Independent Audit Advisory Committee Holds Fortieth Session at New York Headquarters, 12-15 December

The Independent Audit Advisory Committee of the United Nations (IAAC) held its fortieth session from 12-15 December 2017 at United Nations Headquarters in New York.  The session was presided over by the Chair, Maria Gracia M. Pulido Tan.  All the other members of the IAAC, namely J. Christopher Mihm (Vice-Chair), Patricia X. Arriagada Villouta, Natalia A. Bocharova, and Richard Quartei Quartey, were in attendance.

The IAAC’s fortieth session was highlighted by the successful second meeting of the Chairs of the United Nations system oversight committees.  The meeting, which was attended by Chairs or other high level representatives of 18 United Nations system entities, saw a robust exchange of information on best practices and lessons learned.  The IAAC expressed its deep gratitude to its colleagues for their active and engaged participation and looks forward to working with each of them.

In addition, the IAAC held meetings with:

1. Jan Beagle, Under-Secretary-General for Management, on: (i) salient features of the Secretary-General’s report on management reform, especially with respect to its implications on the oversight regime; (ii) the status of the implementation of recommendations of oversight bodies; and (iii) the status of enterprise risk management (ERM), including the progress in the implementation of the anti-fraud risk assessment in the Secretariat.
2. Heidi Mendoza, Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Service and senior managers regarding a wide range of matters, including: (i) the status of vacant posts; (ii) utilization of the peacekeeping budget; (iii) the status of the peacekeeping workplan implementation; and (iv) the implications the Secretary-General’s report on management reform on the work of OIOS (Office of Internal Oversight Services).
3. Bettina Tucci Bartsiotas, Assistant Secretary-General, Controller, on: (i) the peacekeeping budget of OIOS for 2018/19; and (ii) the Secretary-General’s report on management reform (A/72/492), especially as it relates to internal control.
4. Chandramouli Ramanathan, Project Director, Umoja, on: the status of the project, especially as it relates to the new modules which have been or will be rolled out, including an audit module.
5. The Audit Operations Committee, on the operational implications for the United Nations of the issues and trends apparent in the financial statements of the Organization and reports of the Board of Auditors for 2016.

The IAAC also unanimously re-elected Maria Gracia Pulido Tan as Chair of the IAAC and elected Patricia Arriagada Villouta as Vice-Chair for the following year starting 1 January 2018.

Finally, the Chair, on behalf of the IAAC, expressed her appreciation and utmost thanks to the outgoing member, Vice Chair J. Christopher Mihm, for his invaluable service to the United Nations.

The next (forty-first) session of the IAAC is scheduled for 21-23 February 2018 at United Nations Office at Nairobi.

For further information on the work of the IAAC, please see the Committee’s website at www.un.org/ga/iaac or contact the Committee’s Executive Secretary, Mr. Moses Bamuwamye, at e-mail bamuwamye@un.org; tel.: +1 212 963 0788.