atheadauarters. Considerable timeandeffort havebeendevoted tothebriefing of localstaffandmodern computerized techniaues arebeingdeveloped. UNHCR continues toattachgreatimportance totrainina andtrainina courses takeplaceat regular intervals. Further courses arealready beingdesigned andplanned for staffatheadauarters andinthefieldoffices. Travel Outstanding traveladvances 37.Weobserved fromourauditthatoutstanding balances ontravel advances asof 31December 1984amounted toabout$138,760 forallfunds. Thereviewindicated thattheoutstanding balance recorded wasduetothefailure ofsomestaffto submittheirtravelclaimswithinthetimereauired byadministrative -5-instructions. Significant delaysof4to36weekswerenoted. Furthermore, advances weregranted toofficers despite thefactthatprevious advances duefrom themwerenotsettled. 38.Werecommended thattheAdministration shouldstrengthen itsfollow-up system withaviewtoclearing theoutstanding balances andthatnewtraveladvances shouldonlybegranted whenprevious oneshavebeencleared. 39.TheAdministration shouldalsoperiodically furnish theUnitedNations Office atGeneva (UNOG), whichisresponsible fortheaccounting function, with particulars ofdefaulters inordertorecover outstanding balances fromthe salaries ofthestaffconcerned. 40.TheAdministration explained thatthebalances ontraveladvances totalled $134,683 forallfundsasat30April1985andthatthisbalance related mostlyto travelundertaken recently. 41.TheAdministration further statedthatUNHCRregularly followed upoutstanding balances andsentreminders tostaffmembers inwriting onaauarter1y basis. However, itwouldcontinue andstrengthen itsefforts and,further tothe recommendation oftheBoard,provide UNOG,whenpossible, withthenamesof defaulters afterareasonable timehad elapsed~ Procurement Non-compliance withcontract procedures 42.Ourauditalsoincluded areviewofprocurement practices atheadauarters and atbranchoffices. Wenotedinparticular that,contrary totheprovisions of UNHCRfinancial rules110.17 (d)(i)and(g),whichreauire, interalia,thatprior approval oftheUNHCRHeadauarters Committee onContracts beobtained forall contracts involving commitments inrespect ofasinglereauisition oraseriesof related reauisitione totalling $40,000 ormore,acontract involving $458,860 was awarded byabranchofficein1984without thepriorapproval ofthisCommittee. Formalauotations andallrelevant information relating totheproposed transaction, together withrecommendations, shouldhavebeenforwarded tothe Committee foritsdecision. 43.Inthisconnection, ourexamination disclosed thattheUNHCRCommittee on Contracts gavearetrospective approval inJuly1984totheawardwhenworkonthe contract hadalready commenced, withajustification thatthebranchoffice had beenunderpressure fromthehostGovernment toactauickly andthattheprocedures through whichthefirmwasselected seemedtosafeguard UNHCRinterest. 44.Inviewofthefactthattherulesgoverning contract awardsexceeding $40,000 donotprovide forexceptions, thesubstantial amount involved inthecontract and thefactthatthestatedurgency couldhavebeendealtwiththrough cahles, as underlined bytheCommittee onContracts, weconsidered thattheprocedure followed wasveryinappropriate andrecommended thattheAdministration shouldconstantly remindbranchoffices oftheneedforstrictcompliance withrulesgoverninq contract administration. -6-45. offic contr Contr excee Submi 46. submi reach thes 47. out0 were wasa 48. theh thei ande 49. thes purch Defic 50. Actio ofth procel menti, inade could allow perio entit items45.TheAdministration informed theBoardthattheRegional Section forthebranch office hadnotedthecomments madebytheBoardonthebranchoffice's awardofa contract underaproject priortoreceiving authorization fromtheCommittee on Contracts andthatthebranchofficeconcerned wasalsoreminded thatanycontracts exceeding $40,000 shouldfirstbereferred toheadauarters. Submission ofreceiving reports 46.Fieldoffices arereauired byfinancial andadministrative instructions to submitreceiving reports toheadauarters asproofthatgoodsdispatched havereally
**Analysis**
The text appears to be an audit report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) regarding the administration of funds, travel advances, and procurement practices. The report highlights issues such as outstanding travel balances, non-compliance with contract procedures, and the need for better follow-up systems. The language used is formal and technical, suggesting that the report is intended for a specialized audience, likely within the UNHCR organization or related authorities.

**Category**
Humanitarian aid and relief, Administration