Seventy-eighth session
Proposed programme budget for 2024
Internal oversight: proposed programme budget for 2024
Report of the Independent Audit Advisory Committee
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Summary |
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The present report reflects the comments, advice and recommendations of the Independent Audit Advisory Committee on the proposed programme budget for 2024 of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS). The Committee continues to be mindful that, in his reform initiative, the Secretary-General called for, inter alia, strengthened accountability. The Committee is also aware that an effective oversight regime can foster a strengthened accountability mechanism. To achieve this, the Committee expects that OIOS will continue to review its business model so that it is adaptive to the transforming environment, including with regard to measuring its performance and being responsive to the impact of emerging risks. |
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I. Introduction
1. The Independent Audit Advisory Committee has undertaken a review of the proposed programme budget for 2024 of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) in accordance with paragraphs 2 (c) and (d) of its terms of reference (see General Assembly resolution , annex). The Committee’s responsibility in this respect is to review the budget proposal of OIOS, taking into account its workplan, and to make recommendations to the General Assembly through the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions. The present report contains the Committee’s comments, advice and recommendations relating to the proposed programme budget for 2024 of OIOS for consideration by the Advisory Committee and the Assembly.
2. The Programme Planning and Budget Division shared the internal oversight section of the proposed programme budget for 2024 () with the Independent Audit Advisory Committee. The Committee also received supplementary information from OIOS. The Committee appreciates the Division’s promptness and OIOS cooperation in providing the necessary information.
II. Review of the proposed programme budget for 2024 of the Office of Internal Oversight Services
3. The projected resources for OIOS for the 2024 from the programme budget (before recosting), combined with other assessed and extrabudgetary resources, amount to $68,401,200, compared with $69,670,600 for 2023, which is a decrease of $1,269,400, or 1.8 per cent. The decrease was in other assessed budget resources, whereas the extrabudgetary resources showed a slight increase of $218,100 or 1.6 per cent. The post resources remained constant at 297 posts (see table 1).
Table 1
Overall financial and post resources for the Office of Internal Oversight Services, by source of funding (before recosting)
(Thousands of United States dollars)
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Financial resources |
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Post resources |
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Variance |
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Variance |
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2023 estimate |
2024 estimate |
Amount |
Percentage |
2023 estimate |
2024 estimate |
Number of posts |
Percentage |
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A. Regular budget |
22 134.6 |
22 134.6 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
116 |
116 |
– |
0.0 |
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B. Other assessed |
33 790.2 |
32 302.7 |
(1 487.5) |
(4.4) |
136 |
136 |
– |
0.0 |
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C. Extrabudgetary |
13 745.8 |
13 963.9 |
218.1 |
1.6 |
45 |
45 |
– |
0.0 |
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Total |
69 670.6 |
68 401.2 |
(1 269.4) |
(1.8) |
297 |
297 |
– |
0.0 |
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Note: Budget figures were based on section 30, Internal oversight, of the proposed programme budget for 2024 () and the relevant supplementary information.
4. Table 2 presents the programme budget proposal for OIOS for 2024 compared with the appropriation for 2023. The proposed programme budget for OIOS for 2024 is estimated at $22,134,600 (before recosting), which is the same level as the 2023 appropriations. The post resources remained constant at 116 posts. The Committee was informed that in order to address OIOS needs without increasing the resources, the Office had made some redeployments including: (a) increase of $23,900 would cover the travel of senior OIOS leadership to conduct further risk-based strategic planning, monitoring and assurance; (b) increase of $63,200 reflects additional requirements for consultancy services to supplement the in-house capacity in the area of cybersecurity, as well as data management and governance; (c) decrease of $33,600 is mainly attributable to reduced requirements under contractual services and the redeployment of resources to programme support; and (d) decrease of $26,500 reflects mainly the redeployment of resources to the Internal Audit Division and the reduced requirements for desktop and hosting services under general operating expenses.
Table 2
Regular budget financial and post resource by programme (before recosting)
(Thousands of United States dollars)
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Financial resources |
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Post resources |
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2023 appropriation |
2024 estimate |
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Variance |
2023 appropriation |
2024 estimate |
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Variance |
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Regular budget |
Amount |
Percentage |
Number of posts |
Percentage |
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A. Executive direction and management |
1 515.9 |
1 539.8 |
23.9 |
1.6 |
8 |
8 |
– |
0.0 |
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B. Programme of work |
19 186.5 |
19 189.1 |
2.6 |
0.0 |
101 |
101 |
– |
0.0 |
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Subprogramme 1. Internal audit |
8 734.3 |
8 797.5 |
63.2 |
0.7 |
44 |
44 |
– |
0.0 |
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Subprogramme 2. Inspection and evaluation |
4 406.6 |
4 373.0 |
(33.6) |
(0.8) |
24 |
24 |
– |
0.0 |
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Subprogramme 3. Investigations |
6 045.6 |
6 018.6 |
(27.0) |
(0.4) |
33 |
33 |
– |
0.0 |
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C. Programme support |
1 432.2 |
1 405.7 |
(26.5) |
(1.9) |
7 |
7 |
– |
0.0 |
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Total |
22 134.6 |
22 134.6 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
116 |
116 |
– |
0.0 |
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Note: Budget figures were based on section 30, Internal oversight, of the proposed programme budget for 2024 (), and the relevant supplementary information.
5. OIOS informed the Committee that the main priorities for the 2024 budget included the review of the following: (a) implementation of the reforms of the management, peace and security, and development pillars; (b) strengthening of organizational culture; (c) procurement and supply chain management, including management of fraud and corruption risks; (d) management of mission drawdown; and (e) strengthening of the whistle-blower protection system.
6. The Committee recalled that for 2022, OIOS included the following priorities: (a) implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals; (b) response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and lessons learned on United Nations System coherence and business continuity; (c) implementation of the Secretary-General’s reforms of the management, peace and security, and development pillars; (d) strengthening of organizational culture on the basis of respect, equality and results; and (e) strengthening of the whistle-blower protection system.
7. The Committee was also informed that OIOS would also continue to cover the programmes and strategies of the Organization, including cross-cutting areas such as the provision of support to Member States on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and the implementation of the Secretary-General’s strategies on gender equality, racial equality, environmental sustainability and data.
8. The Committee was informed that, in order to achieve those priorities and objectives, OIOS planned to focus on ensuring that staff are equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to deliver expected results, such as: (a) strengthening of the use of enterprise risk management in planning internal audit and evaluation and inspection activities; (b) enhanced guidance on conducting performance audits of the delegation of authority system, the management of disability considerations and environmental sustainability in programmes, and the management of fraud risks; (c) enhanced guidance for thematic and outcome evaluations of programmes (including for peacekeeping components) and for incorporating the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) response and lessons learned into evaluation designs; and (d) guidance on using data analytics to improve investigation planning and therefore the timeliness of investigations.
9. The Committee notes the initiatives of OIOS and looks forward to (a) the assessment and conclusions of OIOS regarding the achievement of those priorities; (b) a continued understanding of how OIOS priorities link together from year-to-year and with the risk-based methodology; and (c) the contribution of OIOS to the achievement of the Secretary-General’s objectives.
A. Executive direction and management
10. As indicated in table 2, while the post resources for executive direction and management for 2024 are expected to remain at the same level as that approved in 2023, the financial resources are expected to increase by 1.6 per cent ($23,900) amounting to a total of $1,539,800. As noted in paragraph 4, the increased resources are aimed at enabling senior OIOS leadership to continue to conduct travel to facilitate risk-based strategic planning, monitoring and assurance.
B. Programme of work
Subprogramme 1
Internal audit
11. The Committee was informed that for 2024, the Internal Audit Division has set five initiatives to contribute to the objectives of OIOS, namely: (a) conduct internal audit activities to recommend improvements to key controls and processes; (b) support the efforts by the Department of Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance to strengthen the Secretariat’s accountability system; (c) focus on data governance and data security; (d) strengthen the annual work planning processes; and (e) implement the recommendations arising from the upcoming external quality assessment of the internal audit function.
12. In order to achieve those objectives, the proposed programme budget for 2024 for subprogramme 1, Internal audit, is expected to increase marginally from $8,734,300 approved for 2023 to $8,797,500 in 2024, while the post resource levels will remain at 44 posts (see table 2). As noted in paragraph 4, the nominal increase of $63,200 was attributed to the proposed redeployment (from the Inspection and Evaluation Division and the Investigation Division) of the resources for consultancy services.
Risk-based work planning process
13. The Committee continued to hold discussions with OIOS on the risk-based work planning process and to ascertain how the Internal Audit Division takes organizational risk into account in determining the level of resources required to deliver the programme of work. The Committee continues to advocate that using risk assessments to prioritize and allocate audit resources is a best practice, and this is a position the Committee has supported in its previous reports on the budget for OIOS. In this regard, OIOS informed the Committee that as part of the risk-based planning exercise for 2024, the Division had recently revalidated its assurance strategy through Secretariat and entity-level risk assessments and analysis. According to OIOS, the assurance strategy continues to be based on a five-year horizon: covering medium risks every five years and high risks every three years.
14. In its previous reports, the Committee recommended that OIOS ensure that its risk-based work planning takes into account the Organization’s enterprise risk management framework. OIOS informed the Committee that it uses the risk definitions contained in the Secretariat’s enterprise risk management framework and in those of other system entities to identify and record the key risks to be addressed by each assignment proposed for inclusion in the forward workplan (noting that one assignment may be scoped to address multiple risks).
15. OIOS further indicated that as part of the refinements to the methodology for preparing its risk-based workplans, and in the light of the Secretariat’s enterprise risk management framework, the following focus areas will be the basis for the Division’s 2024 workplan (see figure I). As shown in figure I, 72.2 per cent of the Division’s work will be in four focus areas, namely: (a) programme and project implementation (48.6 per cent); (b) property and facilities management (9.7 per cent); (c) information technology and data management (6.9 per cent); and (d) human resources management (6.9 per cent).
Figure I
Assignments of the Internal Audit Division in 2024, by focus area
16. The Committee notes the commitment by OIOS to align its workplan with the Secretariat-wide enterprise risk management process. The Committee supports these actions and will review this matter at its future sessions.
17. OIOS further informed the Committee that the Internal Audit Division plans to undertake 72 assignments, which is an increase from the 63 assignments that were planned for 2023 and close to the 75 assignments for 2022 as reported in paragraph 19 of .
18. The Committee notes the trend in the number of assignments undertaken and/or completed each year and plans to further engage with OIOS about the relationship between the resource gap and the level of assurance provided to stakeholders.
Capacity gap analysis of the Internal Audit Division
19. Within the context of its methodology for work planning, OIOS informed the Committee that capacity gap analysis of the Internal Audit Division had examined the resources required to conduct the assignments included within the strategy for the current workplan year (2023), together with the resources available (approved posts) less the budgeted vacancy rates (currently assumed at an average of 10 per cent), as well as actual anticipated vacancies above the budgeted vacancy rate. According to OIOS, the capacity gap in the Division represents the resources needed to cover those risks that cannot be covered within the current resource levels. For the activities funded under the programme budget (including information and communications technology assurance risks), OIOS noted that a small overall gap exists. According to OIOS, this will continue to be managed through: (a) current efforts to fill vacant posts to budgeted vacancy levels; (b) rescoping of assignments, if necessary; and (c) identifying opportunities to work with other audit teams in the Internal Audit Division to mainstream the coverage of information and communications technology risks into other assignments as part of the workplan.
20. The Committee acknowledges the efforts of OIOS to address the capacity gap of the Internal Audit Division in a practical manner. The Committee also takes note of the fact that the Division’s external quality assessment is still ongoing. Accordingly, without prejudice to the outcome of that assessment, the Committee endorses the programme budget proposal for the Internal Audit Division as presented.
Subprogramme 2
Inspection and evaluation
21. As shown in table 2, the proposed programme budget for subprogramme 2, Inspection and evaluation, amounts to $4,373,000, representing a marginal decrease of 0.8 per cent compared to the 2023 appropriation, which stood at $4,406,600. The post resources remained the same as in 2023, at 24 posts. As noted in paragraph 4, the decrease in the proposed budget is due to reduced requirements under contractual services and the redeployment of resources to programme support.
Risk assessment and the work planning process
22. As noted in its previous reports, evaluation by the Inspection and Evaluation Division is at the subprogramme level as opposed to the programme level. At the subprogramme level, the number of evaluable entities is much higher than at the programme level. Excluding the three Development Coordination Office subprogrammes for which funding for evaluations is provided by that Office, and all the management and support subprogrammes which are subject to performance audit by the Internal Audit Division, the Committee was informed that the Inspection and Evaluation Division had identified a universe of 162 evaluable subprogrammes.
23. OIOS further noted that the risk assessment in 2024 will continue to focus on the subprogramme outcome level and was based on five key risk criteria, namely: resources, entity evaluation, oversight coverage, OIOS risk assessment and strategic relevance. The last two qualitative criteria allowed OIOS to identify which subprogrammes present a more immediate or higher risk, requiring evaluation in the next two cycles.
Capacity gap analysis of the Inspection and Evaluation Division
24. As was the case in previous years, the Committee was informed that the initial capacity assessment and gap analysis by the Inspection and Evaluation Division had identified 162 subprogrammes. OIOS further noted that in order to meet its goal of evaluating every subprogramme once in an eight-year period, the Division would have to evaluate 20 subprogrammes per year. Assuming 1.33 evaluations per team of two evaluators per year, this would require 30 staff members. According to OIOS, however, the Division had 17 staff available to conduct evaluations. After applying an average vacancy rate of 10 per cent, and excluding the Director (D-2) and General Service staff, this would leave a gross annual capacity gap of 15 staff.
25. To partially address the gap, OIOS informed the Committee that it planned to take the following mitigating measures: (a) continue to group common subprogrammes into similar thematic clusters; (b) focus on 93 subprogrammes assessed as either very high or high risk on an eight-year cycle; and, (c) continue to strengthen entity evaluation capacity within the Secretariat through training, support, guidance and tools for the conduct of high-quality evaluations by entities. As a result of these measures and strategies, OIOS indicated that the anticipated gap for 2024 would be five staff.
26. The Committee enquired from OIOS what the impact of the capacity gap would be on the work of the Division and on the Division’s ability to cover very high or high-risk subprogrammes within an eight-year cycle. OIOS stated that, without the five staff, the Division would only be able to, at best, complete 10 subprogramme outcome evaluations each year, which is two short of the 12 required to meet the eight-year cycle coverage of very high and high-risk subprogrammes. Moreover, in the previous report (), OIOS had indicated that it intended to keep various initiatives in mind in determining whether to include requests for additional resources to address any identified future capacity gaps as part of the development of future OIOS resources proposals under the regular budget and support account.
27. The Committee notes the effort of OIOS to mitigate the capacity gap. The Committee, nevertheless, continues to be concerned that in spite of those measures, a gap remains, which could affect the ability of the Inspection and Evaluation Division to address all the areas in a timely manner. Since this gap assumes a 10 per cent vacancy rate, the Committee reiterates its prior recommendation that OIOS strengthens its efforts to address vacancies and ensure adequate prioritization to focus on evaluating the high-risk subprogrammes within the eight-year evaluation cycle.
28. The Committee supports the 2024 resource request submitted for the Inspection and Evaluation Division, with the understanding that the Division should continue to refine its capacity gap analysis and consider the need for additional resources in future budget requests if so warranted, especially following the completion of the external quality assessment of the Division.
Subprogramme 3
Investigations
29. The proposed programme budget for 2024 for subprogramme 3, Investigations, amounts to $6,018,600, representing a marginal reduction of 0.4 per cent compared with the approved resources for 2023. The post resources also remained the same, at 33 (see table 2).
30. The Committee was informed that the Investigations Division continued to address the issues identified in the Committee’s prior reports, especially the recruitment and retention of staff in the Division. The Committee was informed that, as at 31 March 2023, the regular budget vacancy rate stood at 25 per cent, up from the 18.4 per cent reported at the same time last year.
31. Although not as high as the 33 per cent reported in the Committee’s report (), it is still higher than last year and continues to present a significant risk. The Committee acknowledges the efforts that OIOS has made in addressing the vacancy situation. The Committee is still concerned, however, that no lasting solution has been found to address this endemic challenge. The Committee reiterates its prior recommendation that the Office explore alternative methods aimed at improving the recruitment and retention initiatives for the Division so as to keep the vacancy levels low.
Trend analysis and workplan process of the Investigations Division
32. During its deliberations, the Committee was provided with relevant trend analyses of the activities of the Investigations Division. According to OIOS, those analyses had formed the basis for the workplan for 2024. Specifically, the Committee looked at the intake levels for the investigation matters that came to the Division and was informed that for 2023, OIOS projected a record number of cases predicated for investigation. It is projected that by the end of 2023, the Division will have received 1,748 matters, which is significantly higher than the 1,369 matters received in 2022 (see figure II).
Figure II
Trend analysis of cases received by the Investigations Division
33. With respect to sexual harassment complaints, the Committee was informed that the projected 72 cases have remained around the 2021 levels compared with a high of 98 cases reported in 2019. On the other hand, the number of cases of sexual exploitation and abuse in 2021 and 2022 were unchanged, with 166 cases in each of those years. Furthermore, according to OIOS, the projected number of cases of sexual exploitation and abuse for 2023 is expected to hit a record high of 196 cases, representing an 18 per cent increase compared with 2022 (see figure III).
34. The Committee was informed that the increase in the number of cases of sexual exploitation and abuse may be ascribed to a number of factors, including internal awareness-raising through the recent roll-out of an updated mandatory training on the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse and the continuation of the Leadership Dialogue initiative led by the Ethics Office. A number of the cases of sexual exploitation and abuse reported thus far in 2023 relate to incidents that had occurred several years ago. That development may be attributable to enhanced outreach to local communities resulting in the reporting of older cases of sexual exploitation and abuse.
Figure III
Sexual exploitation and abuse and sexual harassment complaints
Capacity gap analysis of the Investigations Division
35. In determining the capacity gap of the Investigations Division for 2024, OIOS informed the Committee of the planning assumptions used, including: (a) a 10 per cent vacancy rate; and (b) each investigator handling an average of five open investigations and completing six investigations per year.
36. According to OIOS, the Division’s capacity gap analysis showed that: (a) the continued increase in the intake of cases and in investigations since 2017 has not been accompanied by a commensurate increase in resourcing; (b) the Division has a gap of 13 active investigator posts at the P-3 and P-4 levels (six in the regular and the support account budgets, and 7 extrabudgetary posts); and (c) most of the additional resources are needed in the Africa region.
37. The Committee enquired from OIOS what the impact of the capacity gap would be on the work of the Division. OIOS responded that without additional resources, fulfilling the mandate of OIOS in a timely and professional manner would be negatively affected. If the growing gap between current resources and increased caseload is not seriously addressed through additional investigator posts, incoming cases and investigations will need to be prioritized, with less critical matters being put on a waiting list to be dealt with once resources become available. Such an approach could jeopardize accountability, owing to evidence not being obtained and preserved in a timely manner and losing contact with witnesses. It could also negatively affect the credibility of the oversight function as a whole and discourage reporting, if the system is perceived as being inefficient. OIOS further noted that with more investigator posts, it would be possible to assign incoming matters to a greater number of investigators, thus ensuring more timely handling of investigations. On the basis of the recommendations contained in the report of the external quality assessment of the investigation function, OIOS is examining the need for additional resources for inclusion in future budget proposals
38. To address the issue of resources not keeping pace with the increase in caseloads, the Committee, in paragraph 69 of its report () recommended that OIOS review the resource needs of the Investigations Division vis-à-vis the needs of its stakeholders with a view to developing a plan to further reduce the average time of completing investigations and managing the referrals. The Committee is concerned that in the budget for 2024, OIOS has not acted on that recommendation. The Committee reiterates its prior recommendation and looks forward to reviewing the Division’s analysis of its resource needs, which should then be used as a key input for developing future budgets that provide a realistic picture of its resource needs. This is all the more critical since the external quality assessment has been finalized.
39. In view of the above, the high vacancy rate notwithstanding, the Committee considers that the current resource level is not sufficient to cover the risks of the Division, such as the lengthy time needed to complete investigations and the high burden of cases referred back to management.
C. Programme support
40. The proposed resources for programme support for 2024 are expected to decline marginally, from $1,432,200 to $1,405,700, and the post resources remain unchanged.
III. Conclusion
41. The members of the Independent Audit Advisory Committee respectfully submit the present report, containing the Committee’s comments and recommendations, for consideration by the General Assembly.
(Signed) Imran Vanker
Chair, Independent Audit Advisory Committee
(Signed) Janet St. Laurent
Vice-Chair, Independent Audit Advisory Committee
(Signed) Dorothy A. Bradley
Member, Independent Audit Advisory Committee
(Signed) Anton V. Kosyanenko
Member, Independent Audit Advisory Committee
(Signed) Suresh Sharma
Member, Independent Audit Advisory Committee