AFR/RC60/INF.DOC/1 9 July 2010
REGIONAL COMMITTEE FOR AFRICA Sixtieth session Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, 30 August–3 September 2010 Provisional agenda item 8.1
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
WHO INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL AUDIT REPORTS: PROGRESS REPORT FOR THE AFRICAN REGION
Information Document
CONTENTS Paragraphs BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................................... 1–3 PROGRESS MADE/ACTIONS TAKEN ............................................................................................. 4 NEXT STEPS ................................................................................................................................... 5–6
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BACKGROUND 1. Following the report of the Fifty-seventh session of the Regional Committee in Brazzaville in August 2007 to regularly update its Members on progress made in mitigating risks and addressing internal and external audit recommendations, this information document serves to provide such an update on the status of internal and external audit recommendations and on the next steps. 2. Since the last meeting of the Regional Committee in September 2009, two internal audits have been conducted – one at the WHO Country Office in Zambia and the other at the Regional Office in Brazzaville. No external audit was conducted during the period. 3. Recommendations from four outstanding internal audit reports,1 two performance audits2 and five oversight reports3 are currently being reviewed by the respective country offices and the Divisions at the Regional Office. In addition, ten outstanding external audit recommendations relating to external audits conducted in 2008 are under review by both the Country Office in Nigeria and the Regional Office. PROGRESS MADE/ACTIONS TAKEN 4. Further to the information document AFR/RC59/INF.DOC/3 submitted to the Fifty-ninth session of the Regional Committee for Africa, the Regional Office wishes to report the following progress: (a) Direct assistance was provided during the past year by the Regional Office to all country offices involved in both internal and external audits, in preparing audit missions and following up on observations and recommendations. The rate of implementation of internal and external audit recommendations since September 2009 including those recommendations still pending from 2007 was 48% as at June 2010. An AFRO-specific accountability framework initiated in 2008 will be finalized by the end of 2010 when roles and responsibilities will be matched against staff positions at all levels in conjunction with the start of GSM implementation in the African Region. When finalized, this accountability framework will be made available to all Divisional Directors, WHO Country Representatives, Coordinators of Intercountry Support Teams, Programme Managers, Management Officers and Administrative Officers in order to monitor and nurture a greater and clearer sense of accountability among all staff of the Regional Office. The staff of the Division of Administration and Finance provided financial management support and on-the-job training through country visits to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania. AFRO-specific management tools continued to be developed and updated in anticipation of the roll out of the Global Management System (GSM) in January 2011. These tools
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
1. 2. 3.
Regional office, Kenya, Niger and Ghana. South Africa, and Malaria Unit. Nigeria, Chad (three reports) and Kenya.
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will be made available to all Administrative Officers at the Regional Office in order to strengthen their operational capacity. The management tools include: (i) a questionable expenditures’ tool to alert Administrative Officers when compliance with rules and regulations is at risk. These tools have already been shared and used in the country offices in Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, and South Africa and in the then Division of Health Systems and Services Development of the Regional Office; a monitoring system for follow up on the implementation of pending audit recommendations;
(ii)
(iii) a monitoring system on the implementation and timely follow-up of country-level frameworks for Direct Financial Cooperation (DFC) with governments; (iv) an updated checklist on the audit preparedness of country offices. NEXT STEPS 5. The Regional Office will continue to monitor and ensure more widespread use of management tools already developed or being developed in the GSM context and strengthen the overall skills of administration and finance staff in both the Regional and country offices. This will also be done by providing or closely monitoring: (a) (b) (c) (d) the finalization of the AFRO-specific accountability framework; continuing review of questionable expenditures by the Compliance Officer when compliance with rules and regulations is at risk; implementation and timely reporting on DFCs; budget implementation through monthly meetings of the Regional Office Management Development Committee composed of all Directors and some senior planning and finance officers; the development and regular use of innovative budget implementation monitoring tools by a newly established Budget Monitoring Group composed of nine Management Officers at the Regional Office including three in Intercountry Support Teams, the Compliance Officer and budget and planning officers at the Regional Office; further on-the-job training through country visits by staff of the Regional Office Division of Administration and Finance; continuing direct support to country offices and Divisions for adequately addressing and implementing internal and external audit recommendations in a timely manner.
(e)
(f) (g)
6.
The Regional Committee is invited to take note of this report.