Independent Audit Advisory Committee Holds Sixty-Sixth Session, 6-8 May

The Independent Audit Advisory Committee of the United Nations (IAAC) held its sixty-sixth session from 6 to 8 May 2024, at the United Nations Office in Santiago at the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).  The session was presided over by the Chair, Imran Vanker.  All the other members of the Committee — namely, Anton Kosyanenko (Vice-Chair), Dorothy Bradely, Suresh Sharma and Jeanette Franzel — were in attendance.

The IAAC’s deliberations included the finalization of the Committee’s report on the budget of the Office of the Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) for the fiscal year 2025.

In addition, the IAAC held meetings with:

1. José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, Executive Secretary for the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean and the Senior Management of ECLAC, on:  (i) the effectiveness of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) (Internal Audit Division, Inspection and Evaluation Division, and Investigation Division) in assisting with the oversight responsibilities of ECLAC; (ii) implementation of recommendation of other oversight bodies such as the Board of Auditors and Joint Inspection Unit; (iii) the implementation of enterprise risk management and the internal control systems at ECLAC, and how this work has been guided by the overall enterprise risk management and internal framework of the organization; (iv) the status and impact of the Secretary-General’s reform initiatives (including delegation of authority), the statement on internal control and the Secretary-General’s data strategy on the work of ECLAC; (v) the Accountability Framework as it relates to fraud and the anti-corruption framework; and (vi) the risk and challenges on the delivery of the 2030 Agenda including how ESCWA is collecting and using data to improve the contribution of the sustainable development goals;

2. Maria Jose Torres Macho, Resident Coordinator of Chile, on:  (i) the risk and challenges on the delivery on the 2030 agenda including how UN Resident Coordinator’s Office is collecting and using data to improve the contribution of the sustainable development goals; and (ii) the status and impact of the reform initiatives including delegation of authority;

3. Fatoumata Ndiaye, Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services, and with senior managers regarding a wide range of matters, including:  (i) updates on the status of the External Quality Assessments (ii) the budget proposal under the regular budget for 2025, including the capacity gap analysis for the Internal Audit Division, Inspection and Evaluation Division, and the Investigation Division; (iii) the Status of the regular budget workplans implementation for the period 2023 and 2024 for the Internal Audit Division, Inspection and Evaluation Division, and the Investigation Division; and (iv) status of the implementation of the recommendations of OIOS by Management;

4. Chandramouli Ramanathan, Assistant Secretary-General, Controller, on:  (i) the OIOS regular budget submission; (ii) the main findings of the Board of Auditors report on peacekeeping operations (Vol. II); and (iii) the major decisions of the General Assembly during the first resumed part of the seventy-eighth session;

5. The Audit Operations Committee of the Board of Auditors on the main findings of the Board of Auditors report on peacekeeping operations (Vol. II);

6. In the spirit of cooperation, the Committee also paid a courtesy visit to Dorothy Pérez Gutiérrez, Acting Comptroller-General of the Republic of Chile (the outgoing member of the Board of Auditors).

The IAAC appreciates the efforts of ECLAC in hosting its meeting.  The next (sixty-seventh) session of the IAAC is scheduled for 17-19 July 2024 in New York.

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, Moses Bamuwamye, at e-mail:  bamuwamye@un.org; tel.:  +1 212 963 0788.