United Nations: Preliminary Observations on Internal Oversight and Procurement Practices Page: 3 of 18
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data with cognizant officials. We determined the data were sufficiently
reliable for the purposes of this report. To conduct our work on UN
procurement, we reviewed past GAO, UN audit, and expert reports on UN
procurement practices. We also reviewed the UN's procurement manual,
training materials, ethics rules, and financial rules and regulations. In
addition, we interviewed UN and U.S. government officials. We made the
Department of State and UN officials aware of the contents of our
testimony. We performed our work between April 2005 and October 2005
in accordance with U.S. generally accepted government auditing
standards.Summary
OIOS's ability to carry out independent, effective oversight over UN
organizations is hindered by the UN's budgeting processes for its regular
and extrabudgetary resources. In establishing OIOS in 1994, the General
Assembly passed a resolution stating that OIOS should exercise
operational independence in carrying out its oversight responsibilities and
that the Secretary-General should take into account the independence of
the office in preparing its budget. The Secretariat's budget office-over
which OIOS has oversight authority-exercises control over OIOS's
regular budget, which may result in conflicts of interest and infringe on
OIOS's independence. In addition, UN budgeting processes make it
difficult for OIOS to reallocate its regular budget resources among OIOS
locations worldwide or among its three oversight divisions-internal audit;
investigations; and monitoring, evaluation, and consulting services-to
meet changing priorities. OIOS officials provided us with several examples
of work funded through the regular budget that they were unable to
undertake due to resource constraints. In addition, OIOS does not have a
mechanism in place to identify or justify OIOS-wide staffing needs, except
for peacekeeping oversight services. OIOS also lacks control over its
extrabudgetary resources, which comprise 62 percent of its overall budget
in fiscal biennium 2004-2005. The UN funds and programs that OIOS
oversees maintain control over some of these resources since OIOS
negotiates its terms of work and payment for services with the managers
of the programs it intends to examine. If the entity does not agree to an
OIOS examination or does not provide sufficient funding for OIOS to carry
out its work, OIOS cannot adequately perform its oversight
responsibilities.
The United Nations has made progress in improving the clarity of its
procurement manual but has yet to fully address previously identified
concerns affecting the lack of openness and professionalism of its
procurement system. Specifically, concerns remain relating to anGAO-06-226T
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United States. Government Accountability Office. United Nations: Preliminary Observations on Internal Oversight and Procurement Practices, text, October 31, 2005; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc291242/m1/3/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.