At a time when aid budgets are under pressure and scrutiny, there is a need to improve accountability. This is especially true in the case of aid for trade, which has become an increasingly important priority in development co-operation. However, the promise and possibilities of improved accountability should be kept in perspective. For instance, evaluation concepts and tools have proliferated in recent years, but in the opinion of some critics this has created a “fixation with measurement” or an “audit culture”, accompanied by “bulging toolboxes loaded with frameworks and concepts”.