United Nations Board of Auditors Holds Seventy-Fourth Regular Session at New York Headquarters, 21 July
The General Assembly established the United Nations Board of Auditors in 1946 as an important mechanism to promote accountability and transparency in the Organization. The Board performs external audit of the accounts of the United Nations and its funds and programmes, and reports its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly through the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), as well as to individual governing bodies not under the Assembly. The members of the Board have collective responsibility for the audits and approved 25 reports at their regular session at United Nations Headquarters in New York, and remotely from Bonn, New Delhi, Santiago and Beijing on 21 July.
Currently, the Board comprises Kay Scheller, President of the German Federal Court of Auditors (Chair); Jorge Bermudez, Comptroller General of Chile; and Hou Kai, Auditor-General of the National Audit Office of China, who was appointed by the General Assembly to take over the Board membership of Rajiv Mehrishi, Comptroller and Auditor General of India, after his successful completion of his tenure on 30 June. Each member has a non-consecutive tenure of six years and the Chairpersonship is rotated every two years.
The Board members connected virtually with the Secretary-General on Monday, 20 July, for a formal exchange on important priorities and challenges faced by the United Nations.
Through its work, the Board provides independent assurance to Member States and other stakeholders regarding proper use of the resources of United Nations entities. It reports on financial matters, as well as on regularity and performance issues. It plays a significant role in assisting the United Nations to improve its operations and its internal control systems. The findings and recommendations of the Board have led to continuous systematic improvements in the functioning of the United Nations.
This year, the Board of Auditors audited the financial statements and reviewed the operations of 17 organizations. All 17 audited entities received an unqualified audit opinion. The Board further produced four subject specific reports for submission to the General Assembly and produced another four reports for submission to other governing bodies. More detailed information about the Board’s findings can be found in the individual reports published on the Board’s website at www.un.org/en/auditors/board.
List of Board Reports for Review and Approval
Reports Submitted to General Assembly
Germany
- United Nations Development Programme (UNDP);
- United Nations Capital Development Fund;
- Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR);
- Concise summary of findings and conclusions;
- Strategic Heritage Plan;
India
- United Nations, Vol.1;
- International Trade Centre
- United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF);
- United Nations Office for Projects Services (UNOPS);
- Umoja;
- ICT Strategy;
Chile
- United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund;
- United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA);
- United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP);
- United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA);
- United Nations University (UNU);
- United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR);
- United Nations Drug Control Programme (UNODC);
- United Nations Human Settlement Fund (UN-Habitat);
- United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women (UN‑Women);
- International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals.
Reports Submitted to Other Governing Bodies
Germany
- United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC);
- United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification;
India
- United Nations Compensation Commission;
Chile
- UNRWA Staff Provident Fund.