What is Financial Transparency?

Transparency is a broad term that, quite literally, means something that can be seen through. When we talk about transparency in terms of government spending, we are referring to government opening its books to the public so that taxpayers can see exactly where their money is going.

Transparency ensures that taxpayer dollars are spent efficiently by ensuring all decisions are made in the open and on the record. Transparency means that citizens can review and question policymakers' decisions, and examine documents for the way tax dollars are spent.