Panel of External Auditors Holds Sixty-Third Meeting, 20-21 November
The Panel of External Auditors’ sixty-third session, chaired by Isma Yatun, Chair of the Audit Board of the Republic of Indonesia, was held from 20-21 November at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
The Panel consists of the Heads of 12 Supreme Audit Institutions who are either elected or selected to conduct the external audit of the UN Secretariat, Funds and Programmes and Specialized Agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). External auditors are independent of the United Nations and conduct financial statements and performance audits. The meeting was attended by representatives of Supreme Audit Institutions, which constitute the Panel Membership from Canada, Chile, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Philippines, Russian Federation, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
The United Nations Panel of External Auditors is a unique forum for exchanging information and methodologies to develop further and improve the value and quality of the external assurance process. The Panel seeks to support the delivery of high-quality, standards-based assurance to ensure that reported financial information provides a transparent and accurate basis for the financial decisions made by the United Nations, its Specialized Agencies, and IAEA.
Further, the Panel’s Technical Group also met from 15-17 November to discuss technical matters and prepare for the ensuing discussions by the Panel. The Panel discussed several topics, including follow-up actions on the UN Secretary-General response to the Panel Letter and critical issues concerning Finance and Management, Climate Change and Digital challenges.
The Panel met with the Secretary-General to exchange views on several pertinent issues. Among the topics discussed are risk management — as a cross-cutting issue; the necessity to better take into account the challenging financial environment, which requires well-structured funding strategies, multiple conflict situations; the post-COVID‑19 world characterized in particular by higher inflation, unforeseen bottlenecks in transport and supply chain, but also the development of remote working; as well as reputational and disinformation threats. The Panel also addressed the importance of the UN system in guiding and managing issues related to the climate change crisis and sustainable development agenda. Moreover, digital transformation and cybersecurity are also prevailing concerns. Hence, the Secretary-General and the Panel are committed to establishing intensive communication and relations to improve transparency, good governance, and accountability in the UN ecosystem.
The Panel elected Pierre Moscovici, President of the French Supreme Audit Institutions, as its Chair for 2024 and decided that the next session of the Panel would take place in Paris on 9-10 December 2024.
More details on the Panel’s working are available at its website: www.un.org/en/auditors/panel/.