Date: 2024.06.26
President Kay Scheller and Ambassador Youssef Balla, President of the WFP Executive Board of the member states, reaffirmed their commitment to continue close cooperation in Rome.
At the annual session of the member states in Rome, President Kay Scheller emphasised that the World Food Programme (WFP) was “by far the most important humanitarian organisation worldwide” and announced current audit findings and conclusions.
President Kay Scheller and Ambassador Youssef Balla, President of the WFP Executive Board of the member states. Source: Bundesrechnungshof.
WFP again faced many challenges in financial year 2023: For example, contributions decreased by about 40 per cent to approximately $8.3 billion compared to the previous year. In individual countries, WFP was confronted with allegations of food aid diversions, WFP embarked on a comprehensive restructuring exercise and numerous regulatory frameworks were in need of revision. On the other hand, the humanitarian need continued to increase – for example in countries such as Yemen or Ethiopia.
President Kay Scheller and Lutz Hoffmann, Director of External Audit, at the annual session. Source: WFP.
In addition to auditing the annual accounts, our audit team addressed new topics and provided 51 recommendations in audit year 2023. These recommendations relate to the budget process, outdated regulatory frameworks, the delegation of authority, the use of consultants and much more.
In his role as External Auditor, President Kay Scheller again provided an unqualified audit opinion for the WFP’s 2023 annual accounts.
After the presentation of this report, the Executive Board approved the annual accounts and thus granted discharge to WFP Management.
President Kay Scheller expressed his appreciation for the close cooperation with the Executive Board and the actors of WFP. He emphasised the common goal of all parties involved:
More benefits despite smaller budgets. That is the goal.
The Executive Board, whose annual session took place in Rome, is WFP’s supreme governing body. Source: Bundesrechnungshof.
Most of the work to help people suffering from hunger is done in crisis regions, and this often under tough and challenging conditions. 20,000 staff members spread all over the world work in 119 countries and areas to provide hungry people with life-saving food assistance.
In order to take a close look at this work, our audit teams conducted fieldwork: at the headquarters in Rome, at the regional bureaux in Senegal, in Kenya and in Panama City, and at the country offices in Burundi, Cameroon, Colombia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Nigeria.
WFP has already implemented 28 recommendations we have made since we assumed the audit mandate two years ago – this is a motivating interim result which shows that our work bears fruit. In this context, Kay Scheller said: “We will continue contributing to an effective and efficient WFP.”
Do you want to learn more about our findings resulting from the audit of the World Food Programme? Here you can find the presentation of the President and further information.
UN WFP is the world’s largest humanitarian organisation. WFP’s top priorities include to fight hunger, to improve nutrition, to ensure access to food and to promote sustainable agriculture. According to WFP, in 2023, WFP was active for more than 150 million people in 119 countries and provided people in need with food, cash and vouchers. WFP had an amount of $8.3 billion available to achieve this purpose. In 2023, Germany’s contribution totalled $1.2 billion, making it the second largest donor after the United States. The WFP audit team within the Bundesrechnungshof reviews the annual accounts and the efficient use of funds. In addition to the audit activities carried out at the headquarters in Rome, the WFP audit team also conducts fieldwork at the regional bureaux and country offices.
