A financial authorization issued by the Administrator to an official or to a unit to incur commitments for specific purposes relating to the institutional budget and within specified limits, during a definite period;
Amortization is the systematic allocation of the amortizable amount of an Intangible Asset over its useful life. Amortization expenses the cost of the asset in equal instalments (Straight line method of amortization) over the life of the asset, rather than when the asset is paid. Amortization is the systematic allocation of the amortizable amount of an Intangible Asset over its useful life. Amortization expenses the cost of the asset in equal instalments (Straight line method of amortization) over the life of the asset, rather than when the asset is paid for. Amortizable amount is the cost of an asset, or other amount substituted for cost, less its residual value and Residual value of an asset is the estimated amount that would currently be obtained from disposal of the asset, after deducting the estimated costs of disposal, if the asset were already of the age and in the condition expected at the end of its useful life. In UNDP all intangibles will have a zero residual life.
A subdivision of the appropriations for which a specific amount is shown in the appropriate decision and within which the Administrator is authorized to make transfers without prior approval;
The total amount approved by the Executive Board for specified purposes for the current institutional budget against which commitments may be incurred for those purposes up to the amounts so approved. The appropriations are divided into “appropriations lines”, for each of which a specific amount is shown in the appropriate decision adopted for each budget period by the Executive Board and within which the Administrator is authorized to make transfers without prior approval.
Centralized functions are those functions that will be performed only by the Global Shared Services Unit (GSSU) and UNDP NYHQ through Accounts Division, OIMT or General Operations/ BMS. Refer to POPP on Furniture and Equipment for more details.
According to Rule 121.01 paragraph (a) of the UNDP Financial regulations and Rules (as amended on January 1, 2012), the Chief Procurement Officer of UNDP is accountable to the Administrator for all procurement functions of UNDP for all its locations, except for those procurement actions governed by paragraph (c). The Chief Procurement Officer may further delegate authority to staff at headquarters and other locations, as may be appropriate in fulfilling the purposes of these rules.
A Commercial Lease is an exchange contract between UNDP and a private company, In exchange for the usage of the asset, the landlord/lessor receives a payment or series of payments. Commercial Leases are generally contracted for office space and, in certain cases, for different types of equipment.
A legal obligation arising from a contract, agreement or other form of undertaking by UNDP or based on a liability recognized by UNDP, either against the resources of the current year in respect to UNDP programme activities or against the current budget period in respect to the institutional budget
Cash or in-kind resources (the latter being in the form of goods, services, or real property) provided to UNDP. Contributions are used to cover UNDP programme activities as well as programme support, management and administration, and support to operational activities of the United Nations, including costs associated with the administration of contributions received for special purposes; costsharing - a co-financing modality under which contributions from Other resources can be received as a supplement to Regular resources for specific UNDP programme activities, under the relevant cooperation framework.
UNDP has an agreement with CITIBANK N.A to issue UNDP Corporate Purchasing Master Cards to UNDP Operations staff (usually the individual who maintains the purchasing card account and responsible for approving low value purchases within the office. While each card is issued in the cardholder’s name the Card remains the property of UNDP and is only to be used for official purchases. Even though the Cardholder’s name appears on the card, this does not affect the cardholder’s credit history nor is there a requirement for the cardholder to use any personal information in activating the card.
Daily subsistence allowance (DSA) comprises the organization’s total contribution towards such charges as lodging, meals, gratuities, transport cost from place of lodging to the first place of official business, and vice versa, and other payments made for personal services rendered.
The cost of an asset, or other amount substituted for cost, less its residual value. The residual value of an asset is the estimated amount that would currently be obtained from disposal of the asset, after deducting the estimated costs of disposal, if the asset were already of the age and in the condition expected at the end of its useful life. In UNDP the residual value is set at “0”.
Depreciation is the measure of wearing out, consumption or other loss of value of a fixed asset over its useful life. This is also known as ‘depreciation expense’, which is expensed over the life of the asset rather than when the asset is paid for.
Category of costs associated with “programmes” and “development effectiveness” activities which contribute to the effective delivery of development results, as follows:
a) programmes: category of costs associated with specific programme components or projects that contribute to delivery of development results contained in country/regional/global programme documents or other programming arrangements;
b) development effectiveness: category of costs associated with activities of a policy, advisory, technical and implementation nature that are needed for achievement of the objectives of programmes and projects in the focus areas of the organizations. These inputs are essential to the delivery of development results, and are not included in specific programme components or projects in country, regional or global programme documents.
A method of financing the budget of a partner country through a transfer of resources from an external financing agency to the national treasury of the partner government. The funds thus transferred are managed in accordance with the recipient’s budgetary procedures. This includes using the national regulatory framework for financial allocations, procurement and accounting systems.
Per Staff Rule 7.15, excess baggage means baggage in excess of the accompanied baggage carried without extra charge by the transportation company.
Excess baggage should be avoided to the extent possible in order to minimize the environmental impact of transportation. Staff members traveling by air shall be entitled to reimbursement of the cost of excess baggage for themselves and their eligible family members for one bag in addition to their free baggage allowance or up to 25 kilogram per traveller.
Includes disbursements and accruals for goods and services received, and the use or impairment of assets, dependent on the implementation arrangement and in accordance with administrative instructions issued by the Comptroller for a financial period.
A Finance Lease is a capital lease that transfers substantially all the risks and rewards incidental to ownership of an asset. Title may or may not eventually be transferred, even though UNDP does not hold legal title during the duration of the lease
Fixed Asset Management is the process of safeguarding, maintaining, managing and accounting for PP&E, Finance Leases and Intangibles used and controlled by UNDP. Property Plant and Equipment / Fixed Asset and Asset are used interchangeably to represent the same group of assets. Fixed Asset Management is the process of safeguarding, maintaining, managing and accounting for PP&E, Finance Leases and Intangibles used and controlled by UNDP.
The costs incurred by the organization in support of programmes or projects that cannot be directly attributed to such specific programmes or projects.
Covers the estimates as approved by the Executive Board relating to the activities and associated costs in the cost categories of development effectiveness, United Nations Development Coordination, management and special purpose.
Intangible Assets are the non-physical items of value that UNDP owns. The defining characteristics of an Intangible Asset are the lack of physical existence (cannot be touched), and having no set monetary value. They cannot be seen or touched, but are nonetheless important to UNDP’s success. Intangible Assets may be internally generated, such as internally developed software, or acquired from external sources e.g. goodwill (which may not apply to UNDP), or brand name e.g. If UNDP uses a reputable trademark in implementing one of its projects.
A Lease is “an agreement whereby the lessor (landlord) conveys to the lessee (UNDP) in return for a payment or series of payments the right to use an asset for an agreed period of time”.
The difference between current assets and current liabilities. In the specific context of UNDP, this shall normally be taken to mean the sum of working capital and reserves.
Categories of costs in which the primary function is the promotion of the identity, direction and well-being of an organization. These include executive direction, representation, external relations and partnerships, corporate communications, legal, oversight, audit, corporate evaluation, information technology, finance, administration, security and human resources. This includes both activities and associated costs of a recurring and non-recurring nature.
The financial assistance provided to an intermediary which includes
nongovernmental or grass roots organizations in an amount not exceeding$150,000 for each individual grant.
An Operating Lease is a lease other than a Finance Lease. For office space, a Lease that has been formulated and agreed following UNDP’s Standard Lease Template will be an Operating Lease.
UNDP staff and other persons engaged by UNDP under other contractual arrangements to perform services for UNDP programme activities or for programme support.
Plant comprises those assets that are grouped together; held in use for the production or supply of goods or services; used in the implementation of UNDP programmes and administrative operations; and are expected to be used during more than one financial reporting period. Examples of such assets are heavy machinery; furniture and fixtures. The combined cost of such group of assets together should be US$5,000 or more and should meet the capitalization criteria described under “Recognition.”
The document approved by the Executive Board that describes the framework for UNDP programme activities, and indicates the proposed UNDP resources to achieve results during a specified period. Programme documents are prepared at the country level in cooperation with the Government of that country, as well as at regional and global levels.
Property is defined as class of assets that are: Either (a) Land or (b) Buildings that are owned and/or controlled by UNDP with a cost (or value if donated) of US$5,000 or more; and the cost of the Land or Building can be measured reliably.
UNDP Financial Regulations and Rules document defines 'property, plant and equipment' as tangible assets held for use in the activities of UNDP or for administrative purposes and expected to be used during more than one financial period. The Property, Plant and Equipment (PP&E) policy document provides further details of the term 'property, plant and equipment' as a tangible or physically verifiable item that meets ALL the following five criteria: a) Provides future economic or service benefits to UNDP – i.e. the PP&E item is held for use in the implementation of UNDP Programmes or for administrative purposes; b) Is expected to be used during more than one reporting period, which, is 12 months; c) Has a value of US$5,000 (US$5,000 for UNCDF too) or more (New Capitalization Threshold effective as of 01.01.2020); d) Is used and controlled by UNDP; and e) Has a cost that can be reliably determined.
Reconciliation is the accounting process used to compare at least two sets of records to ensure the figures are in agreement and are accurate. Given that the Intangible Assets data will be initiated in one module and ultimately recorded in the Quantum Asset Module as well as the General Ledger Account, there will be a need to reconcile the data and information in the three modules.
The resources of UNDP that are comingled and untied. These will include voluntary
contributions, contributions from other governmental, intergovernmental or nongovernmental sources and related interest earnings and miscellaneous revenue.
Refers to the financial contribution to a government budget, managed in a national account by a government entity for a specific set of sector or programme results.
It is mandatory for United Nations system personnel and eligible family members to obtain security clearance for all official travel, regardless of location, and they cannot commence official travel without obtaining it except in compelling cases, where insufficient time is available such as during periods requiring immediate medical evacuation or other life-threatening situation. For the purpose of this policy, official travel includes official home leave or other entitlement travel where the cost of travel is borne by organizations of the United Nations system. This applies regardless of whether official travel is undertaken by air, sea, land, or any combination thereof.
Categories of costs of a cross-cutting nature that (a) involve material capital
investments, or (b) do not represent a cost related to the management activities of the organization.
The order of magnitude of the Regular Resources expected to be available from UNDP during a specified period for the financing of UNDP programme activities at the country level.
Terminal expenses include all expenditures for transportation between the air terminal or other point of arrival or departure, and the hotel or place of dwelling, including transfer of baggage, and other incidental expenses. It should be paid as part of the travel advance or the travel claim settlement. No receipts are required for standard terminal expenses.
The travel claim is a post-travel report that the traveller is required to submit to the authorizing unit within two weeks from completion of travel when their travel is organized and paid for by UNDP. The travel claim provides appropriate documentation that the travel occurred; enables the traveller to claim reimbursement of additional travel expenses; and, should the travel advance have exceeded the amount of reimbursable expenses, enables the traveller to repay the amount of overpayment.
Travel expenses that shall be paid or reimbursed by the UNDP under the relevant provisions of the Staff Rules include: a) Transportation expenses; b) Terminal expenses; c) Daily subsistence allowance (DSA); d) Miscellaneous expenses.
UNDP Financial Regulations and Rules (FRR) govern the financial management of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and shall, unless otherwise provided by the General Assembly or the Executive Board or as otherwise specified in these Regulations and the annexes thereto, apply to all resources administered by UNDP and to all the Funds and Programmes administered by the Administrator.
Resources credited to the UNDP Regular Resources Account or Other Resources Account and therefore excludes resources credited to the UNDP Funds Account.
The useful life is defined as the period of time over which an asset is expected to be available for use. In UNDP, the useful lives for various categories have been established based upon UNDP’s practices of retaining assets in use with the intention to seek a reasonable average useful life across all the population of similar assets within UNDP. Therefore some assets may be disposed of prior to reaching their useful life, following a review of their usefulness at their recommended replacement life. Equally, other assets may be retained in service for periods longer than their useful lives, for operational reasons. The number and original cost of assets retained beyond their useful lives will be disclosed in UNDP’s financial statements.
Contributions to UNDP Regular Resources from Governments of States Members of the United Nations, of the specialized agencies or of the International Atomic Energy Agency;