Independent Audit Advisory Committee Holds Fifty-Eighth Session, 19-21 April

The Independent Audit Advisory Committee of the United Nations held its fifty-eighth session from 19 to 21 April at the United Nations Office at Geneva.  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 Imran Vanker were in attendance.

The Independent Audit Advisory Committee’s deliberations included the finalization of the Committee’s report on the regular budget of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) for the fiscal year 2023.

In addition, the Independent Audit Advisory Committee held meetings with:

1. The Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, Tatiana Valovaya, and Clemens Adams, Director of Administration, on how OIOS’ audit and other functions have assisted them in managing their Office’s resources, including the usefulness of the oversight bodies recommendations/reports pertaining to audit, investigation and evaluation.
2. Executive Secretary for Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) Olga Algayerova on how OIOS’ audit and other functions have assisted the Executive Secretary and senior management in managing ECE’s resources, including the usefulness of the oversight bodies' recommendations/reports pertaining to audit, investigation and evaluation.
3. Senior management of entities based in Geneva, including Isabelle Durant, Deputy Secretary-General, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and Pamela Coke-Hamilton, Executive Director, International Trade Centre, on how OIOS’ audit and other functions have assisted them and senior management in managing their office’s resources, including the usefulness of the oversight bodies recommendations/reports pertaining to audit, investigation and evaluation.
4. Inspectors of the Joint Inspection Unit, on:  (i) salient features of the Unit’s annual report for 2021 and programme of work for 2022; (ii) the status of the acceptance/implementation of the Unit’s recommendations; and (iii) an update of the Unit’s reports on:  a) review of the ethics function in the United Nations system (JIU/REP/2021/5); and b) the review of the business continuity management in United Nations system organizations (JIU/REP/2021/6).
5. Fatoumata Ndiaye, Under Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Service and senior managers, including those based at the United Nations Office at Geneva, regarding a wide range of matters, including:  (i) finalization of the report on the regular budget of OIOS; (ii) regular budget workplan; (iii) status of the implementation of the recommendations of OIOS by management; and (iv) major findings and recommendations pertaining to its reports on implementing partners.
6. Chandramouli Ramanathan, Assistant Secretary-General, Controller on:  (i) the finalization of the report on the regular budget of OIOS; (ii) major findings in the Board of Auditors reports on peacekeeping operations (documents A/75/5 (Vol. II) and A/75/5 (Vol. III)), especially as it relates to the Board of Auditors findings on implementing partners; and (iii) update on the issues of after-service health insurance.
7. Hans Baritt, Deputy Director, Division of Financial and Administrative Management, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), on how OIOS’ audit function has assisted the senior management in managing UNHCR’s resources, including the timeliness, quality and usefulness of the oversight bodies’ recommendations/reports pertaining to audit.
8. Christophe Monier, Director of the Business Transformation and Accountability Division, on:  (i) status update on the enterprise risk management, including progress in embedding enterprise risk management, the risk treatment plans and the risk register; (ii) status of the implementation of recommendations contained in the recent reports of oversight bodies, including the Board of Auditors report (document A/76/5 (Vol. II)); and (iii) status of the antifraud handbook.

The Independent Audit Advisory Committee would like to thank the United Nations Office at Geneva for the great hospitality they have shown.  The next (fifty-ninth) session of the Independent Audit Advisory Committee is scheduled for 20-22 July.  The venue and/or mode of the session will be determined at a later date.

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.