UNHCR recognizes that the availability of audit certificates at the time of the annual audit would facilitate the work of auditors in focusing their examinations.

This relationship can be developed by including internal audit observations and recognizing their contributions in the external audit report when appropriate.

The Board does recognize that budget rephasing may have occurred subsequently.

In general, the survey confirmed that distributive trade statistics definitely need revisiting and careful re examination.

The audit included a general review of financial systems and internal controls and a test examination of the accounting records and other supporting evidence to the extent the Board considered necessary to form an opinion on the financial statements.

The UNRWA Audit and Inspection Committee deliberated on this issue in December 2004 and acknowledged that UNRWA followed the predetermined criteria for third party audits.

The Board was also unable to confirm the validity of total adjustments of 130.4 million made in the accounts arising from conversion from the old general accounting system to the Integrated Management Information System owing to gaps in the audit trail.

recognized in the Spanish Constitution, which guarantees its independence has the highest level of professional competence and, in addition, substantial experience of auditing international organizations.

The secretariat has confirmed the facts on which the Board s observations and conclusions are based and has provided explanations and answers to the Board s queries.

We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for the audit opinion.

We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for the audit opinion.

The Auditor General apos s conclusions are a clear recognition of ESA as a means to achieve economical growth, of the work of the Norwegian actors, and of the national goals and strategies that underlie the national efforts.

Under EMAS, the particular difficulties that SMEs may encounter have been explicitly recognised.

A number of approaches regarding the external audit, such as the need for auditor partner rotation and the avoidance of possible conflicts of interest involved in providing non audit services, can be considered to ensure that external audits serve shareholder and other stakeholder interests in the intended manner.

Those standards require that the Board plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance as to whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement.

The Administration has confirmed the facts on which the Board s observations and conclusions are based and provided explanations and answers to the Board s queries.

We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for the audit opinion.

UNHCR recognizes that the availability of audit certificates at the time of the annual audit would facilitate the work of auditors in focusing their examinations.

(c) A consequence of following the audit observation would be that the accounting rules for recognition of income under general and special programmes would be different.

34. In paragraph 21 of the report of the Board of Auditors,7 the Board recognizes the progress made by UNHCR in securing the audit certificates to support advances made in earlier years.

We conducted our audit in accordance with German audit regulations and generally accepted standards for the audit of the financial statements promulgated by the Institut der Wirtschaftsprüfer in Deutschland (IDW).

The Board s observations on all matters contained in the report were communicated to the Administration, which has confirmed the facts on which the Board s observations and conclusions were based and provided explanations and answers to its queries.

(a) Reviewing the strategy and workplans of internal and, in some organizations, external audit and discussing the scope and content of their audits so as to identify audit priorities and suggesting potential audit areas within which to address the organization's risks

In paragraph 66, the Board recommended that external auditors of nationally executed expenditures refer explicitly to United Nations accounting standards to ensure that audited expenditures include disbursements and unliquidated obligations.

2. Review the present method of recognition of income so that its accounting policies and practices follow the United Nations Accounting Standards (para. 16).

These auditing standards require that the Board plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance as to whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement.

The Supreme Audit Institution should ensure that it has access to internal auditor reports, related working papers and audit resolution information.

Consistent with prudent accounting principles, these pledges will be recognized as income in 2005 and have not been accounted for in the 2004 financial statements as deferred income.

UNICEF considers the existing internal audit procedures for report issuance to be adequate and will ensure that monitoring of those procedures and reporting to the Audit Committee on report issuance is rigorous.

The Office of Audit and Performance Review has incorporated procedures in its country office audit guide to ensure that audit clauses are included in all project agreements.

48. Delegations expressed satisfaction with the unqualified audit opinion provided by the Board of Auditors.

The results of the assessment will be validated by an external reviewer to determine the level of compliance with recommended standards and practices and provide recommendations for enhancing the UNHCR Audit Service.

(c) A consequence of following the audit observation would be that the accounting rules for recognition of income under General and Special Programmes would be different.

While possible, the Panel considered that close scrutiny of the audit working papers and procedures was warranted.

In order to determine the breakdown of the audit costs, based on the experience with external audits, it had been determined that 50 per cent of the audit work related to the investment area. Therefore, 50 per cent of the full cost of investment audits would be borne by the Fund, and one third of the remaining 50 per cent of audit costs would be borne by the United Nations.

In some cases, the auditing firms denied having prepared financial statements bearing their name and asserted that they did not know the claimant or did not recognize the accounts as their work product.

Recommendation 1. Review the present method of recognition of income so that UNHCR accounting policies and practices follow the United Nations accounting standards (para. 16).

In paragraph 36, the Board recommended that UNICEF review its procedure for raising and verifying unliquidated obligations for programme supplies to ensure that only valid obligations are recognized at the end of the biennium.

The office of the Director also coordinates the reviews of the internal and external audit functions and ensures the implementation of audit recommendations.

The UNHCR Audit Service works in close cooperation with UNHCR's Inspector General's Office and liaises with the United Nations Board of Auditors to ensure coordination between external and internal audit.

(c) Examine the single audit principle so as to ensure full compliance therewith

To ensure an effective internal audit mechanism, the Coordination Council has adopted a Charter for Internal Audit.

22 Recognition and Measurement of Financial Instruments

The Meeting of States Parties shall appoint an Auditor, which may be an internationally recognized firm of auditors or an Auditor General or an official of a State Party with an equivalent title.

The Director of the Office of Audit and Performance Review has been made directly responsible for ensuring that this is done, thus strengthening the review of audit reports on nationally executed expenditure.