Independent Audit Advisory Committee Holds Sixty-Third Session, 19-21 July

The Independent Audit Advisory Committee of the United Nations (IAAC) held its sixty-third session from 19 to 21 July, via hybrid format at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.  The session was presided over by the Chair, Imran Vanker.  All the other members of the Committee, namely:  Janet St. Laurent (Vice-Chair), Dorothy Bradley, Anton Kosyanenko and Suresh Sharma, were in attendance.

The IAAC examined activities of various oversight bodies — external and internal oversight, as well as management oversight; and deliberated towards the preparation of the Committee’s annual report for the period 1 August 2022 to 31 July 2023.

In this context the IAAC held meetings with;

1. The Secretary-General, on the activities of the Committee.
2. The Audit Operations Committee of the Board of Auditors, on efforts to increase cooperation among oversight bodies and on the state of the oversight function.
3. Fatoumata Ndiaye, Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services, and the with senior managers regarding a wide range of matters, including (i) update on the progress in implementing the recommendations of the external quality assessment of the Investigation Division; (ii) briefing on the plans the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) has for the Investigation Division; (iii) status of performance for Internal Audit Division, Investigation Division and Inspection and Evaluation Division; and (iv) update on OIOS’ 2022 priorities as noted in paragraph 6 of IAAC report A/76/81.
4. Elia Yi Armstong, Director, Ethics Office, on operationalizing paragraph 65 of resolution 77/278, which provides direction for IAAC to have an oversight role in the activities of the ethics committee and other matters of interest to the Committee.
5. Catherine Pollard, Under-Secretary-General for Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance, on:  (i) briefing on OIOS capping report on the accountability system of the United Nations Secretariat; (ii) the status of the implementation of recommendations contained in the most recent reports of oversight bodies; (iii) update on the status of the revised risk register, the progress in embedding Enterprise Risk Management, the status of the risk treatment/mitigation plans and the alignment of enterprise risk management with the Statement of Internal Control and risk mitigation to address information technology and cybersecurity risks as noted in paragraph 51 of IAAC report A/77/273; (iv) progress on the Board of Auditors’ observations and recommendations regarding risk management in peacekeeping operations as noted in Board of Auditor report A/77/5 Vol. II; and (v) briefing on the status on the operationalization the Fraud and Corruption Awareness Handbook.
6. Chandramouli Ramanathan, Assistant Secretary-General, Controller on:  (i) status of the risk mitigation plan for extrabudgetary funding; (ii) the main features of the 2022 Statement of Internal Control and remediation plans; (iii) the major decisions of the General Assembly during the second resumed part of the seventy-seventh session; (iv) status of the fraud and presumptive fraud reporting and investigations and the status update on the after-service health insurance; and (v) updates on the ongoing financial situation.
7. Martha Helena Lopez, Assistant Under-Secretary-General for the Office of Human Resources on:  (i) the outcome of the seventy-seventh deliberations on Human Resources Management as contained in resolution 77/278; and (ii) an update on the Human Resource Operation.

The next (sixty-fourth) session of IAAC is scheduled for 5-8 December in New York.

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; or tel.: +1 212 963 0788.