Independent Audit Advisory Committee Concludes Twenty-fourth Session

The Independent Audit Advisory Committee of the United Nations (IAAC) held its twenty-fourth session from 10 to 13 December.  The session, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York, was presided over by the Chairman, J. Christopher Mihm.  All the other members of the IAAC, namely Vadim V. Dubinkin (Vice Chairman), Vinod Rai, John F. S. Muwanga and Adrian P. Strachan, were in attendance.

The IAAC’s deliberations included, inter-alia, meetings with:

1.                Yukio Takasu, Under-Secretary-General for Management, on the main challenges facing the oversight regime of the organization, how the Office of Internal Oversight Services’ (OIOS) reports have informed management decision-making process in the last two years, feedback on the impact of OIOS’ initiative to make public its audit reports and provided views on the adequacy of the investigation function of the organization.

2.                María Eugenia Casar, Assistant Secretary-General, Controller, on the status of implementation of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) in the Secretariat and OIOS proposed budget for the support account for the period 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2013.

3.                Carman Lapointe, Under-Secretary-General, and senior managers of the Office of Internal Oversight Services regarding a wide range of matters, including:  operational constraints; the status of vacant posts;  issues of high risk that require the IAAC’s attention; assessments of the impact of the ongoing reform initiatives on the work of OIOS; the status of work plan implementation-planned vs. actual; the status of implementation of the various reviews for each of the Divisions; and the budget proposal under the support account for peacekeeping operations for 2013-2014, the corresponding work plan and capacity gap.

4.                Meeting with the Management Committee on the status of the oversight function in the Organization — especially as in relation to coordination and collaboration among oversight entities, follow-up of oversight recommendations and the status of the Enterprise Risk Management and the internal control systems in the United Nations.

Consistent with article 4 of its rules of procedure, IAAC unanimously elected J. Christopher Mihm as Chairman of IAAC and John F. S. Muwanga as Vice-Chairman for the following year, starting 1 January 2014.

IAAC extended its appreciation to the outgoing Vice-Chairman, Vadim Dubinkin, Vinod Rai and Adrian P. Strachan for the services rendered during their respective terms.

The next (twenty-fifth) session of IAAC is scheduled for 19 to 21 February 2014 at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

For further information on the work of IAAC, please contact the Committee’s Executive Secretary, Moses Bamuwamye, at e-mail:  bamuwamye@un.org, tel.:  +1 212 963 0788 or fax:  +1 212 963 0600.

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For information media • not an official record