The General Assembly established the United Nations Board of Auditors in 1946 as an important mechanism to promote accountability and transparency in the United Nations.

The Board audits the accounts of the United Nations organization and its funds and programmes and reports its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly, through the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, and other governing bodies.

The Board has three members, who are jointly responsible for the audit. 

The Board of Auditors 78th regular session was held in New York from 23 to 24 July, chaired by Hou Kai, Auditor-General of the National Audit Office of China. 

Mr. Hou, Dorothy Pérez Gutiérrez, Acting Comptroller General of the Republic of Chile, and Pierre Moscovici, First President of the French Cour des comptes, discussed findings and audit opinions.

Effective 1 July 2024, Bruno Dantas, President of the Brazilian Federal Court of Accounts, has taken over the Board membership from Ms. Pérez Gutiérrez.  The handover ceremony took place during the session.

On 24 July, the Board had a meeting with the Secretary-General to exchange priorities and challenges faced by the United Nations.

Through its work, the Board provides independent assurance to Member States and other stakeholders regarding proper use of the resources of the United Nations entities. It reports on financial matters as well as on regularity and performance issues.

It plays a significant role in assisting the United Nations to improve its operations and internal control systems. The findings and recommendations of the Board have led to continuous systematic improvements in the functioning of the United Nations.

This year, the Board audited the financial statements and reviewed the operations of 18 organizations. All the audited entities received an unqualified audit opinion. One entity received an Emphasis of Matter.

The key trends and cross-entity issues have been included in the Concise Summary Report, along with specific information regarding notably financial and budget management.

The Board further produced two subject specific reports for submission to the General Assembly and produced three more reports for submission to other governing bodies.

See a list of Board of Auditors reports for review and approval below. Detailed information about the Board’s findings can be found in the individual reports on their website.

Reports submitted to the General Assembly:

China

1. United Nations, Vol.1
2. International Trade Centre (ITC)
3. United Nations Office for Projects Services (UNOPS)
4. United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)
5. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
6. United Nations Human Settlement Fund (UN-Habitat)
7.Concise summary of findings and conclusions

Chile

8. United Nations University (UNU)
9. United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)
10. United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
11. United Nations Drug Control Programme (UNODC)
12. United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women (UN-Women)
13. International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT)
14. United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF)
15. United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

France

16. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
17. United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF)
18. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees - (UNHCR)
19. Strategic Heritage Plan (SHP)

Reports submitted to other governing bodies:

China

20. UNRWA Staff Provident Fund (UNRWA-SPF)

France

21. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
22. United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)