Recommendations from the Board of External Auditors

Transcription

1 s from the Board of External Auditors (Related to Fiscal Year 2014) 1.1. The Board recommends that the General Assembly establish a budget that addresses the operational and strategic needs of the organization The Board recommends that the OAS abide by resolution AG/RES 2157 (XXXV-O/05), as amended, and associated requirements on Member States requiring timely payment of quotas The Board recommends that the OAS consider adding additional measures regarding non-payment as originally introduced in (but not limited to) Annex B of the resolution AG/RES 1757 (XXX-O/00) Measures to Encourage the Timely Payment of Quotas. The budget presented for 2016 reflects a proposal that follows the pillars of the Strategic Vision that have been approved by the Member States. The Member States are validating a CAAP proposal including a set of mandates classified as Priority A. The approved 2016 budget does not address many serious spending shortfalls. It does not contain funds sufficient to reestablish staff positions to accomplish work now being performed by contract personnel. It does not include funding for overdue updates to the OAS information management software (including upgrades to the Oraclebased corporate enterprise system, a requirement for adopting the International Public Sector Accounting Standard) and infrastructure. There is no budget for staff training. The budget does not address a massive, and worsening funding shortfall in building maintenance. Early in 2016, the General Secretariat will submit a conceptual budget showing the resources necessary to restore the OAS to a reasonable state of organizational health. The status of the quota payments and all relevant information is sent with a letter to all Ministers of Foreign Affairs categorizing each country according to resolution AG/RES 2157 (XXXV-O/05). Further consideration and evaluation of new and existing measures to encourage timely payments of quotas is under the purview of the Member States. Further consideration and evaluation of new and existing measures to encourage timely payments of quotas, including those originally introduced in Annex B of AG/RES 1757 (XXX-O/00) is under the purview of the Member States. 1

2 1.4. The Board recommends that the OAS discontinue early payment discounts. This decision is under the purview of the Member States The Board recommends that the General Assembly approve the necessary changes to the General Standards relating to personnel (Chapter 3). Changes to Chapter 3 (Personnel) of the General Standards were approved by the General Assembly on October 29, The Board recommends that the OAS develop a resultsbased management structure that aligns with the mandates and priorities of the organization The Board recommends that the OAS implement a deferred maintenance strategy that preserves the assets for on-going and future use. The General Secretariat has launched new initiatives geared to the improvement of the organization s performance measurement capabilities. These initiatives are: 1. Strategic Planning Exercise: estimated to delivered a first draft by the end of Process Mapping: estimated to have produced an inventory and maps/models of the main operative processes (approx.20%) by the end of the second quarter These maps/models will be the basis for eventual redesign. 3. Balanced Scorecard: estimated to have DPE s staff trained as well as a first draft exercise at Tier 1 Level by the end of In response to the recommendations made by the Board of External Auditors relating to Real Estate Strategy, the General Secretariat submitted a series of strategy documents in 2011 and 2012 to the CAAP to address the deferred maintenance issue. In discussions in the CAAP on the strategy documents described above, no consensus emerged regarding the proposed options to generate additional funds to cover the gap between the estimated funds needed for deferred maintenance and the estimated funds available. Taking account of the above outcome of the deliberations in the Permanent Council during on the Real Property Strategy, the General Secretariat has prepared the Building Maintenance Strategy (CP/CAAP- 2

3 3395/16, dated February 24 th, The Secretariat continues to implement portions of the Strategy for which funds are available: 1. Space utilization has been further optimized, leasing an additional 5,600 sq. ft. of office space to PADF, an additional sq. ft. to IICA, sq. ft. of office space to the Inter-American Bar Association, and 2,200 sq. ft. to Hellen Keller International. The Secretariat has currently an estimated 10,000 sq. ft. of available office space, which is currently on the market. This space has been temporarily assigned to the Inter American Commission of Human Rights since The Secretariat presented to the member states a Strategy Plan for Management Modernization that also addresses the deferred maintenance issue. This Plan recommends the renovation of the ADM building and the implementation of the remaining deferred maintenance issues. 3. The Secretariat continues to use very limited regular and special funding to meet the most urgent emerging maintenance requirements and those listed in the Existing Conditions Report. In 2015, the Secretariat replaced the cooling tower and chiller in the ADM, and replaced two air handling units in the MNB and one air conditioning unit in the Museum of the Americas. During this year, the Secretariat also completed the design for upgrading the electrical and lighting infrastructure of the Hall of the Americas, the MNB envelope repointing, and the replacement of 88 windows in the MNB. The Secretariat continues to perform limited regular and preventive maintenance to all of the buildings at Headquarters. 3

4 1.8. The Board recommends that the OAS develop a fixed asset strategy (which considers the sale of under-utilized assets) that maximizes the use and investments in its fixed assets portfolio. The Secretariat presented to the PC/CAAP a proposal to sell the Casa del Soldado, consistent with multiple recommendations from the Board of External Auditors. The Secretariat also recommended moving the Inter-American Defense Board (IADB) to one of the other OAS buildings The Board recommends that the Member States fund a sustainable corporate enterprise system. This decision is under the purview of the Member States. The Secretariat for Administration and Finance will include requests for this overdue upgrade in the upcoming conceptual budget discussions The Board recommends that the OAS analyze whether redefining the level or number of reporting entity(ies) subject to audit could achieve their objectives for accountability and reporting but at reduced cost savings. After analyzing several factors including accounting basis, the entities objectives, rule and regulations, the entities boards/committees and the readers of financial statements, DFAMS considers that only 2 of the 7 entities would make sense to consolidate into one entity, that is the Leo S. Rowe Pan American Fund and the Rowe Memorial Benefit Fund. The General Secretariat already combines into one audit the Regular Fund, the Development and Cooperation Fund, Specific Funds and Service and Revolving Funds. The remaining two groups are the Trust Funds, which follow GAAP (different accounting principles), and the affiliated agencies, which by nature operate independently from the General Secretariat. The next step in regards to those 2 entities that could be consolidated is to inform the entities boards and committees about the possibility of consolidation. The consolidation of accounts phase will follow the approval of the proposed recommendation by the involved parties. This proposal could be implemented through the new bid for the following audit period 4

5 covering the years Other additional measures must be taken into consideration, such as the request from the Trust for the Americas and the Inter-American Defense Board to contract a separate external audit firm from the one contracted by the General Secretariat. 5