JIU presents the management and administration review of FAO during FAO’s 199th Session of the Finance Committee and the 175th Session of the Council

The Joint Inspection Unit is pleased to announce that the findings and conclusions of the review of management and administration in the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) will be presented by Inspector Carolina Fernández Opazo at the FAO Finance Committee and the Council on May 23^rd and June 13^th, respectively. The presentations to the FAO’s governing bodies aim at fostering transparency, informed decision-making, efficient resource allocation, and accountability within the scope of FAO’s governance.

It is the second management and administration review of FAO conducted by the JIU. The previous one was completed in 2002. More than 20 years later, many things have changed: ambitious Sustainable Development Goals are at the heart of the organization’s work, extrabudgetary contributions now play a major role in project implementation and the recently reappointed Director-General has introduced new ways of working.

The review focused on the following areas: governance and leadership; organizational structure; budgetary and financial management; administration and human resources management; information and communication technology; and risk management, internal controls and oversight.

The review highlights that, while there have been substantial advancements towards the organizational independence of critical functions such as the Ethics, Ombudsman, Inspector General and Evaluation, there is still room for improvement. In the case of the Ethics and Ombudsman Offices, the contractual arrangements for their heads should be aligned with best practices. For the Inspector General and the Office of Evaluation, their direct relationship with the governing bodies and with management committees as well as their link to the Oversight Advisory Committee should be reviewed.

Considering the exponential growth of extrabudgetary resources and projects, the roles and responsibilities of regional, subregional, country, liaison, and partnership and liaison offices should be clearly defined and fit for purpose to respond to the expectations of the organization’s members, as well as donor and financial institutions.

Regarding budgetary and financial management, the Inspectors issued recommendations to enhance transparency and accountability in the context of the formulation of the budget and increase member nations’ ownership of that process. Another recommendation is aimed at introducing a charge against extrabudgetary resources to fund the past service liabilities under the After Service Medical Coverage. In terms of administration and human resources, the Inspectors state that two interlinked issues should be addressed by FAO, namely, high vacancy rates and long recruitment times.

The review contains ten recommendations, of which six are addressed to the Council and four to the Director-General for action. There are also 34 informal recommendations aimed at improving the overall effectiveness and efficiency of FAO.

The review was part of the programme of work of JIU for 2023, and was prepared by Inspectors Carolina Fernández Opazo, Pavel Chernikov and Conrod Hunte.

Access the full report here.

Access the review highlights here.