UN announces pioneering agreement to accept donated services to augment tsunami relief resources

As part of its broader effort to boost transparency and accountability and guard against mismanagement and corruption, the United Nations today announced a pioneering agreement with the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) for 8,000 hours of pro bono advisory services in the form of loaned professional expertise for tsunami-specific UN projects.

PwC will make agreed-upon resources available to carry out work under the direction of the UN’s management team with regard to the nearly $1 billion tsunami relief fund. The UN expects to direct most of these services toward following up on credible allegations of misuse of the funds.

“I have heard no such problem raised so far but I expect there to be,” UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland told a news briefing in New York on the UN’s $977 million flash appeal to address the December disaster which killed more than 200,000 people and devastated large swathes of coast in a dozen Indian Ocean countries.

“I’m sure there will be cases of possible mismanagement, mishandling, but I’m sure also there will be many allegations that may not be correct and that’s why it’s so good to have this kind of investigative tool, because we can quicker, I think, confirm whether there is something wrong or we can confirm that it’s actually nothing wrong,” he added in answer to a question.

He said this “very important agreement,” worth millions of dollars, “will mean unprecedented transparency and investigations capacity.”

Although the UN has other agreements with the private sector, this is the first agreement of its kind in the field of transparency and accountability and “we do not see it as the last, there may be many more to come.” Mr. Egeland noted. “It helps us to take a new step in the direction that we really needed.”

All of the PwC services will be provided at the direction of the UN and in conformity with the UN’s statutory responsibilities in auditing and investigation. PwC will not be providing any audit or other assurance services, and none of the services will be independent “PwC initiatives.”

Since allegations of misconduct and mismanagement arose in connection with the now-defunct UN-administered multi-billion-dollar Oil-for-Food programme for Iraq, under which Saddam Hussein was allowed to sell oil for humanitarian supplies, Secretary-General Kofi Annan has repeatedly pledged a policy of transparency.

PricewaterhouseCoopers’ global leader of advisory services, Frank Brown, said the firm expects to be asked to provide staff to assist the UN with its efforts in two main areas: making practical recommendations to enhance the effectiveness of the existing “Financial Tracking System” and using forensic techniques to identify and probe potential instances of improper payments.

The company has asked other organizations, such as software firms, to consider donating professional services and several have expressed interest, he added.

Mr. Egeland said the flash appeal was now 90 per cent covered with more than $500 million already paid up, and the rest firmly committed.

Video of press briefing [31mins]