helps confirm that funds were applied only for permitted uses, enhancing compliance and reducing the risk of misuse.

We assess governance structures, internal financial controls, procurement processes, compliance systems, and overall control environment of grant recipients or implementing organisations. This helps identify control gaps, risks, and areas for improvement — enhancing accountability, risk management, and financial discipline.

For donors planning to fund new organisations or projects, we conduct pre-award evaluations — reviewing governance, financial health, project capability, compliance readiness and risk profile of potential grantees. This enables informed decision-making before funding is committed.

We provide audit and assurance at the level of specific grants or projects — covering financial statements, segregated fund accounting, grant-specific reporting, compliance with donor terms, and reconciling funds allocated vs. funds used.

Where required, we assess not only the financial compliance but also the efficiency, effectiveness and value-for-money of project spending — helping donors ensure that their funds deliver intended impact, and grantees optimize resource utilisation.

Where there is risk or suspicion of misuse, misappropriation, or compliance breaches, we can conduct forensic audits, fraud risk assessments, and integrity reviews, and recommend remedial actions.

We assist grantees in preparing donor-compliant reports, utilisation certificates, grant closure statements, and ensure proper documentation, disclosures and compliance with grant terms.

What Makes HCO’s Donor Assurance Offering Strong

Expertise in Audit, Tax & Advisory

As a firm with strong roots in audit, direct & indirect tax, and international business advisory, HCO is well-positioned to appreciate not only financial but also regulatory and compliance aspects of donor-funded projects in India and globally.

Understanding of Local Context + International Standards

We marry deep understanding of local Indian regulatory, accounting and business environment with global best practices in donor assurance and grant-audit.

Customised Approach

Each donor relationship, grant, or project is different. We design tailored audit/assurance plans — whether a small NGO grant, a significant development project, or a multi-year funding programme.

Transparency & Accountability Focus

Our mission is to strengthen trust — between donors and recipients — through independent, objective, reliable audit and assurance.

Value & Risk Management

We help organisations not just meet compliance, but improve internal controls, manage financial risk, and deliver better value.

Who Should Engage Us

International/funding agencies, bilateral donors, foundations and philanthropic institutions seeking assurance over their grants and projects.

NGOs, non-profits, social enterprises, project-implementing organisations, and CSR-linked foundations receiving grants or foreign funding.

Corporations implementing grant-funded CSR / ESG / social-impact programmes.

Organisations requiring independent audit/assurance of fund utilisation, compliance, internal controls, or donor-mandated audits.

Get Started

If you are a donor organisation, NGO, CSR-foundation or grant recipient looking for a trusted partner to manage audit & assurance obligations — do reach out to us. We are happy to discuss your needs, draft a proposal, or provide a no-obligation consultation.

Name
Vivek Agarwal, Managing Partner
Email
vivek@hcoca.com
Phone
+91-98391-19370