116. Financial reports and audited financial statements and reports of the Board of Auditors:

The Board of Auditors transmits to the General Assembly the audited financial statements for the previous financial period of the various accounts of the United Nations and other funds and programmes for which the Board has audit responsibility. Under the provisions of article XII of the Financial Regulations of the United Nations and the annex thereto, the Board submits reports to the Assembly on the results of its audits and issues opinions as to whether the financial statements properly reflect the recorded transactions and whether those transactions were in accordance with the Financial Regulations and legislative authority and present fairly the financial position as at the end of the financial period of each of the activities reported on. The reports of the Board are commented upon by the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, which also submits a report thereon to the Assembly.

At its sixty-first session, the General Assembly encouraged the Secretary-General to take into account the relevant experience of the funds and programmes of the United Nations in the process of replacing the Integrated Management Information System with a next-generation enterprise resource planning system or other comparable system, with a view to properly assessing and taking into account the risks and challenges involved in implementing and maintaining such a system; emphasized the importance of appropriate audit coverage on the implementation of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards in future reports of the Board of Auditors (resolution 61/233 A).

At its resumed sixty-first session, in April 2007, the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to validate the accrued liabilities by using current data and to apply the actuarial methodology prescribed by the International Public Sector Accounting Standards, and to submit a detailed report, with figures audited by the Board of Auditors, on the outcome of the validation and status of the liabilities, as well as additional information on financing options, to the Assembly no later than the main part of its sixty-third session (resolution 61/264).

At its sixty-second session, the General Assembly noted with concern the findings of the Board of Auditors as contained in its report on the capital master plan, and emphasized the importance of the full implementation of its recommendations; and reaffirmed the importance of oversight with respect to the implementation of the capital master plan, and requested the Board and all other relevant oversight bodies to continue to report to the Assembly annually on the capital master plan (resolution 62/87).

At its sixty-second session, the General Assembly requested the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions to request the Board of Auditors to conduct an audit of the activities of the Procurement Task Force for the period from 1 January 2006 to 30 June 2007, including its compliance with established transparency and accountability measures of the Organization and the Office of Internal Oversight Services, and to report thereon separately to the General Assembly at the main part of its sixty-third session (resolution 62/234).

At the same session, the General Assembly noted the concerns of the Board of Auditors about the general financial situation of the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees, and also the concerns of the Board about the financial report and audited financial statements of the United Nations Office for Project Services for the biennium ended 31 December 2005, welcomed the measures taken by the Office to address the seriousness of its financial problems, and encouraged the Office to implement all the recommendations of the Board and to report to the relevant governing bodies on progress made in that regard (resolution 62/223 A).

At its resumed sixty-second session, in June 2008, the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General (a) to ensure the full implementation of the recommendations of the Board of Auditors, including those relating to the cancellation of unliquidated obligations and the system of assets management, and the related recommendations of the Advisory Committee in a prompt and timely manner, subject to the provisions of the resolution; (b) to continue to indicate an expected time frame for the implementation of recommendations of the Board as well as the priorities for their implementation, including the office holders to be held accountable and measures taken in that regard; and (c) to continue to provide, in future reports on the implementation of the recommendations of the Board of Auditors concerning the United Nations peacekeeping operations, a full explanation for delays in the implementation of all outstanding recommendations of the Board (resolution 62/223 B).