United Nations Board of Auditors

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• Mandate, Appointments and Tenure
  • Mandate
  • Tenure of Office
  • Current Membership
  • Procedures for Appointment
  • Independence
  • UN Organizations Audited
  • Allocation of Assignments
• Modus Operandi of the Board
  • Standards of Auditing
  • Financial and Compliance Auditing
  • Performance Auditing
  • Rules of Procedure
  • Coordination with Other Oversight Bodies
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• General Matters
  • Secretariat of the Board
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Mandate, Appointments and Tenure

Mandate

By Resolution 74 (I) of 7 December 1946, the General Assembly established the United Nations Board of Auditors to audit of the accounts of the United Nations organization and its funds and programmes and to report its findings and recommendations to the Assembly through the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions. For this, the General Assembly appoints three members, each of whom must be the Auditor-General (or officer holding the equivalent title) of a Member State. The members of the Board have joint responsibility for the audits.

Tenure of Office

By Resolution 55/248 of 12 April 2001, the General Assembly approved a change in the term of office of members of the Board to a non-consecutive term of six years' duration commencing 1 July 2002. Previously, members were appointed for a three year term which was renewable. Appointments are staggered in such a way that the term of office of one of the members expires every two years. The General­ Assembly therefore appoints a new Board member every two years.

If a member of the Board ceases to hold office as Auditor-General (or equivalent title) in her/his country, the tenure of office is terminated and the person who succeeds her/him as Auditors-General becomes the new Board member. A Board member may not otherwise be removed during her/his tenure except by the General Assembly.

The members of the Board are expected to be available for approximately two weeks each year for meetings of the Board and Panel of External Auditors of the United Nations, the Specialized Agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency. In addition, each member has to be available for whatever consultations are necessary throughout the year with the United Nations Administration, the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions and other governing bodies.

In addition to a full-time Director stationed in New York, each member provides audit staff from his/her national audit office to conduct audits at various United Nations locations. For the purpose of making a local or special examination or of effecting economies in the audit cost, the Board may engage the services of any national Auditor-General (or officer holding the equivalent title) or commercial public auditors of known repute or any other person or firm which, in the opinion of the Board, is technically qualified.

TopCurrent Membership

The present members of the Board of Auditors are as follows:

• Mr. Philippe Séguin, First President of the Court of Accounts of France - term expires 30 June 2010;
• Mr. Guillermo N. Carague, Chairman of the Philippine Commission on Audit - term expires 30 June 2008; and
• Mr. Terence Nombembe, Auditor-General of the Republic of South Africa - term expires 30 June 2012.

The chairmanship of the Board is rotated every two years, and is currently held by Mr. Philippe Séguin for the period 2007-2008.

TopProcedures for Appointment

The General Assembly appoints a new Board member every two years at its regular session. At least six months before this regular session, the General Assembly issues an announcement of the impending vacancy of a Board member effective 1 July of the following year.

Member States wishing to put forth the candidacy of their Auditors-General (or officers holding the equivalent title) would do so to the Fifth Committee of the General Assembly. The Fifth Committee in turn will submit to the General Assembly a draft decision containing the name of the Member State whose Auditor-General (or officer holding equivalent title) has been recommended for appointment.

TopIndependence

The Board of Auditors is completely independent and is solely responsible for the conduct of the audit. The Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions may, however, request the Board to perform certain specific examinations and issue separate reports on the results.

The Board is the sole judge as to the acceptance in whole or in part of certifications and representations by the Secretary-General and may proceed to such detailed examination and verification as it chooses of all financial records, including those relating to supplies and equipment. The Board and its staff also have free access at all convenient times to all books, records, and other documentation which are, in the opinion of the Board, necessary for the performance of the audit.

Information, which is classified as privileged and which the Secretary-General (or his designated senior official) agrees is required by the Board for the purposes of the audit, and information classified as confidential, is made available on application.

TopUnited Nations Organizations Audited

The Board of Auditors is responsible for the external audit of the following United Nations organisations:

Organization	As of 01/07/07 allocated to
United Nations Headquarters	France
United Nations Peace Operations	Philippines
International Trade Centre (ITC)	France
United Nations University (UNU)	Philippines
Capital Master Plan (CMP)	France
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)	South Africa
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)	Philippines
United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)	South Africa
United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)	Philippines
Voluntary Funds administered by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)	France
Fund of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)	France
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)	South Africa
United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT)	France
United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP)	France
United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS)	South Africa
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda	Philippines
International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia	Philippines
United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF)	South Africa
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)	Philippines
United Nations Fund for International Partnerships (UNFIP)	South Africa
United Nations Escrow (Iraq) Account	Philippines
United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)	Philippines
United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC)	France

TopAllocation of Assignments

The Board allocates and rotates the audit work among its members, subject to the concurrence of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ). Audit assignments are shared among members of the Board on an equitable basis. In the allocation of assignments, the following factors are taken into account:

• An equitable distribution of responsibility for preparation of the free-standing reports to the General Assembly;
• The need to assign related audits to a single member so that the benefits of familiarity and expertise can be maximized;
• Geographical and logistical factors; and
• The balance between giving members enough time to become familiar with an organization and thus making an effective contribution, and the need to rotate assignments periodically.