Office of Internal Oversight

The Office’s work is conducted in accordance with the Internal Oversight Mandate and the OSCE Financial Regulations. It covers all OSCE activities, regardless of the source of funding.

The Office of Internal Oversight tailors its audit activities to balance coverage and risk considerations, and focuses on different OSCE executive structures. In addition, Internal Audit assesses thematic areas and processes annually, providing insights and identifying needed improvements across the Organization. While internal audits typically assess processes and systems for compliance with the OSCE’s Common Regulatory Management System and the adequacy of relevant internal control measures, their broader aim is to support management in fulfilling its responsibilities for achieving the OSCE’s objectives and to promote effectiveness, efficiency, transparency and accountability at all levels of the governance, risk management and control processes.

The Office manages and conducts independent evaluations that assess the relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, coherence, sustainability and impact of the OSCE’s work. The Office makes evidence-based recommendations that contribute to decision-making, planning and organizational learning, and help enhance the accountability of the Organization. The Office also manages the OSCE’s Evaluation Network and implements activities to strengthen the OSCE’s decentralized evaluation system and the Organization's overall evaluation culture. The Office is the focal point for the OSCE Evaluation Policy which outlines the purpose, standards and uses of different types of evaluations in the OSCE, in line with international recognized evaluation norms and standards.

The OSCE has zero tolerance for fraud, corruption, abuse of OSCE resources or other misconduct. The main objective of the Office of Internal Oversight’s investigative work is to establish the facts in such cases. This not only covers staff but also extends to examining alleged misconduct by vendors or implementing partners.