Independent Audit Advisory Committee Holds Seventy-Third Session, 18-20 February

The United Nations’ Seventy-third session of the Independent Audit Advisory Committee took place at UN Headquarters in New York from February 18 to 20.Denis Strizheusov, Eric O. Osae, Sylvia P. Mendoza Elguea, Jeanette Franzel, and Suresh R. Sharma, the committee’s chair and vice-chair, were all present.

The Committee’s welcome of its two new members, Ms. Mendoza Elguea and Mr. Strizheusov, who replaced Dorothy Bradley and Anton Kosyanenko when their tenure ended on December 31, 2025, was a major highlight of the meeting.

During the session, the Committee held meetings with representatives from the following offices:

1. The Department of Operational Support, on:  (i) the critical and high risks under the Department and the status of the risk-treatment plans in place to mitigate those risks; (ii) the status of the implementation of the recommendations of the oversight bodies; and (iii) the impact of the UN80 reform initiative (UN80 Initiative) on the operations of the Department and the Organization as a whole.
2. The Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), on:  (i) the status of the implementation of 2025 regular programme; (ii) the highlights of 2027 regular programme budget proposal, including risk coverage, the sensitivity analysis of the impact of changes in vacancy on programme delivery; (iii) the status of the implementation of the programme under the support account for peacekeeping operations for 2026-27, and proposal for the period 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027; and (iv) the impact of changes in peacekeeping operations on programme delivery of OIOS.
3. The Office of Business Transformation and Accountability Division, on:  (i) the status of the enterprise risk management and update on the relocation of the function; and (ii) the follow-up processes related to the recommendations of oversight bodies.
4. The Office of Programme Planning, Finance and Budget, on:  (i) OIOS’ proposed budget for the support account for the period 2026/27; (ii) the preliminary overview of the proposed programme budget for 2027, including the OIOS budget; iii) the critical risks under the Controller’s purview and the mitigating actions; (iv) the financial situation; and (v) the impact of the UN80 initiatives.
5. The Office of Information and Communications Technology (OICT), on: (i) OICT risk register, risk treatment and mitigation plan, OICT governance, OICT roll-out strategy; (ii) matters related to OICT funding; and (iii) the impact of the UN80 Initiative on the work of OICT.

The Committee also met with the Audit Operations Committee of the Board of Auditors on:  (i) the salient issues the Board found in the peacekeeping audit report (document A/80/5 Vol. II); (ii) the status of implementation of the Board’s recommendations; and (iii) other matters including the financial situation in the context of the UN80 Initiative, and the status of the coordination and collaboration with the other oversight bodies.