The United Nations General Assembly in 1959 established the Panel of External Auditors, comprising the individual external auditors of the United Nations system, who are also Heads of Supreme Audit Institutions. Panel Members share experiences and methodologies on an on-going basis so as to ensure as far as possible uniformity of external audit practices throughout the United Nations system.

Panel Members provide independent assurance to Member States and other stakeholders in relation to the proper use of the Organizations’ resources as well as their economic, efficient and effective use. They also play a significant role in assisting the Organizations to improve their operations and their internal control activities. The findings and recommendations of Panel Members are taken seriously, and the status of recommendations is closely monitored to ensure timely and effective implementation. In this way, Panel Members contribute significantly to the fulfilment of the Charter of the United Nations.

CAG of India has been elected as Chair of the Panel for the year 2020. In the past also, CAG has been Panel Chair from December 2011 to December 2013 and was the Vice- Chair in 2019. Website of UN Panel of External Auditors is: http://www.un.org/auditors/panel/

United Nations Board of Auditors

Mandate

By Resolution 74 (I) of 7 December 1946, the General Assembly established the United Nations Board of Auditors to audit the accounts of the United Nations organization and its funds and programmes and to report its findings and recommendations to the Assembly through the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions. For this, the General Assembly appoints three members, each of whom must be the Auditor-General (or officer holding the equivalent title) of a Member State. The members of the Board have joint responsibility for the audits.
Website of UN Board of Auditors is http://www.un.org/en/auditors/board/

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India has been appointed as a Member of the UN Board of Auditors for the term 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2020. CAG has been the Chair of UNBoA during 2017 and 2018.

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and is headquartered in Rome, Italy. FAO’s goal is to achieve food security for all and make sure that people have regular access to enough high quality food to lead active healthy lives.Website of FAO is http://www.fao.org/ The Comptroller and Auditor General of India has been appointed as External Auditor of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for the period 2020-2025 starting from financial period 1st January 2020. We will take over this audit from SAI Philippines in May/June 2020.

World Health Organization (WHO)

The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that is concerned with international public healthand is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The WHO is a member of the United Nations Development Group. Website of WHO is https://www.who.int/ The Comptroller and Auditor General of India has been appointed as External Auditor of World Health Organization (WHO) for the period 2020-2023 starting from financial period 1st January 2020. We will take over this audit from SAI Philippines in May 2020.