On January 5, 1996, Internal Audit Report SG/OIG/AUDIT-01/96 on the Office of the General Secretariat of the OAS and Projects in Ecuador was presented.

       This audit was conducted to verify selectively compliance with existing rules and regulations and to ensure observance of established policies, rules and practices. Selected operating procedures were evaluated in an attempt to verify their effectiveness, efficiency, and economy as well as the soundness of internal controls.

       The general conclusion of the Audit Report was that the Office was not complying with the budgetary and financial rules. What is more, there was a notable lack of cooperation between office staff and the officer in charge of support for direct services who assumed his functions in August of 1995.

       Twenty recommendations focused specifically on remedying the anomalies detected in the audit. The Secretary General approved all of the recommendations, which are being carried out.

       On January 25, 1996, Internal Audit Report SG/OIG/AUDIT-02/96 on Representation and Hospitality Costs at the General Secretariat was presented.

       Various auditing procedures and techniques were used in conducting this study, including review of the purchase orders, reimbursement, payment requests, etc. Transactions were reviewed through the use of sampling techniques and interpretative analysis. Two informal market surveys were conducted, and staff members and other persons were interviewed, in addition to which stock rooms and other locations were inspected.

       The overall conclusion of that Audit Report was that funds approved for representation and hospitality costs were being used to benefit the image and the objectives of the Organization. Certain failings were, nonetheless, observed and should be corrected through changes in the administrative procedures, the compilation of more complete statistics and negotiated price reductions for food items, beverages and equipment, among other measures.

       The 17 recommendations of the Audit Report were approved by the Secretary General and are being carried out.

       On March 8, 1996, Audit Report SG/OIG/AUDIT-03/96 on the Office of the General Secretariat and Projects in Antigua and Barbuda was presented.

       The purpose of the audit was to verify compliance with the rules and regulations in terms of the criteria and procedures set forth in paragraph I.1. There was also a follow-up on the failings encountered in the previous audit and on compliance with the recommendations for remedying those failings. This audit has been included in the Activity Plan of the Office of the Inspector General for 1996 (CP/doc. 2688/96).

       Generally speaking the Office's internal controls are adequate. However there is need for more effective supervision and monitoring of the basic functions of the offices in member states, for which responsibility lies currently with the Office of the Assistant Secretary General and which has therefore been so stated in this Report.

       The 21 recommendations emanating from this audit were approved by the Secretary General and are being implemented.

       On March 13, 1996, Audit Report SG/OIG/AUDIT-04/96 on the Office of the General Secretariat and Projects in Grenada was presented.

       The audit, which has been included in the Activity Plan of the Inspector General for 1996, contains general conclusions that are similar to those indicated in paragraph I.3 and a total of 15 recommendations which are intended to improve situations both at the office and with regard to the projects being carried out in this member state. The Secretary General approved all recommendations, which are being carried out.

Investigation

       On February 6, 1996, the Inspector General presented a confidential report to the Secretary General on the investigation conducted by the Deputy Inspector General on the actions of a staff member. During the investigation, the staff member resigned his post. The resignation was accepted.

Other Activities

       Follow-up of recommendations of the Inspector General

       A total of 925 recommendations have been issued by the Inspector General from 1990 to date. 710 of these have been carried out, 79 are being carried out and 136 are pending (Appendix A).

       In 1994, 156 recommendations were issued. Of these 147 have been carried out and nine are being carried out (Appendix B).

       In 1995 a total of 271 recommendations were made. Of these 130 have been carried out, 57 are being carried out and 84 are pending (Appendix C).

       Since January of 1996, 73 recommendations have been made. Of these eight have been carried out, 13 are being carried out and 52 are still pending (Appendix D).

Reports and consultations

       During the quarter the following reports were prepared and presented: Report on Activities of the Office of the Inspector General for the period October 1 through December 31, 1995, (CP/doc.2686/96); the Annual Report of the Inspector General for the period January 1 to December 31, 1995, (CP/doc.2706/95); and the Activity Plan of the Office of the Inspector General for the Inspection, Audit, and Review of the Programs and activities of the Organization, 1996-1997 (CP/doc. 2688/96).

       Responses were given to inquiries on various topics. The Inspector General or his representative continued to attend committee meetings in the capacity of observer.

March 29, 1996

Guillermo A. Belt
Inspector General (a)

April 1 to June 30, 1996

       The Inspector General considered it appropriate to review and assess the International Civilian Mission in Haiti (MICIVIH) as part of his office's activities in 1996. The audit (Report SG/OIG/AUDIT-05/96 of June 14) was conducted at the headquarters of the General Secretariat in Haiti from March 1 to May 25. As the study progressed, its preliminary findings and conclusions were communicated to the officials of the General Secretariat responsible for various facets of MICIVIH so that they could make comments, which were taken into account when the final report was drawn up.

       The Inspector General assigns special importance to this study, given the impact it must have on future operations in the priority field of promoting democracy and strengthening democratic institutions in member states.

       The main conclusions of this audit were that the goals set for MICIVIH were being attained, with the expenditures incurred duly documented. However, MICIVIH as a project was not being implemented as smoothly or economically as it might.

       Recommendation No.1 was implemented by the Secretary General with the transfer of the MICIVIH operation to the Unit for the Promotion of Democracy. The UPD was to keep the Office of the Secretary General regularly informed of the project's progress, and provide proper coordination with the Office of the Assistant Secretary General, as the need arises.

       In accordance with Recommendation No. 14, the Secretary General decided to appoint a representative of the Department of Human Resources to the selection committee for personnel to serve as observers. This decision must also apply for similar activities in the future.

       It was hoped that with the increased responsibility assigned to the Unit for the Promotion of Democracy and to the Department of Human Resources, as regards each unit, MICIVIH would henceforth be run more efficiently, especially in respect of staff costs, that being one of the main concerns indicated in the study by the Office of the Inspector General.

       The remaining 24 recommendations that emanated from this audit were also approved by the Secretary General; accordingly, the General Secretariat units at which they are directed were to implement them within 30 days of receipt of this report. Responsibility for this lies with the Assistant Secretary for Management, the Coordinator of the UPD, the Executive Director of MICIVIH, and the Director of the Department of Financial Services.

       On June 17, the Audit Report (SG/OIG/AUDIT-06/96) on the Office of the General Secretariat and OAS projects in Trinidad and Tobago was presented.

       The main purpose of the audit provided for in the plan of activities of the Office of the Inspector General for 1996 was to verify internal controls at the Trinidad and Tobago Office and compliance with the rules and regulations of the General Secretariat. It not only covered the year 1995 but also followed up on the recommendations made in the wake of the previous audit conducted in 1991.

       The audit ascertained that the internal controls at that office were such as to ensure due authorization of transactions and activities, safeguard access to, and use of assets and records, and proper posting of transactions and amounts.

       In an effort to correct any shortcomings detected, 17 recommendations were formulated for the following units: Office of the Assistant Secretary General (8); Department of Human Resources (3); Department of Financial Services (3); Department of Fellowships (1); Department of Material Resources (1), and Department of Economic and Social Affairs (1).

       Once the recommendations were approved by the Secretary General, the Office of the Assistant Secretary General sent a circular to the directors of the offices of the General Secretariat in the member states instructing them, in accordance with the Inspector General's Recommendation No. 9, to dispatch the quarterly release reports on duty-free imports within ten working days following the end of each quarter.

       The Office of the Assistant Secretary General also instructed the Director of the Trinidad and Tobago Office to put into immediate effect the five recommendations applicable to it which emerged from the Audit Report. The Director of that Office communicated in writing to headquarters that he had taken action to implement Recommendations No. 6 (long-distance telephone calls) and No. 8 (official car log).

       The Director of the Department of Fellowships implemented Recommendation No. 10 by issuing written instructions to the Director of the Department of Management Systems to ensure that loan payments from the Leo S. Rowe Fund are promptly recorded and borrowers' accounts adjusted so that they accurately reflect information regarding outstanding amounts.

       Note was taken during this audit of two recurring problems observed during previous audits: failure to comply with the provisions of the Field Financial Manual regarding completion and approval of the long-distance telephone log and the supply of detailed information in the official car log. As a result, Recommendations No. 6 and No. 7 of the Report called on the Director of the Department of Financial Services to issue a circular to all field offices requesting compliance with the pertinent regulations. The circulars have been issued to all offices.

       On June 28, the Audit Report (SG/OIG/AUDIT-07/96) on the General Secretariat Office and OAS projects in Jamaica was presen-ted. The audit, conducted immediately after the Trinidad and Tobago audit for purposes of economy, was carried out on the basis of information received by the Inspector General concerning problems at that office and at the request of the new director. It covered the year 1995 and included follow-up on the 1993 audit.

       The main conclusions were that there was a conflict of interest involving an official at the Jamaica Office and that the Office's supervision by headquarters was inadequate, giving rise to that and other situations in which there was a failure to comply with current policies and procedures. As a preventive administra-tive measure, the Inspector General recommended revoking the signing authority delegated to that official. This was done before the Audit Report was presented. The Inspector General also recommended that disciplinary action be taken against the official in question, arrangements for which were under way at the time of writing.

       The Secretary General approved the 29 recommendations contained in the Report, to be implemented by the Office of the Assistant Secretary General (13); Department of Human Resources (1); Department of Financial Services (7); Department of Fellowships (1); Department of Economic and Social Affairs (1), Department of Regional Development and Environment (1), and Department of Management Systems (1).

Other activities

       Follow-up to the recommendations of the Inspector General

       Since 1990, the Inspector General has formulated a total of 1,001 recommendations. Of these, 76 percent have been carried out and 10 percent are in progress. Approximately 14 percent of the recommendations that remain pending relate to 1995 and 1996. In June, the Inspector General launched a program for tracking implementation in units where delays existed, and this has begun to yield results as evidenced by the information supplied in the first part of this quarterly report. Updated information on this topic will be forthcoming.

Reports and consultations

       The statutory reports were prepared, including the Report on Activities during the first quarter of 1996, and consultations held on a variety of topics. The Office of the Inspector General sat in as an observer at the meetings of the committees which it attends in that capacity.

July 9, 1996

Guillermo A. Belt
Inspector General (a)

July 1 to September 30, 1996

       In the Activity Report for the previous quarter (CP/doc.2792/96), when informing on the audit report for the Office of the General Secretariat in Jamaica (SG/OIG-AUDIT-07/96), it was indicated that the Inspector General had recommended a disciplinary measure for a staff member in that Office who was involved in a conflict of interest matter. The measure that was applied was a written reprimand, in accordance to that recommendation.

October 1 to December 31, 1996

       During the month of November, the Office of the Inspector General concluded an audit report on official travel originating at the headquarters of the General Secretariat (SG/OIG-AUDIT 11/96). This audit report was carried out at the request of the Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Matters. The object of this report was to determine the degree of compliance by staff members with the rules and regulations of the General Secretariat regarding official travel. In addition, the OIG focused the report on the identification of those operational mechanisms that could be improved aiming at streamlining procedures for official travel, while at the same time maintaining an effective framework of internal control.

       In general, the OIG verified through this report that the vast majority of the official trips undertaken by staff members during the period covered by the audit comply with a clearly established function and respond to the objectives of the Organization in the Member States. The work done for this audit report pointed out several aspects of operational travel that require improvement, such as the need for a more structured programming, which would include objectives and the number of staff members participating in each mission; the formalizing of travel reports by staff members upon returning to headquarters; and the need to publish and maintain up-to-date an operational manual which would cover all aspects of official travel, including rules, regulations and administrative procedures.

       In December the OIG concluded an audit report on the Interamerican Commission of Women (ACIM) (SG/OIG/AUDIT 12/96). The OIG carried out this audit report with the main objective of identifying existing internal controls and verifying that CIM is carrying out its responsibilities in accordance with the Financial and Budgetary Rules, Field Financial Manual, the General Standards, and other regulations of the General Secretariat.

       This audit report revealed that, in general, internal controls are satisfactory in CIM and, with the exception of specific cases that are discussed in the report and that deal mainly with outstanding obligations and inventory, rules, regulations and procedures are being followed satisfactorily concerning the financial transactions of the Commission. One of the more serious problems facing the Commission is the lack of personnel, and this has been noted in the audit report.

Investigation

       As a result of the audit report on official travel originating at headquarters, OIG carried out an investigation of a trip made by two staff members of the General Secretariat to one of the member countries (SG/OIG-INVEST 03/96). This investigation confirmed the irregularities discovered in the audit report. Consequently, the OIG recommended administrative and disciplinary measures regarding the staff members in question.

Other Activities

       The Office of the Inspector General has maintained the systematic follow-up of the recommendations approved by the Secretary General, that to date correspond to the total number of recommendations issued by the Inspector General. We would note that during 1996 there was appreciable improvement in the number of implemented recommendations. The OIG continued preparing quarterly reports, replying to diverse consultations and participating as an observer in committees and working groups, when appropriate.

January 14, 1997

Guillermo A. Belt
Inspector General (a)