Audit Reports

As part of its annual workplan, the Office of Internal Audit audited digital advisory and solution services (DASS) project management in WFP. WFP country offices see digital support to national systems as a critical pathway to achieve country strategic plan outcomes and contribute to broader national and global goals. In recent years, WFP received requests to provide digital technology support to host governments,including national social safety and assistance programmes. As of July 2023, the Technology and Programme Humanitarian and Development Divisions reported approximately 180 ongoing or closed projects to provide or support the development of technology capabilities in all six WFP regions. This level of engagement indicates a great need for digitalization and technological innovation in digital assistance services and provides an opportunity for WFP to support the changing lives agenda of national governments. The present audit assessed the extent to which management has established project management governance, processes and controls for the effective delivery of digital advisory and solution services to governments. Based on the results of the audit, the Office of Internal Audit has come to an overall conclusion of major improvement needed.

As part of its annual workplan, the Office of Internal Audit conducted an audit of WFP operations in Honduras. The audit focused on governance and risk management, budgeting and programming, programme delivery, management of cooperating partners, supply chain, cash-based transfers, monitoring, and environmental and social standards. WFP in Honduras supports children enrolled in the National School Feeding Programme. The audit focused on the following two activities under strategic outcomes 2 and 3, which accounted for 72 percent of the country office’s total expenditure and 80 percent of the beneficiary caseload in 2022: (i) Activity 3: Provide food and technical assistance to vulnerable rural populations and support to social protection systems and local actors to build and strengthen the livelihoods of vulnerable rural populations and make their food systems more sustainable, diverse and resilient to climate change and multi-pronged crises. (ii) Activity 5: Provide nutritious school meals to preschool- and school-age girls and boys, ensuring their access to social protection, and strengthen the role of the school as a hub for addressing children's health, nutrition and socialization needs. Based on the results of the audit, the Office of Internal Audit reached an overall conclusion of major improvement needed.

As part of its annual workplan, the Office of Internal Audit conducted an audit of the Supply Chain Cash-Based Transfers, Retail and Markets Unit’s governance arrangements (including funding and systems), to assess whether they effectively support WFP’s market-based interventions. As WFP increases its cash-based assistance, it also increasingly supports the development of markets where beneficiaries buy their food and other essential items. The Supply Chain Cash-Based Transfers, Retail and Markets Unit was created in 2015 as WFP’s supply chain unit to assist in defining WFP’s supply chain roles and responsibilities related to the organization’s cash-based transfer and voucher operations, and to standardize them throughout all WFP operations, while also providing support to country office field operations. Initially covering both procurement and supply chain logistics activities, the unit has specialized over the years and now fully supports markets and retail activities. The unit has developed market assessments and a retail onboarding and contracting system, as well as numerous guidance and manuals. In 2022, the unit successfully supported 10 country offices through oversight and support missions and trained about 230 WFP personnel. As part of the audit, the audit team surveyed six regional bureaux and 40 country offices implementing market-based interventions at various levels of maturity. The audit did not include a review of the implementation and operational delivery of retail activities in the field and therefore makes no related statements or assumptions about its effectiveness or efficiency. Based on the results of the audit, the Office of Internal Audit reached an overall conclusion of some improvement needed.