FINANCIAL Lleport and AICCOUNTS for Theyear
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UNITED NATIONS INSTITUTE FOR TRAINING AND RESEARCH FINANCIAL llEPORT AND AICCOUNTS for the year ended 31 December 1974 and I REPORT OF TH1~ BOARD OF AUDITORS GENERAIL ASSEMBLY OFFICIAL RECORDS: THIRTIETH SESSION SUPPLEMENT No. 70 (A/10007/Add.4) __ -------------_._---_._---------~------------------------------------~--= UNITED NATIONS ( 22 p. ) UNITED NATIONS INSTITUTE FOR TRAINING AND RESEARCH FINANCIAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS for the year ended 31 December 1974 ~'-' and REPORT OF THE BOARD OF AUDITORS :;.- GENERAL ASSEMBLY Or-FiCIAL RECORDS: THIRTIETH SESSION SUPPLEMENT No. 7D (A/10007/Add.4) UNITED NATIONS New York, 1975 NOTE Symbols of United Nations docun. ,'ts are composed of capital letters combined with figures. Mention of such a symbol indicates a reference to a United Nations document. {Original: English/ CONTENTS Chapter Letters of transmittal iv I. Financial report for the year ended 31 December 1974 . 1 11. Audit opinion 3 Ill. Accounts for the year ended 31 December 1974 5 Statement I Combined statement of assets, liabilities and Fund balance as at 31 December 1974 6 Statement 11 Statement of income and expenditure - General Fund for the year ended 31 December 1974 •••.•.•.• 7 Statement III Statement of income and expenditure - Special-purpose Grants Fund for the year ended 31 December 1974 ••• 8 Schedule 1 Status of contributions unpaid as at 31 December 1974 •••••••• 9 Schedule 2 Obligations incurred for the year ended 31 December 1974 •.••.•••••• 10 Schedule 3 Special-purpose grants - Status as at 31 December 1974 11 IV. Report of the Board of Auditors 12 -iii- • iT- WII- C T- T 7-· :lish7 LETl'ERS OF TRANSMITTAL - 26 March 1975 Sir, iv Pursuant to financial regulation 11.4, I have the honour to submit the 1 annual accounts of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research as at 31 December 1974, which I hereby approve. 3 Copies of these financial statements are also being transmitted to the 5 Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions. Accept, Sir, the assurances ef my highest consideration. 6 7 (Signed) Davidson NICOL Executive Director Under-Secretary-General 8 9 The Chairman of the Board of Auditors New York 10 11 12 -iv- 25 June 1975 Sir, 75 I have the hono~~ to transmit to you the financial statements of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research for the year ended 31 December 1974 which were submitted by the Executive Director of the Institute. These statements have been examined and certified by the Board of the Auditors. h In add.ition to the above 3 I have the honour to present the report of the Board with respect to the accounts of the United Nations Institute for the Training and Research for the year ended 31 December 1974. Accept, Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration. (Signed) Abdul HAMID Auditor-General of Pakistan and Chairman of the United Nations Board of Auditors The President of the General Assembly of the United Nations New York -v- 1. FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEJ.l1BER 1974 1. The Executive Director has the honour to submit herewith the financial report of the United Nations Institute for Tr~ining and Research for the year ended 31 December 1974, together with the audited accounts for the year ended 31 Dcember 1974 comprising three statements supported by three schedules. The report is presented in accordance with suoparagraph 3 (i) of article IV of the statute of the Institute, enacted in November 1965 11 and amended in March 1967 5.! and June 1973. 11 - 2. Statement I shows that the combined assets for the General Fund and the Special-purpose Grants Fund amounted to $2,647,031 at 31 December 1974 and included, inter alia, $469,242 in contributions receivable from Governments and $465,000 in capital assets donated to the Institute. No pledges for future years were made. It will be seen that the Institute's assets exceeded its liabilities in the General Fund and the Special-purpose Grants Fund at year-end by $1,289,613 and $596,008 respectively. These unencumbered balances are carried forward to the 1975 financial year and exclude $465,000, the donated capital assets. 3. The total income available to the Gem,ral Fund during 1974 amounted to $2,754,438 of which $920,315, represents Fund balance 1 January 1974 of $975,946 less collaceral on leasehold $55,631 and $1,834,123 relates to 1974 (see statement 11). As show~ in statement 11 and in schedule 2, obligations were incurred in 1974 in the amount of $1,520,456; these compare with $1,312,085 in the preceding year. 4. Scheaule 1 provides a breakdown of governmental contributions pledged and paid. It shows that, during 1974, 35 Governments paid a total of $1,370,956 against their current and prior years' pledges, leaving $469,242 unpaid. Included in this amount of pledged contributions receivable from Governments are various unpaid pledges totalling $53,432, which are considered doubtful. The recommendation of the Board of Auditors regarding doubtful pledges receivable from some Governments was studied and submitted to the Board of Trustees, which directed that, if further efforts made by the Executive Direetor to collect these pledges proved fruitless, they should be presented for 1vrite-off action in 1975 in accordance with financial rule 110.14. During 1974 the Executive Director made further efforts to collect contributions pledged from previous years. The correspondence with -Governments is continuing and it is expected that during 1975 a clearer position will emerge and such action for wTite-off as may be necessary will be taken. 11 Official Records of the Economic and Social .:ouncil, FortY-first Session, Annexes, agenda item 28, document E/4200, annex 1. ' 2/ Officials Records of the General Assembly, ~wenty-second Session, Annexes, agenda item 45, document A/6875, annex Ill. 1/ Ibid., Twenty-eighth Session, Supplement No. 14 (A/9014), chap. 1, para. 6· -1- , 5. The presentation for 1974 differs from that of 1973 in that the classification of expenditure in statement III (Special-purpose Grants) has been revised for the purpose of maintaining similarlity with the objects of expenditure in statement II (General Fund). In the case of schedule 2 the obligations incurred for the year ended 31 December 1974 have been presented under four main sections: A. Management; B. Programme activities; C. General expenses; and D. Geneva Office. The llstudiesll component previously shown under "Programme activities" is now, in the interest of clearer disclosure, reflected as three components; studies, training, and project support. "Project support" includes both direct and indirect items of expenditure relating to research, training and other activities carried out by the Institute. The expenses under "Geneva Office" include salary and allowances of staff who devote most of their time to research and training activities. It may also be pointed out that "Management" and IiGeneral expensesli relate both to programme activities financed from the General Fund and to those financed from special-r;·':iT0se Grants. 6. As shown in schedule 3, an amount of $847,499 became available in 1974 in respect of the programmes financed under Special-purpose Gra~ts, against which obligations were incurred in the amount of $251,491, thus leaving an unencumbered balance of $596,008 at year-end of which $515,709, a significant segment, being a non-convertible currency contribution from the VSSR. ~ction taken on observations and recommendations made by the Board of Auditors in its report to the General Assembly on the UNITAR Qccounts for the y'=.cr er,ded 31 December 1973 7. In its resolution 3227 E (XXIX) accepting the financial report and accounts of UNITAR for the year ended 31 December 1973 and the audit opinion of the Board of Auditors, the General Assembly requested the Executive Director to take such remedial action as might be required by the commen~s of the Board of Auditors. 8. The audit comments on the accounts for the year 1973 had included suggestions and recommendations for improving bUdgetary controls and the financial administration of the Institute. These suggestions and recommendations have been carefully studied and implemented by the Executive Director in 1974 ar~ this process will be continued during 1975 to the extent that is practicable within the limits of the Institute's funds and staff resources. 9. The Board of Auditors noted that no audit was conducted by the Internal Audit Service during 1973, and we are pleased to report that the Internal Audit Service undertook an audit of the records of the Institute and issued an audit report in November 1974 covering the period 1 January 1974 to 31 August 1974. Several recommendations were made and are being actively considered by the Management for possible implementation in the near future. 10. In complying with the requirement that the annual accounts be submitted not later than 31 March a sibned copy was sent to the Board, of Auditors on 21 March 1975. 11. The Office of Legal Affairs is pursuring the question of obtaining exemption from payment of the real property tax on the UNITAR land and building. We are informed that as the land is owned by private individuals and the tax is considered as part of the rent paid, the matter is one which presents considerable difficulty. Therefore, pending a final decision from tte City, the tax is being paid under protest. -2- J .. 11 . AUDIT OPINION We have examined the following appended statement of status of funds, properly identified, and relevant schedules of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research for the year ended 31 December 1974. Our examination included a general review of the accounting procedures and such tests of the accounting records and other supporting evidence as we considered necessary in the circumstances.