*4.2.2 Public spending observatory in Brazil*

E-procurement plays a key role in public procurement practices in Brazil, which is reliant on advanced technology, both internally, in terms of management and-database systems, as well as externally, for example, the Internet. E-procurement is of strategic importance at the Federal level for producing efficient and transparent results and maintaining effective control over public expenditure [36]. In 2008 the Office of the Comptroller General of the Union launched the Public Spending Observatory (Observatório da Despesa Pública) towards continuous detection of misconduct and corruption and appropriating the relevant sanctions. Through the Public Spending Observatory, procurement expenditure data is being cross-checked or verified against other government databases, to identify possible situations that, while not per se confirming any irregularities, may justify further investigation. Using data analytics and historical trends, daily cross-checking actions are performed between the procurement database and other government data, and this cross-checking exercise produces so-called red or orange" o flags, which are followed up and investigated by officials within the Office of the Comptroller General of the Union, if so required. Follow-up activities are often conducted in conjunction with special advisors on internal control as well as internal audit units to pinpoint possible procurement irregularities, such as:


The Transparency portal hosted by Brazil's government offers real-time access to people on information of budget execution and direct monitoring of government programs [43].
