Independent Audit Advisory Committee Holds Fifty-First Session, 22-24 July

The Independent Audit Advisory Committee of the United Nations (IAAC) held its fifty-first session from 22 to 24 July 2020.  Due to ongoing challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the meetings were held virtually.  The session was presided over by the Chair, Janet St. Laurent.  All the other members of the Committee — namely Richard Quartei Quartey (Vice-Chair), Dorothy Bradley, Anton Kosyanenko and Agus Pramono — were in attendance.

The IAAC deliberations included the consideration of the Committee’s annual report for the period from 1 August 2019 to 31 July 2020.

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

1. The Secretary-General, regarding the Committee’s activities.
2. Jens Wandel, Special Adviser on Reform, regarding the progress in the implementation of the Secretary-General’s reforms.
3. Fatoumata Ndiaye, Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services, and senior managers, regarding a wide range of matters, including:  (i) status update on the assessment of culture; (ii) Office of Internal Oversight Services views of the United Nations data strategy; (iii) the Office’s position on the status of the Organization’s enterprise risk management and the impact on Office workplans; and (iv) the significant finding of the Inspection and Evaluation Division in its report on policy coherence and the preparedness of the entire Secretariat to implement the Sustainable Development Goals.
4. Chandramouli Ramanathan, Controller, on a range of issues including:  (i) update on the financial situation of the organization; (ii) the operational implications of any issues and trends apparent in Volume I of the financial statements of the Organization, including trends in fraud reporting and the status update on after-service health insurance; (iii) the status on Umoja; and (iv) the status of the Statement of Internal Control.
5. Christophe Monier, Director of the Business Transformation and Accountability Division, on behalf of the Under-Secretary-General for Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance, regarding:  (i) the update on the assessment of organizational culture; (ii) status on the revised Secretariat-wide Risk Register and role of Umoja in enterprise risk management; and (iii) the status of the implementation of recommendations of oversight bodies.

The next (fifty-second) session of IAAC is scheduled to be held from 8 to 11 December 2020.  The venue and/or mode of the session will be determined at a later date.

For further information on the work of IAAC, 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, tel.:  +1 212 963 0788.