At the operational level, the Office of Audit and Performance Review has already started adopting a preliminary risk based audit planning methodology with the purpose of improving the country office audit coverage (para.

The Board is planning to widen its audit coverage at the State Oil Marketing organization.

Also, the Office of Audit and Performance Review has been reviewing its audit planning methodology with a view to adopting a more formal risk based approach.

Finally, the Group agreed with the Advisory Committee that the oversight bodies' coordination and collaboration in the planning of audit activities was positive and would promote optimal use of audit resources, complementarity of efforts and wider coverage of audit areas.

To enable the Board to carry out its mandate through the integration of audit planning, execution and reporting and to enhance the development of common audit standards and professional practices, an Audit Operations Committee was established comprising three full time Directors of External Audit, located at Headquarters, representing each member of the Board.

If not resolved, this issue will create a major impediment to the proper planning and execution of audit assignments, particularly for field audits.

My team conducted a strategic planning visit during November 2004 aimed at developing the audit strategy for the biennium, and performed the detailed planning in order to update their knowledge of the organisation's business and related systems.

Other key initiatives included strengthening the roles of the MROC (paragraphs 212 and 229) the planned training of managers in corporate risk management building risk management principles into the programme management system audit planning and outcome reporting the implementation of an audit report tracking system to better monitor compliance with audit recommendations and reasons for delay, if any (paragraph 246) and the progressive rollout of audit exception reports (paragraph 193).

As part of ongoing efforts to strengthen internal governance and control mechanisms, a planning and budget advisory committee, an audit committee and an information and communications technology (ICT) steering committee were established.

Audit opinion

Audit process

Audit opinion

External audit

Internal audit

Audit costs

Audit Division

Internal audit is conducted by a dedicated UNHCR Audit Service, which forms part of Internal Audit Division II that is headquartered at Geneva.

The UNHCR Audit Service, in close cooperation with the UNHCR Audit Coordinator in the Controller's Office, vigorously follows up on outstanding audit recommendations.

We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for the audit opinion.

The Audit Services Branch will update the checklist for the 2005 audit exercise.

Internal audit ratings

So we audit.

Audit the Fed?

Internal audit function

Scope of audit

OIOS Audit Service

UNHCR Audit Service

At the present time, audit assignments are shared among the audit staff provided from the audit services of the members of the Board on an equal basis.

The Office of Audit and Performance Review has incorporated procedures in its country office audit guide to ensure that audit clauses are included in all project agreements.

One D 1 post would be redeployed from Internal Audit in New York to Internal Audit in Geneva to strengthen audit operations handled from the Geneva office.

The working group fully supported the resources requested for external audit ( 479,900) and internal audit ( 1,240,700).

The call for the 2004 audit of nationally executed projects emphasized the requirements for the audit.

Annual report and audit

Audit recommendation tracking dashboard

Independent Audit Advisory Committee

(c) Audit and Inspection

Subprogramme 1 Internal audit

OIOS, UNHCR Audit Service

The regularity audit will be taken forward through a pre final audit in the last quarter of 2005 and a final audit after the closure of the financial period.

These include the implementation of a web based audit recommendation tracking dashboard (http audit dashboard.undp.org) to manage corporate audit issues, and the establishment of a quality assurance function within the Bureau of Management (BOM) to analyze systemic issues arising from audit observations.

To ensure an effective internal audit mechanism, the Coordination Council has adopted a Charter for Internal Audit.

OIOS Audit of UNHCR Procurement (Audit report 03 03) of 6 February 2003, paragraphs 25 and 26.

The audits of Treasury and the relevant specialist areas have been included in the 2005 audit plan of the Internal Audit Section of the Office of Audit and Performance Reviews.

(d) Enhancement of the external audit functions of the Fund and expansion of the Fund's internal audit coverage

UNICEF is reviewing alternative audit options with the objective of allocating audit resources to strategically important business units.