Comptroller and Auditor General Shashi Kant Sharma took over as the chairman of the United Nations’ Board of Auditors from January 1 for a period of two years.
The CAG of India is the lead auditor for the UN headquarters at New York and some other UN agencies, including the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF) and the UN Compensation Commission (UNCC), besides auditing six missions of UN peacekeeping operations across the world. The CAG is also the external auditor of the World Intellectual Property Organization.
Two years ago, India had replaced China in the United Nations Board of auditors, with the CAG appointed as a UN auditor for six years.
The UN Board of Auditors is one of the key oversight organs of the international agency, and its importance has grown in recent years, especially in view of the resource crunch being faced by member nations in the wake of economic crisis. The reports of the board form a key input in policymaking within the UN.