Appointment of External Auditors

A/RES/74(I)View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, published in 1947.

What subjects does this mandate have?

5 subjects

Appointment of Members Auditors Establishment Members Terms of Reference

What’s in this document?

85 paragraphs

74 ( 1). Appointment of External Auditors The General Assembly resolves,

(a) That the Auditor-General (or other title) of the UKRAINIAN Sov1ET SocIALIST REPUBLIC and the Auditor General (or othcr title) of SwrnEN and the Auditor-General (or other title) of CAN- ADA be appointcd as externa! Auditors of the accounts o[ the United Nations and of the International Court of Justice, ando[ such specialized agencies as may be designated by the appropriate authority. Should the necessity arise, an Auditor may designa te a representative to sit on the Board in his absence;

(b) That thc tcrm of office of each Auditor shall continue until 30 Junc 1948, 30 June 1949 and 30 Junc 1950 in the order in which they are named above;

(e) That in 1947, ami evcry year thereafter, the General Assembly at its regular session shall appoint an Auditor to take office from I July of the following year and to serve for a period of three years;

(d) That the Auditors in office shall constitutc the Board of Auditors, which shall elect its own Chairman and adopt its own rules of proccdurc;

(e) That the Board, subject to the budgetary provision made by the General Assembly for the cost of audit, and after consultation with the Advisory Committee on Administrative ami Budgetary Questions relative to the scope of the audit, may conduct the audit under the provisions of this resolution in such manner as it thinks fit and may engage commercial public auditors of international repute;

(/) That if any member of the Board ceases to hold the national office described in paragraph (a) of this resolution he shall cease to be a member of the Board, on which he shall be succeeded by his successor in the national office described;

(g) That the Board of Auditors shall submit its report, together with the certified accounts and such other statements as it thinks necessary, to the General Assembly to be available to the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions not later than I June follo·.ving the end of the financia! year to which the accounts relate. The Advisory Committee shall forward to (amendé) du reglement intérieur provisoirc de l'Assemblée générale:

M. K. V. DzuNG ............... (Chine)

M. Jan PAPANEK ..... (Tchécoslovaquie)

M. James E. WEBB ................... .

(Etats-Unis d'Amérique)

Cinquantieme séance pléniere,

le 7 décembre 1946.

74 ( 1). Désignatlon des Commissaires aux comptes L'Assemblée générale décide: (ou tout autre titre) de la RÉPUBLIQUE soc1ALISTE sovIÉTIQUE o'UKRAINE et le Vérificateur général le Vérificateur général des comptes (ou tout autre titre) du CANADA sont nommés Commis-

tutions spécialisées qui pourraient etre désignées par l'autorité compétente. En cas de pesoin, un Commissaire aux comptes peut désigner un représaires aux comptes;

tionnés ci-dessus; l'Assemblée générale, lors de sa scssion ordinaire, nommera un Commissaire aux comptes qui entrera en fonctions le 1" juillet de l'année suivante JJOUr une durée de trois ans; fonctions constitueront le Comité des Commissaircs aux comptes qui élira son propre président et adoptera son propre reglement intérieur; budgétaires ouverts par l'Assemblée générale ¡>0ur couvrir les <lépcnses afférentes a la vérifica- Comité consultatif pour les questions administratives et budgétaircs J"éten<lue <les vérifications a faire, peut procéder a ces vérifications, conformément aux dispositions de la présente résolution, selon les modalités qu'il jugera appropriées, en employant des experts comptables publics de réputation internationale;

f) Que si un membre quelconque du Comité cesse d'occuper dans son pays le poste mentionné ;,.u paragraphe a) de la présente résolution, il cessera dºetre membre du Comité et son successeur les fonctions en question; soumc.ttra son rapport avec les comptes certifiés jugera nécessaires a l'Assemblée générale, de fai;on Commission consultative pour les questions administratives et budgétaires, au plus tard

the (~enetal Assembly its comments, i{ any, on the audit report;

(h) That the audit should be carried out by the Board of Auditors having full regard to the following requirements of the General Assembly:

(i) The Auditors should satisfy themselves:

(1) That thc accounts, including the balance sheet, represcnt a correct record of duly authorized financia! transactions of the financia) year;

(2) That moncy has not been expendedor obligated other than for the purpose or purposes for which the appropriations voted by the General Assembly wcre intended to providc, except in so far.as the Secretary-General has authorizcd transfers within the budget,

and that thc cxpenditure conforms to the authority which govcrns it;

(3) That transfers from the Working Capital Fund or other funds have received the necessary authority.

(ii\ The Auditors, after satisfying themsdves that thc vouchers have been examined ami certificd as corrcct by the accounting organi,ation, may, in thcir discretion and having reganl to the character of the examination within thc department, in any particular case admit the sums so certified without further cxamination, provided however, that, if thc General Assembly or the Advisory Committec on Administra ti ve and Budgetary Questions on l.iehalf of the General Assembly, requests that any accounts be examincd in greatcr detail, the Auditors shall take action accordingly.

(iii) The Auditors shall examine such storc or stock accounts as are maintained by the organization the financia) accounts of which they are auditing.

(iv) The Auditors shall have free access at ali convenicnt times to the books of account and ali information relevant to the accounts of the organization concerned. Requests for official files which may <leal with matters of policy should only be made through the Assistant Secretary-General for Administrative ami Financia) Services.

(v) The Auditors should not criticize purely administrative matters, but it is within their discretion to comment upon the financia! consequences of administrative action. Audit examination should not be undertaken before accounting effect has been given to transactions, nor should accounts and vouchers be examined until they have been duly renderecl available by the departmcnt concerned. a laquelle les comptes se rapportent. La Commission consultative présentera a l'Assemblée génédes vérifications des comptes; procédera a la vérification des comptes en tenant dument compte des exigenct>s suivantes formulées par ]' Assemblée générale:

i) Les Commissaires aux comptes doivent s'assurer:

représentent le relevé exact des transactions financieres dúment autorisécs de l'annéc financiere;

2) Qu'aucune dépense n'a été effectuée ou auxquelles les crédits votés par l'Assemblée Secrétaire général a autorisé les virements a

régissent;

de roulemcnt ou d'autres fonds ont été düment approuvées.

ii) Les Commissaires aux comptes, apres s'étre assurés que les picces justificatives ont ét<.°' t.:xaminécs t.:l ccrtifiées exactt.:s par le service de comptabilit1\ pcuvent a leur gré et en tenant compte de la nature de !'examen a l'intérieur cas particulier, sans nouvel examen, les sorn111es ainsi ccrtiliées exactes, i·tant entendu toutefois que si l'Asse111blée gérn'.Talc, ou la Commission consultative pour les qucstions administratives et budgúaires, agissant en son 110111, demande qu'un compte soit examiné plus en détail. les Commissaires aux comptcs prcndront des mesures appropriées. ront la comptabilité des approvisionnements ou

linanciers.

iv) Les Commissaircs aux comptes auront libre acces, en tous tc111ps, aux registres de comptcs des organisations intfrcssfrs. Lorsqu'ils voudront consulter les dossiers officiels qui pourraicnt uaitcr de y11cstio11s dc politiquc, Lt demande devra obligatoirement étre pr<°'scntfr par l'intermédiaire du Secrétaire général adjoint pour ks scrvites administratifs et fínanciers.

v) Lcs Commissaires aux comptes ne devront pas formuler de critiques portant sur des questions purement administratives, mais il leur sera loisible de pri·senter des observations sur les conséquences financieres de mesures administratives. Aucune vérification ne sera effectuée

ficatives ne seront pas examinés avant d'avoir été rendus disponibles par le départ~ment intéressé.

(vi) Objections to any items which may arise during audit should be communicated immediately to the accounting department co11- cerned. As a general rule, criticism should not be made in the Auditors' report without first affording the accounting department an opportunity of explanation.

(vii) Documentary or other information obtained from a department should not be published by the Auditors without reference having been made to the duly authorized official of the organization or agency concerned.

(viii) The Auditors certifying the accounts shall prepare a joint report of each account certified, in which they should mention:

(1) The extent and character of their examination or any important changes therein;

(2) Maaers affecting the completeness or accuracy of the accounts, such as:

(a) lnformation necessary to the co1-- reét interpretation of the account;

(b) Any amounts which ought to have been received but which have not been brought to account;

(e) Expenditute not properly vouched;

(3) Other matters which should be brought to the notice of the General Assembly, such as:

(a) Cases of fraud or presumptive fraud;

(b) Wasteful or improper expenditure of United Nations' money or stores (notwithstanding that the accounting for the transactions may be correct);

(e) Expenditure likely to commit the United Nations to further outlay on a large scale;

(d) Any defect in the general system or detailed regulations governing the control of rcccipts and expenditure, or of stores;

(e) Expenditure not in accordance with the intention of the General Assembly,

after making allowance for duly authorized transfers within the budget;

(/) Expenditure in excess of appropriations, as amended by duly.authorized transfers within the budgct;

(g) Expenditure not in conformity with the authority which governs it.

(4) The accuracy or otherwise of the stores records as determined by stock-taking ami cxamination of the records.

vi) Toute observation a laquelle un article quelconque pourra donner lieu pendant la vérification sera communiquée immédiatement au service de comptabilité intéressé. En regle générale aucune observation ne devra .'.!tre for-

intéressé ait eu la possibilité de fournir des ex plica tions.

vii) Les documents ou autrcl renseignements fournis par un département ne devront pas sans avoir été soumis au fonctionnaire dument autorisé de l'organisation ou de l'institution intéressée.

viii) Les Commissaires aux comptes, en attestant l'exactitude des comptes, devront préparer, sur chaque compte certifié exact, un rapport collectifdans lequel ils mentionneront:

a laquelle ils ont procédé ou de tout changement important de celle-ci;

2) Tous éléments déterminant des lacunes savoir~ a) L'absence de renseignements nécessaires a l'interprétation correcte d'un compte;

b) Toute somme qui aurait du etre rec;;ue mais qui n'a pas été passée en compte;

e) Les dépenses pour lesquelles il n'existe pas de pieces justificatives sufüsantes;

3) Les autres questions sur lesquelles il semble désirable d'attirer l'attention de l'Assemblée générale, telles que:

a) Les cas de fraude ou de présemption de fraude;

b) Le gaspillage ou l'utilisation irréguliere de fonds ou de stocks des Nations Unies (quand bien meme les comptes pour les opérations effectuées seraient en regle).

e) Les dépenses de nature a entrainer les Nations Unies a des dépenses nouvelles sur une grande échelle;

-i) Tout ·vice de systeme général ou des reglements de détail concernant le contróle stocks;

e) Les dépenses non conformes aux intentions de l'Assemblée générale, compte tenu des virements dument autorisés a l'intérieur du budget;

f) Les dépassements des crédits, compte tenu des modifications resultant de virements dument autorisés a l'intérieur du budget;

autorisations qui les régissent.

4) L'exactitude ou les }acunes de la comptabilité des marchandises telles qu'elles rcssortcnt de l'inventaire et de l'examen des livrcs.

In addition, the reports may contain rcference to:

(5) Transactions accounted for in a previous year concerning which further information has been obtained, or transactions in a later year concerning which it seem~ desirable that the General Assembly should have early knowledge.

(ix) The Auditors, or such of their officers as they may delegate, should jointly certify each account in the following tenns:

"The above accounts have been examined in accordance with our directions. We have obtained all the information and explanations that we have required, and we certify,

as the result of the audit, that, in our opinion,

the above account is correct";

adding, should it be necessary, "subject to the observations in our report.'"

(x) The Auditors shall have no power to disallow items in the accounts, but shall recommend to the Secretary-General for appropriate action such di~allowances as the Board is prepared to recommend to the General Assembly based on its audit of the accounts aud records.

The Board shall bring to the attention of the General Assembly any cases where its recommendations for disallowance have not been acted upon by the Secretary-General.

Fiftieth plenary meeting,

7 December r946.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

Table of contents