When Jan Egeland, the United Nations top disaster official, announced in March that PwC, the professional services firm, would help monitor the expenditure of funds collected under the UN's $1.1bn tsunami "flash appeal" he offered a simple gauge for what would result. The new system, he said, would mean that "my aunt can go in and can see how her money for Unicef (the UN children's fund) is being spent".

Mr Egeland had good reasons for pledging transparency. UN officials cite Paul Volcker's investigation into corruption in the UN's oil-for-food programme, well under way when last December's tsunami struck, as part of the impetus. So too was the sheer size of the outpouring from companies, governments, and individuals worldwide in response to the tsunami and the responsibilities that came with that.