The Independent Audit Advisory Committee of the United Nations (IAAC) held its fifty-first session from 22 - 24 July 2020. Due to the ongoing challenges associated with the pandemic, the meetings were held virtually. The session was presided over by the Chair, Janet St. Laurent. All the other members of the Committee, namely: Richard Quartei Quartey (Vice-Chair), Dorothy Bradley, Anton Kosyanenko, and Agus Pramono were in attendance.
The Independent Audit Advisory Committee’s deliberations included the consideration of the Committee’s annual report for period 1 August 2019 to 31 July 2020.
The Committee’s deliberations also included meetings with, inter alia:
1. The Secretary-General, on the activities of the Committee.
2. Jens Wandel, Special Advisor on Reform, regarding the progress in the implementation of the Secretary-General reforms.
3. Fatoumata Ndiaye, Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services and with senior managers regarding a wide range of matters, including: (i) status update on the assessment of culture; (ii) OIOS’ views of the UN’s data strategy; (iii) OIOS’ position on the status of ERM in the Organization, and its impact on OIOS’ workplans; and (iv) the significant finding of IED in its report on policy coherence and the preparedness of the entire Secretariat to implement the Sustainable Development Goals.
4. Chandramouli Ramanathan, Controller on a range of issues including: (i) update on the financial situation of the organization; (ii) the operational implications of any issues and trends apparent in Volume I of the financial statements of the Organization, including trends in fraud reporting and the status update on ASHI; iii) the status on Umoja; and (iv) the status of the Statement of Internal Control.
5. Christophe Monier, Director of the Business Transformation and Accountability Division, on behalf of the Under-Secretary-General for Management Strategy, Policy, and Compliance, regarding : (i) the update on the assessment of organizational culture; (ii) status on the revised Secretariat-wide Risk Register and role of Umoja in ERM; and (iii) the status of the implementation of recommendations of oversight bodies.
The next (fifty-second) session of the IAAC is scheduled for 8-11 December 2020. The venue and/or 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 e-mail: bamuwamye@un.org; tel.: +1 212 963 0788