Audit

The audit of UN Women activities is carried out by UN Women’s external and internal auditors:

• External audit: fulfilled by the United Nations Board of Auditors (BoA); and
• Internal audit: assigned to the Internal Audit Service (IAS) of the Independent Evaluation and Audit Services, effective 1 January 2018. Prior to 2018, the Office of Audit and Investigations (OAI) of UNDP had been designated as the service provider of internal audit services to UN Women.

External audit

The United Nations Board of Auditors (BoA) was established by the UN General Assembly in 1946 to carry out the external audit of the accounts of the United Nations organization and its funds and programmes. The Board’s report on the UN Women financial statements is a public document; it is presented to the General Assembly through the Fifth Committee, after review and advice by the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ). The UN Board of Auditors’ report on UN Women financial statements is also presented to the UN Women Executive Board.

Internal audit

As defined by the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA): “Internal auditing is an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity designed to add value and improve an organization’s operations. It helps an organization accomplish its objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control, and governance processes.”

The Internal Audit Service (IAS) of the Independent Evaluation and Audit Services is responsible for carrying out internal audits of UN Women and reports on them to the Executive Director. IAS also submits to the UN Women Advisory Committee on Oversight (ACO), for review and advice, its strategy, workplans, resource requirements, and periodic progress reports. In addition, every year, IAS prepares a report on internal audit activities, which summarizes significant observations from audits undertaken during the year. This report is presented to the UN Women Executive Board at its annual session in June. (For more information, see “Disclosure of Internal Audit Reports”.)

Charter of the Internal Audit Service

The Charter of the Internal Audit Service sets out the purpose, authority, policies, and procedures that shall be applied in the operations of the Independent Evaluation and Audit Service (IEAS) of UN Women.

Advisory Committee on Oversight

A five-member Advisory Committee on Oversight (ACO) was established to advise the Executive Director on fulfilling her responsibilities regarding oversight, financial management and reporting, internal audit and investigation, external audit, risk management, and systems of internal control and accountability. (See the ACO Terms of Reference.)