Independent Audit Advisory Committee Holds Its Fifty-Ninth Session, 20-22 July

The Independent Audit Advisory Committee of the United Nations (IAAC) held its fifty-ninth session from 20-22 July 2022 under a hybrid format at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.  The session was presided over by the Chair, Janet St. Laurent.  All the other members of the Committee, namely Dorothy Bradley, Anton Kosyanenko and Imran Vanker, were in attendance throughout the session, with the exception of Agus Pramono (Vice-Chair), who attended on the last day.

The Independent Audit Advisory Committee’s deliberations included the consideration of the Committee’s annual report for the period 1 August 2021 to 31 July 2022.

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

1. Catherine Pollard, Under-Secretary-General for Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance, on:  (i) an update concerning the issues raised in the 15 March 2022 letter from the Chair of the IAAC to the Secretary-General; (ii) the enterprise risk management (ERM), including the progress in embedding ERM, and the status of the risk treatments/mitigation plans; (iii) the status of the implementation of recommendations of oversight bodies; and, (iv) the extent the Secretariat has incorporated environmental, social and governance initiatives in its programmes.
2. Fatoumata Ndiaye, Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services and her senior managers regarding a wide range of matters, including:  (i) key findings from the recent reports on the accountability system of the Organization; (ii) performance metrics of Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS); (iii) status of the timeline for completing investigations and for referring cases back to management and measures to ensure that cases referred back to management are addressed expeditiously; (iv) update on OIOS’s work on the Sustainable Development Goals; (v) OIOS’ incorporation of environmental, social, and governance initiatives in its programme of work; and, (v) update on OIOS’s external assessment.
3. Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under Secretary-General for Department of Peace Operations (DPO), on:  (i) United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) issues as they pertain to DPO in general and Mine Action Services in particular; (ii) Joint Inspection Unit recent reports on implementing partners; and, (iii) other matters of high risk and/or importance to Committee.
4. Chandramouli Ramanathan, Assistant Secretary-General, Controller, on a range of issues including:  (i) an update on the financial situation; (ii) update on the recently completed external audits by the United Nations Board of Auditors; (iii) update on the status of the new Memo of Understanding with UNOPS, especially as it pertains to Mine Action Services and the risk mitigation plan for extra-budgetary funding; (iv) update on the status of the implementation of the statement on internal control, including the refinement of the assessment questionnaire and the remediation plan; (v) an update on the operational implications of any issues and trends apparent in Volume I of the financial statements of the Organization, including the status of the fraud and presumptive fraud reporting and investigation; and, (vi) status update on After Service Health Insurance (ASHI) liabilities.
5. Anthony O’Mullane, Director of the Operations Support Division, Office of Information and Communications Technology (OICT), on a wide range of matters, including:  (i) cybersecurity risk issues and OICT’s risk mitigation plans; (ii) update on the capital investment plan; (iii) the status of the anticipated penetration test, and any emerging risks; and, (iv) OICT’s risk exposure to UNOPS.
6. 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; (iii) other matters of mutual interest such as sharing the outcomes of IAAC deliberations and (iv) lessons learned and emerging developments in external auditing post-pandemic.
7. The Advisory Group for the Statement of Internal Control (SIC) on:  (i) update on the progress in implementing the SIC; (ii) user accessibility and reliability of the Statement on Internal Controls (SIC) and the features of a mature SIC regime; and, (iii) the role of the external auditors with respect to the SIC.
8. The Audit Advisory Committee of the United Nations Office for Project Services, to exchange views on the role of Oversight Committees, especially in light of the recent developments and the way forward.

The next (sixtieth) session of the IAAC is scheduled for 6-9 December 2022 in New York.  The 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 email:  bamuwamye@un.org; tel.:  +1 212 963 0788.