Independent Audit Advisory Committee Holds Forty-Seventh Session at United Nations Headquarters, 17-19 July

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

The Independent Audit Advisory Committee’s deliberations included the consideration of the Committee’s annual report for period 1 August 2018 to 31 July 2019.

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

1. The Secretary-General, on the activities of the Committee.
2. 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) how the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) plans to adapt to the shifting management paradigm and the evolving role of the internal audit function; (iii) utilization of the regular budget; and (iv) follow-up on a number of past recommendations of the Committee;
3. Pedro Guazo, Officer-in-Charge of the Office of Programme Planning, Budget and Finance on behalf of the Controller and the Under‑Secretary‑General of the Department of Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance on:  (i) the implementation status of the statement of internal control; (ii) the outcomes of the Fifth Committee deliberations on the financial situation;  (iii) trends apparent in the financial statements of the Organization pertaining to Vol I (Regular budget) for the year ended 31 December 2018; (iv) delegation of authority; and(v) progress in the implementation of the antifraud risk register and enterprise risk management;
4. Annick VanHautte, former Chair of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund Board, on matters of mutual interest to the Committee.

The next (forty-eighth) session of the Independent Audit Advisory Committee is scheduled for 10 to 13 December at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

For further information on the work of the Independent Audit 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.