Independent Audit Advisory Committee Holds Its Fifty-Third Session Virtually, 17-19 February
The Independent Audit Advisory Committee of the United Nations (IAAC) held its fifty-third session from 17 to 19 February. 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 Agus Pramono (Vice-Chair), Dorothy Bradley, Anton Kosyanenko and the newly appointed member of IAAC, Imran Vanker — were in attendance.
IAAC’s deliberations included the finalization of the Committee’s report on the peacekeeping support account budget of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) for the fiscal year 2021/2022.
In addition, IAAC held meetings with:
1. 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; and (v) the major implications of the General Assembly resolutions and decisions on the work of OIOS.
2. Chandramouli Ramanathan, Assistant Secretary-General, Controller on: (i) the peacekeeping budget of OIOS for the period 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022; (ii) the proposed programme budget for 2022; (iii) the status of major decisions of the General Assembly during the main part of the seventy-fifth session; and (iv) the financial situation.
3. Christophe Monier, Director of the Business Transformation and Accountability Division, on behalf of the Under-Secretary-General of the Department of Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance, on: (i) the status of the accountability system of the Organization, including the salient features of the current accountability report; (ii) the progress of delegation of authority, including reviewing its strength, weaknesses and monitoring of the same; and (iii) the significant outcome of relevant resolutions and decisions of the General Assembly during the main part of the seventy-fifth session.
4. The Audit Operations Committee of the Board of Auditors, on: (i) best practices, issues and trends apparent in the financial statements of the Organization; (ii) coordination and cooperation among oversight bodies; and (iii) other matters of mutual interest, such as sharing the outcomes of IAAC deliberations, including the meeting with UN system oversight committees, held in December 2020.
The next (fifty-fourth) session of IAAC is scheduled for 21 to 23 April. 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 email: bamuwamye@un.org, or tel.: +1 212 963 0788.