Independent Audit Advisory Committee Holds Thirty-Third Session at United Nations Headquarters, 17-19 February

The Independent Audit Advisory Committee of the United Nations (IAAC) held its thirty-third session from 17 to 19 February at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.  The session was presided over by the Chair, J. Christopher Mihm.  All the other members of the IAAC, namely Maria Gracia M. Pulido Tan (Vice-Chair), Patricia X. Arriagada Villouta, Natalia A. Bocharova and Richard Quartei Quartey, were in attendance.

The IAAC’s deliberations included the finalization of the Committee’s report on the support account budget of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) for the fiscal year 2016-2017.

In addition, the Committee held meetings with:

1. Edmond Mulet, Chef de Cabinet, on strengthening the investigation function in the United Nations in the context of the External Independent of the United Nations Response Review to Allegations of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by Members of Foreign Military Forces Not Under United Nations Command in the Central African Republic (the Panel) recommendations.
2. Yukio Takasu, Under-Secretary-General for Management, on (i) the status of implementation of recommendations of oversight bodies; (ii) update on the global service delivery model; (iii) update on the implementation of anti-fraud policies in the Secretariat; (iv) salient issues with respect to the fifth progress report on the accountability system; and (v) the main decisions of the General Assembly during the main seventieth session.
3. Heidi Mendoza, Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services, regarding a wide range of matters, including:  (i) the status of vacant posts; (ii) the investigation function in the context of the Panel’s recommendations; (iii) update on the implementation of enterprise risk management in OIOS; and (iv) the status of OIOS’s strategy regarding fraud detection and prevention.
4. Bettina Tucci Bartsiotas, Controller, on (i) the status of the implementation of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS); (ii) strengthening the internal control system, particularly as it pertains to fraud prevention and detection; (iii) the status of After Service Health Insurance liability; and (iv) the enterprise risk concerning extrabudgetary funding and management.

The next (thirty-fourth) session of the IAAC is scheduled for 4-6 May at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

For further information on the work of the 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.