International Advisory and Monitoring Board for Iraq (IAMB) -- An audit oversight body for the Development Fund for Iraq (DFI) -- Minutes

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International Advisory and Monitoring Board

Minutes of the meeting held at the IMF Headquarters in Washington DC on 14 and 15 July 2004.

The following members of the IAMB were present:

Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development: Mr. Khalifa Ali Dau, Senior Financial Advisor
International Monetary Fund: Mr. Bert E. Keuppens, Senior Advisor
United Nations: Mr. Jean-Pierre Halbwachs, Assistant Secretary-General, Controller
World Bank: Mr. Fayezul Choudhury, Vice-President and Controller
Iraqi Interim Government: Adviser,—Ministry of Finance

Observer: Mr. David Norquist, Coalition Provisional Authority

Also in attendance were the following:

Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development:

Mr. Shehab Bayoumi, Financial Advisor

International Monetary Fund:

Mr. Francois Gianviti, General Counsel, Legal Department
Mr. Chris Hemus, Deputy Division Chief, Finance Department
Mr. Ramanand Mundkur, Counsel, Legal Department
Ms. Mary Hoare, Accountant, Finance Department

United Nations:

Mr. Jayantilal Karia, Director, Accounts Division
Mr. Moses Bamuwamye, Finance Officer

World Bank:

Mr. Charles McDonough, Director, Accounting Department
Mr. Hadi Abushakra, Lead Counsel, Middle East, North Africa and South Asia
Ms. Caroline Harper, Lead Operations Officer

The meeting was opened by the Chair.

The agenda for the meeting was unanimously adopted.
A minute of silence was observed for the former President of the Iraqi Supreme Audit, the late Dr. Ihsan Ghanim.
The Chairman informed the IAMB that, pursuant to UNSCR 1546, the Iraqi Government has nominated a senior official from the Ministry of Finance as Member of the Board. The Iraqi member attended the meeting on its second day 15 July and was warmly welcomed by the Board.

External Audit of the DFI

The Partners from KPMG presented the audit reports for the audit of the DFI for the Period from inception to 31 December 2003.
The reports are available on the IAMB website at http://www.iamb.info/dfiaudit.htm
IAMB recalled that the statement of work required that the report be available in English and Arabic and looked forward to receiving the Arabic Version.
IAMB was also briefed on the status of the on-going audit covering the period 1 January - 30 June 2004. KPMG is expected to brief IAMB at its September meeting on the progress made and will submit its reports to IAMB at its October meeting.
IAMB stressed the need to maintain the integrity of the process by exercising due care in handling sensitive information.

Briefing by the IMF Staff on Financial Management Law in Iraq

The IMF staff briefed IAMB on the Financial Management Law (FML) adopted by the Government of Iraq.
The FML is intended to regulate the arrangements governing the preparation and adoption, recording, management, execution and reporting of the federal budget; to address issues relating to internal control, accounting and auditing

Update on the Statement of Work for the Special Audit

IAMB was briefed on the status of the Statement of Work (SOW) for the special audit of sole sourced contracts.
The SOW had been shared with the Board of Supreme Audit, but no time frame was available for the completion of the contracting process.
The IAMB was also informed that since no funds had been committed for this project, it will depend on the Government of Iraq to decide whether or not to fund the special audit. The IAMB intends to follow this up with the Government.

Status of the DFI after 30 June 2004

The IAMB was informed that the Ministry of Finance (MOF) had vested in the Programme Contracting Officer (PCO) the authority to manage the disbursement process for the DFI funds in relation to on-going projects whose completion dates fall after 30 June, 2004.
The IAMB was informed that about $ 1 billion dollars worth of contracts fall under this category and will be managed under this arrangement until 31 December 2004.
IAMB was also assured that the PCO will continue to work with the Central Bank of Iraq to ensure that all CPA negotiated contracts are honoured.

UNSCR 1546 (2004)

The Chair reported to IAMB that the amendments to the IAMB's Terms of Reference (TOR) had been sent to the Prime Minister of Iraq, seeking the Interim Government's comments.
The IAMB noted, in light of the appointment of the Iraqi member to the IAMB, that he will play an instrumental role in helping KPMG complete its audit, particularly by facilitating access for KPMG staff to Iraqi Ministries.

Press Briefing

The IAMB agreed to provide a technical briefing to the press at the end of its meeting on the outcome of the audit of the DFI and to subsequently post the transcript of the briefing as well as the KPMG audit reports on the IAMB website.

Other Business

The next meeting of the IAMB has been scheduled for 7–8 September, 2004
The meeting was adjourned on Thursday 15 July 2004.

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