Commission on Audit (COA) Chairperson Maria Gracia M. Pulido Tan has been appointed to the United Nations (UN) Independent Audit Advisory Committee (IAAC). She is the first Filipino to serve in the IAAC since its creation in 2007.

Deputy Permanent Representative of Finland to the United Nations Janne Taalas, Chair of the Fifth Committee of the General Assembly (GA) of the UN, announced the appointment during the Committee’s 24th Session on December 18, 2013. Chairperson Pulido Tan replaces Mr. Vinod Rai of India as the Asia-Pacific representative of the committee and will serve a three-year term of office beginning January 1, 2014.

Members of the IAAC, a subsidiary body of the GA mandated to assist in its oversight responsibilities, are appointed in their personal capacity and are independent of the UN Board of Auditors, the Joint Inspection Unit and the UN Secretariat. They are senior level experts in finance, audit and other oversight related activities.

“I am grateful for the confidence the UN has placed in my expertise but I feel this appointment is also a reflection of the high regard of the international community for the solid track record and extensive experience of the COA in its various UN audit engagements. I come well- prepared and professionally equipped to contribute to the IAAC’s fulfillment of its mandate,” Chairperson Pulido Tan said.

“I also hope to bring the perspective and strength of a woman, a gender balance that should serve the UN well,” she added.

The IAAC is responsible for advising the GA on the scope, results and effectiveness of audit and other oversight functions, especially the Office of Internal Oversight Services; on measures to ensure management’s compliance with audit and other oversight recommendations; and on various risk management, internal control, operational and accounting and disclosure issues.