First meeting of IBAN Chairman and new Secretary General
On 16 January, the Chairman of the International Board of Auditors for NATO (IBAN), Dr Charilaos Charisis, met Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg for the first time since the latter took office in October 2014.
Dr Charisis briefed the Secretary General on the outcome of the first external Peer Review to be conducted in the history of IBAN, which is an independent, external audit body for NATO that was established in 1953. The Peer Review was implemented by the Spanish Court of Audit (Tribunal de Cuentas) and the Polish Supreme Audit Office (Najwyzsza Izba Kontroli) and presented to the North Atlantic Council (NAC) – NATO’s top political decision-making body – in December 2014.
The Chairman also mentioned the implementation of IBAN’s restructuring, which for some parts was finalised earlier than anticipated. The restructuring was decided by the NAC in 2013.
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stressed the importance of IBAN’s role in providing the NAC and the governments of member states with the assurance that financial reporting is true and fair, and that common funds are being used properly for the settlement of authorised expenditure. He also referred to the remarkable improvements brought about by the reorganisation of IBAN and its reinforcement over the last year.