UN Board of Auditors and UN Panel of External Auditors

The Panel of External Auditors of the UN, the Specialised Agencies and the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was established by the UN General Assembly Resolution 1438
(XIV) of 5.12.1999.
It is made up of
a) the members of the UN Board of Auditors.
b) the external auditors of the Specialised Agencies of the UN and of the IAEA.
The main objectives of the Panel are to further the coordination of the audits for which its
members are responsible, and to exchange information on audit methods and findings .
The Panel may submit the executive heads of the Organisation audited any observations or
recommendations it may wish to make in relation to the accounts of financial procedures of the
organisation concerned. The executive heads of the participating organisations may also, through
their auditors submit requests to the Panel for its opinion or recommendations on any matter within
its competence.
At present the panel consists of the following
1. CAG of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Chairman of the Panel)
2. President of the German Federal Court of Auditors (Vice- Chairman)
3. Comptroller and Auditor General of United Republic of Tanzania
4. CAG of India
5. Director, Philippine Commission of Audit
6. President, corte dei conti.
7. Ghana Audit Service
8. The Audit Board of the Republic of Indonesia
9. Auditor General of Canada.
10. Director, Swiss Federal Office.
Board of Auditors:
The UN General Assembly established Board of Auditors in 1946 as an important
mechanism to promote Accountability and Transparency in the UN. The Board performs external
audit of the accounts of the UN and its funds and programmes and reports its findings and
recommendations to the General Assembly through the Advisory Committee on Administrative
and Budgetary Questions. The members of the Board have collective Responsibility for the
audits.Currently the heads of the SAIs of India, Tanzania and Germany are the members of the
Board.
What is the technical Group:
The Panel of External Auditors established its Technical Group at its 26th session in 1984.
The group comprises the directors of External audit, or equivalent, and the Executive Secretary of
Panel. Much of the Panel's work is undertaken by the Technical Group which is mandated to
research and review specific topics of interest to the panel. The Technical Group reports to the
Panel at its regular meeting on the topics reviewed with its recommendations.
The CAG of India is in the current Panel of External Auditors and entrusted to conduct the
audit of the following:
1. UN Secretariat
2. UNICEF
3. UN Escrow (prog) Account
4. UN Joint Staff Pension Fund
5. Strategic Heritage Plan
6. UN Compensation Commission
7. International Trade Centre-Capital Master plan
8. UN office for Project Services
9. Information Communication Technology
10. UMOJA.
Date Term of office ends on 30.6.2020
Achievement of Panel of UN External Auditors over the years:
a) Was instrumental in assisting in the development of the "UNITED NATIONS Accounting
Standards" (UNSAS) and new formats of the financial statements;
b) made possible on changes in the content and presentation of the results, of actuarial
valuations of the Pension Fund, and the presentation of the Funds financial statements;
c) Reaffirmed co-operation with the Joint Inspection Unit through meetings, exchange of
long-form audit reports, and providing information on plans of Panel members to carry out
examinations of the economic and efficiency in the UN they audit;
d) provided advice on how oversight functions could be improved;
e) put forward to the Secretary-General proposals to revise the audit opinion and the
additional terms of reference governing external audit to bring them in line with revised standards
set by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). The General Assembly approved of an
amendment to the additional terms of reference governing the audit of the UN;
f) put forward to the General Assembly proposals for strengthening the implementation of
External Auditors recommendations .The General Assembly accepted the proposal;
g) Reaffirmed to the Secretary-General the Panel's position on the 'single audit' principle;
h) agreed to conduct audits in conformity with the International Standards on Auditing
issued by International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board of the IFAC;
i) issued its first report on the lessons -learned from the audit of tsunami-relief activities;
j) Reaffirmed the Panel's role as governance partners and its availability to contribute to the
UN reform initiatives;
 k) provided input in the proposed terms of reference of The Independent Audit Advisory
Committee (IAAC) especially with regard to the preservation of the independence of the external
audit function;
l) advocated that the UN move towards the adoption of internationally recognised
accounting standards as a replacement for the UN Accounting Standards (UNSAS). The
General Assembly has since approved of the adoption of International Public Sector Accounting
Standards (IPSAS);
m) Reiterated its position that Supreme Audit Institutions are better placed to render
external audit services to public funded organisations such as the UN System. Accordingly, the
Panel advocated recognition of this at the highest level, that is, in the UN Charter; and
n) Emphasised that certain conditions attached to donor contributions are inconsistent with
the statutory goals and principles of the United Nations Charter.