United Nations Board of Auditors Holds Seventy-Eighth Regular Session, 23-24 July at New York Headquarters

ORG/1741

24 July 2024

The General Assembly established the United Nations Board of Auditors in 1946 as an important mechanism to promote accountability and transparency in the United Nations. The Board audits the accounts of the United Nations organization and its funds and programmes and reports its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly, through the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, and other governing bodies. The Board has three members, who are jointly responsible for the audit.

The Board held its seventy-eighth regular session in New York on 23 and 24 July. The session was chaired by Hou Kai, Auditor-General of the National Audit Office of China. Together with Mr. Hou, Dorothy Pérez Gutiérrez, Acting Comptroller General of the Republic of Chile, and Pierre Moscovici, First President of the French Cour des comptes, collectively discussed findings and audit opinions.

Effective 1 July, Bruno Dantas, President of the Brazilian Federal Court of Accounts has taken over the Board membership from Dorothy Pérez Gutiérrez, Acting Comptroller General of the Republic of Chile. The handover ceremony took place during the session.

On 24 July after its regular session, the Board had a meeting with the Secretary-General and exchanged important priorities and challenges faced by the United Nations.

Through its work the Board provides independent assurance to Member States and other stakeholders regarding proper use of the resources of the United Nations entities. It reports on financial matters, as well as on regularity and performance issues. It plays a significant role in assisting the United Nations to improve its operations and internal control systems. The findings and recommendations of the Board have led to continuous systematic improvements in the functioning of the United Nations.

This year, the Board audited the financial statements and reviewed the operations of 18 organizations. All the audited entities received an unqualified audit opinion. One entity received an Emphasis of Matter. The key trends and cross-entity issues have been included in the Concise Summary Report, along with specific information regarding notably financial and budget management. The Board further produced two subject specific reports for submission to the General Assembly and produced three more reports for submission to other governing bodies. More detailed information about the Board’s findings can be found in the individual reports published on the Board’s website at www.un.org/en/auditors/board/.

Annex

List of Board reports for review and approval

Reports submitted to the General Assembly

China