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Principal Recipient Audit Process

Below is a brief overview of the key steps of the audit of UNDP-managed Global Fund projects by the Office of Audit and Investigations (OAI):

  1. OAI sends an interoffice memorandum to Country Office (CO) senior management, notifying of the upcoming audit and detailing the dates of audit field work.

    Practice Pointer

    An audit checklist has been developed to guide the CO/Project Management Unit (PMU) in the preparation process for an OAI audit. The PMU should complete the audit checklist as a team, in coordination with the rest of the CO, with the PMU Manager assigning focal points for each of the following audit areas: * Governance and strategic management * Programme management / monitoring and evaluation * Sub-recipient management * Procurement, supply management and quality assurance * Financial management

  2. At the start of the audit work, an entry meeting is scheduled between OAI, the CO. The purpose of the meeting is to explain in greater detail the engagement, the tentative work plan for the mission, and to listen to any additional concerns or areas of emphasis that management may wish to bring to the attention of the audit team. OAI also reaches out to the Global Fund and in-country stakeholder (i.e. CCM leadership, Sub-recipients).
  3. Absent very specific circumstances, audit field work is completed within the time frame detailed in the interoffice memorandum.
  4. An exit meeting is scheduled between OAI and the CO to discuss key audit findings.
Practice Pointer

There is no need to wait for the final audit report to be issued to take action to address the audit findings. The CO should act as soon as the audit observations are discussed and agreed with the auditors during the exit meeting.

5.OAI shares the draft audit report for CO management to provide its comments and action plan for addressing the OAI audit recommendations.

Practice Pointer

It is important for the CO to complete a thorough review of the draft audit report. When reviewing OAI’s audit recommendations, it is critical to assess whether the recommended actions are reasonable and achievable.  The response to the draft OAI report should be shared with the UNDP Global Fund/Health Implementation Support Team before being finalized.

How well do you know the audit process? Test your knowledge with this OAI PR audit scenario exercise for PMUs!

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