Independent Audit Advisory Committee Holds Forty-Sixth Session at United Nations Headquarters, 29 April-1 May

The Independent Audit Advisory Committee of the United Nations held its forty-sixth session from 29 April to 1 May at United Nations Headquarters in New York.  The session was presided over by the Chair, Patricia X. Arriagada Villouta, with all other members — Natalia A. Bocharova (Vice-Chair), Maria Gracia M. Pulido Tan, Richard Quartei Quartey and Janet St. Laurent — in attendance.

The Advisory Committee’s deliberations included the consideration of the Committee’s report on the programme budget of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) for 2020 fiscal year.

The Committee’s deliberations also included meetings with, inter alia:

1. David Kanja, Assistant Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services, and senior managers regarding a wide range of matters, including:  (i) the status of vacant posts; (ii) utilization of the regular budget; (iii) the status of the programme budget workplan implementation; and (iv) the programme budget proposal for 2020 fiscal year;
2. Chandramouli Ramanathan, Assistant Secretary-General, Controller on: (i) the programme budget of OIOS for 2020 fiscal year; (ii) salient features in the financial statements pertaining to the peacekeeping operations; (iii) the outcomes of the Fifth Committee deliberations on the After-Service Health Insurance; and (iv) trends apparent in the financial statement of the Organization pertaining to Vol II (Peacekeeping) for the year ended 30 June 2018;
3. Martha Helena Lopez, Assistant Secretary-General, Office of Human Resources Management, on human resources policy matters;
4. Tom Repasch, former Chair of the Pension Fund Audit Committee, on matters of mutual interest to the Committee;
5. The Audit Operations Committee of the Board of Auditors, on:  (i) the salient features in the report of the Board for peacekeeping operations for the period ended 30 June 2018; and (ii) sharing matters of concern and/or interest that have come to the Committee’s attention in the course of its deliberations with various stakeholders;
6. Elia Armstrong, Director of the Ethics Office, on inter alia:  (i) the strengthening of the oversight function of the Secretariat; (ii) updates on the whistle-blower policy with special consideration on the interpretation of document ST/SGB/2017/2/Rev.1; and (iii) the financial disclosure regime.

The next (forty-seventh) session of the Independent Audit Advisory Committee of the United Nations is scheduled for 17 to 19 July at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

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