FIFTH COMMITTEE CONCLUDES DISCUSSION OF REPORTS OF BOARD OF AUDITORS

Press Release
GA/AB/3321

FIFTH COMMITTEE CONCLUDES DISCUSSION OF REPORTS OF BOARD OF AUDITORS

A way to address the long-standing issue of the term of office of the United Nations Board of Auditors must be found, Amjad Sial (Pakistan) told the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) this afternoon, as it concluded its discussion of the reports of that Board.

[The Board of Auditors had asked that the General Assembly consider extending the terms of office of its members to four or six years, to allow them to better carry out their audit functions. The Board is composed of the Auditors-General of three Member States, currently elected for three years by the Assembly and charged with carrying out external audits of the United Nations and its funds and agencies.]

Mr. Sial also reminded the Committee and the Board of Auditors that the Secretary-General’s guidelines for the use of consultants had been modified by the General Assembly at its fifty-third session, by resolution 53/231.

He said the latter in response to assurances from the Auditor General of Ghana and Chairman of the United Nations Board of Auditors, O.T. Prempeh, that the Board intended to monitor the application of guidelines on the use of consultants. Mr. Prempeh was replying to Member States' comments on the Board, and on its report on the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Member States’ views on the importance of timely implementation of oversight body recommendations for financial management were shared by the Auditors, Mr. Prempeh noted, and he was pleased by progress made in that regard. The UNHCR must make further efforts to ensure accurate records were maintained, and stricter control enforced over work by its implementing partners, he said.

Also responding to Member States’ questions, the Director of the Management Policy Office in the Department of Management, Bertrand de Fondaumiere, explained that Year 2000 (Y2K) computer date conversion information had now been received from all the United Nation’s business partners, and all were now Y2K compliant. All-building tests conducted in July and August had revealed no date conversion problems, and, while there had been some slippage on target dates, full Y2K compliance was expected before the operative date.

The Committee will meet again at 3 p.m. on 27 October, when it will commence its discussion of the proposed programme budget for the 2000-2001 biennium.

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