Independent Audit Advisory Committee Holds Fifty-Second Session, 8-11 December

The Independent Audit Advisory Committee of the United Nations (IAAC) held its fifty-second session from 8-11 December.  Due to the ongoing challenges associated with the 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 Committee’s fifty-second session was highlighted by the successful fifth meeting of the representatives of the United Nations system oversight committees.  The meeting, which was opened by the Chef de Cabinet on behalf of the Secretary-General, was attended by Chairs and/or other high-level representatives of 22 United Nations system entities.  The meeting saw a robust exchange of information on best practices and lessons learned.  The Committee expressed its deep gratitude to its colleagues for their active and engaged participation and looks forward to working with each one of them.

In addition, the IAAC held meetings with:

1.    Catherine Pollard, Under-Secretary-General for Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance, on: (i) the status of implementation of the recommendations of the oversight bodies, particularly those of the Board of Auditors and the Joint Inspection Unit; (ii) the status of the enterprise risk management, including update on the revised risk register; and (iii) the accountability system of the Organization.

2.    Fatoumata Ndiaye, Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services, on her vision and the programme work of the Office; and with 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; (iv) the budget proposal under the support account for peacekeeping operations for the period 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022; and (v) the workplan and capacity gap analysis for the Internal Audit Division, the Inspection and Evaluation Division and the Investigations Division.

3.    Chandramouli Ramanathan, Assistant Secretary-General, Controller on: (i) the peacekeeping budget of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) for the period 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022; (ii) the status of the implementation of Umoja, especially as it relates to the Governance Risk and Compliance module; (iii) the status of the Statement of Internal Control; and (iv) the financial situation.

4.    Elia Armstrong, Director of the Ethics Office on: (i) the strengthening of the ethics function of the Secretariat; (ii) developments with respect to the proposal contained in paragraph 94(b) of the Secretary-General’s report A/73/89; and (iii) the status update on the whistle-blower policy.

The IAAC also unanimously re-elected Janet St. Laurent as Chair of the IAAC and elected Agus Pramono as Vice-Chair for the following year starting 1 January 2021.

The next (fifty-third) session of the IAAC is scheduled for 17-19 February 2021.  The venue and/or mode of the session will be determined at a later date.

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.