Deloitte Issues Report on Tsunami Assistance

Concluding six months of pro-bono assistance to the United Nations Development Program on the oversight of tsunami relief and reconstruction work, Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP presented its final report on the project last week.

Deloitte member firms advised the program on how to maximize the efficiency and transparency of tsunami resources. More than 60 technical specialists representing seven firms from the United States, Australia, Canada, India, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand donated more than 14,000 hours to provide advisory services from April 4 through Nov. 1, 2005.

"With this generous help from the DTT member firms, we have been able to stretch our precious resources even further," said Kemal Dervis, administrator of UNDP, in a statement. "Their assistance has enabled us to be faster and more effective in all aspects of our tsunami reconstruction projects."

Deloitte firms assisted key countries with particular concentration in three areas, including:

  • Providing advice for UNDP offices with respect to development and implementation strategies as well as business and operations processes;
  • Advising and consulting with respect to the application of financial systems processes and procedures, particularly as they relate to expanding the capacity of UNDP to implement redevelopment strategies; and,
  • Providing advice with respect to local financial and operating processes and controls.

Deloitte's assistance resulted in the development of more than 100 tools, methodologies and deliverables adapted to the unique needs of each UNDP office in Indonesia, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, and to the needs of UNDP Headquarters in New York. Many of these tools are now standard practices in the UNDP offices where they were developed.

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