RESTRICTED  
  
WT/BFA/W/660  
11 March  2024 
(24-1902) Page: 1/45 
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration  Original:  French  
 
  
2023 PERFORMANCE AUDIT REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT EXTERNAL AUDITOR  
ON THE BUDGET: PLANNING, MANAGEMENT AND REPORTING  
 
The 2023 Performance Audit Report of the Independent External Auditor on the budget is annexed 
hereto.  WT/BFA/W/660  
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  WT/BFA/W/660  
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 EXTERNAL AUDIT OF THE 
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION  
 
AUDIT REPORT  
 
 
 BUDGET: PLANNING,  
MANAGEMENT AND REPORTING  
  
 
FINANCIAL YEAR 2023  
 
 
              COUR DES COMPTES  REFERENCE : OMC -2023 -5  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
REFERENCE OF THE COUR DES COMPTES: CoE 2021 -2 
 
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  TABLE OF CONTENTS  
 
I.  OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE OF THE AUDIT  ................................ ..............................  8 
II. LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS  ................................ ................................ .................  9 
III. OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS  ................................ ........................  11 
1. Budget planning  ................................ ................................ ..............................  13 
1.1. Preparing the budget  ................................ ................................ .................  13 
1.2. Strategic guidelines  ................................ ................................ ...................  16 
1.3. The budget vote  ................................ ................................ ........................  19 
2. Budget management  ................................ ................................ .......................  20 
2.1 Budget sustainability  ................................ ................................ .................  20 
2.2 Delegations of authority ................................ ................................ .............  25 
2.3 Re-allocation of appropriations  ................................ ................................ .. 26 
2.4  Staffing allocations  ................................ ................................ ......................  28 
3. Budget reporting  ................................ ................................ ..............................  31 
3.1 Budget reporting formats  ................................ ................................ ...........  31 
3.2 Presentation of expenditure by activity  ................................ ......................  32 
3.3 Budget information quality  ................................ ................................ .........  34 
IV. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS  ................................ ................................ ..........................  37 
ANNEX  1: Presentation of the itemized 2022 -2023 biennial budget, in thousands 
of CHF  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  38 
ANNEX  2: Presentation of the itemized 2024 -2025 biennial budget, in thousands 
of CHF, approved by the CBFA in December 2023  ................................ ........  39 
ANNEX 3: Budgeted and actual expenditure under Parts B and C, 2017 -2022, in 
thousands of CHF  ................................ ................................ ............................  40 
ANNEX  4: Budgeted permanent staff as FTEs, 2013, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023  41 
ANNEX  5: Reallocation of Appellate Body budgetary items eliminated in 2021  .. 42 
ANNEX  6: List of United Nations System procurement tenders used by the WTO 
(2021 -2023)  ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 43 
ANNEX  7: Overview of the procurement process at the WTO  ..............................  44 
 
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  SUMMARY  
 
This audit was carried out in the second half of 2023, in a context where the Members and 
Secretariat  of the World Trade Organization (WTO) had agreed that the budgetary process 
could be improved . The preparation of the budget falls to one person , assisted  by a part -time 
staff member, which constitutes a human and systemic risk factor. The divisions, which are 
expected to contribute to the preparation of the budget through their proposals, sometimes 
have limited visibility of their missions and staff ing lev els, and do not necessarily have accurate 
performance indicators to which they can refer. This results in a tendency to request the same 
amounts  without question, especially since the principle of budget stability in nominal terms, 
applied for 10 years, ha s not been conducive to the formulation of strategic guid elines . The 
failure to explain the priorities being pursued could have weigh ed on the quality of the 
proposals submitted and the trust between Members and the Secretariat, hindering  
constructive dial ogue on budget preparation, implementation and reporting. In return for 
increasin g the amount of information provided, a written and validated budget preparation 
procedure, detailing the tasks involved and the individuals responsible, and setting out the 
various stages of the timetable, would optimize an increasingly onerous budgetary circuit. This 
report seeks to put forward proposals with a view  to restor ing the trust required for budget 
planning.  The Secretariat has pointed out  that the changes to the budget process , which  it has 
started  to implement , are show ing signs of growing  trust.  
 
Keeping within  a budget set at CHF 197.2 million for 10 years has been possible thanks to a 
combination of a number of factors , such as the absence of inflation up  until 2021, the 
slowdown in activity during the pandemic period, the mothballing of the Appellate Body, and 
a cost -control policy, based most notably on replacing permanent staff with temporary 
positions  and reducing operating expenditure . Budgetary const raints are now difficult to 
maintain with the return to an  inflationary environment and the effect that such measures may 
have on the atmosphere and skills within the Organization. New saving measures will need to 
be explored, in particular sharing possibi lities. As an integral part of the bond of trust with 
Members, budget implementation monitoring should be enhanced, as regards both the 
delegation of authority and the possibility of transfers of credit. The Secretariat 's discretion to 
reallocate appropria tions  from one part of the budget to another risks making the original 
budget appear insincere. Under the pressure of a decade of budgetary constraints, the 
Organization has adopted a short -term human resources management strategy, thus meeting 
its needs t hrough temporary recruitment. A census of available skills and sought -after profiles 
should provide the WTO with a proper strategy for staff planning.  
 
In 2012, a r eflection on how reporting could  provide Members with a more concrete view of 
the Secretariat 's activities  led to the presentation of  resource utilization across  eight 
operational sections , referred to as "budget by output chapter". However, presenting resource  
utilization  in this way is not a tool for measuring activity and performance. This also applies to 
the regular budget  proposal , the structure of which is based on a logic of means, unconnected 
to the distribution of services within the Organization or to the Organiza tion's objectives. The 
budget model could be reworked in order to respond to the need for explanations expressed 
by many Members.  Given that Members frequently raise  questions about how resources have 
been allocated, the section on regular budget implement ation in the annual financial 
performance reports may appear to be overly summarized . The WTO  could follow the example 
of other organizations that  publish a budget report in which the budget execution  performance 
is assessed against planned  results and tar get performance measures comparable to those 
of previous years.  
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  I.  OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE OF THE AUDIT  
1. In accordance with the mandate assigned to the Cour des Comptes  by the General 
Council of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the notification dated 12 June 202 3, 
a team of four auditors visited the Organization's headquarters, i n Geneva, from 10 to 14 
July 2023 and subsequently  from 2 to 13 October 2023, to conduct a performance audit 
of the budget and budgetary planning, management and reporting.  
2. The audit was conducted in accordance with the provisions of paragraph XI of the WTO's 
Financial Regulations and the terms of reference sent with the above -mentioned 
notification. The audit was also conducted in accordance with the International Standards 
of Supreme Audit Institutions (ISSAIs) on audits of result verification and audits of 
regularity.  
3. The purpose of the audit was to determine, with reasonable assurance, whether the WTO 
budget is managed in accordance with the principles of economy, efficie ncy and 
effectiveness and the applicable rules, and whether improvements are possible. Particular 
attention was given to the following auditing areas:  
- Budget planning. This aim of reviewing this area was to establish whether 
budgetary objectives are determined and prioritized qualitatively and quantitatively 
in such a way as to accurately guide the actions to be taken and outcomes to be 
achieved; whether  the budget preparation process is coordinated and whether 
responsibilities are identified in such a way as to ensure effective budget 
preparation; and whether assumptions, including those relating to staffing, are 
made and validated in a such a way as to properly estimate costs.  
- Budget management. Here, the review focused on budget implementation  
reliability , the relevance of monitoring budgetary performance, and the 
sustainability of the current zero nominal growth budget in an inflationary 
environment.  We also questioned the existence of a culture of evaluating budget 
result s on the basis of  the objectives and means in place , and in the light of 
budgetary over expenditure  or underperformance.  
- Budget reporting. The auditing team examined whether the im plementation 
reports provided to Members would ensure that  they are  properly informed, in 
particular through the presentation of expenditure by activity or output chapter. 
The team wondered whether improving budget reports could lead to more 
qualitative co ntent in the information provided and whether the procedure for 
adopting the budget proposal allows for arbitration by Members.    
4. The audit launch meeting was held on 10 July 2023 and was attended by representatives 
of the Financ ial Management Service  and Budget Section  of the Administration and 
General Services Division (AGSD). The meeting to mark the end of the onsite audit visit 
was held on 13  October 2023, in the presence of AGSD representatives.  
5. Each observation and recommendation was discussed with t he relevant officials. The 
Secretariat  received the External Auditor's draft report on 11 December 2023. Its 
comments (factual and/or formal) and written replies, made on 30 January 2024, have 
been taken into account in this report.  WT/BFA/W/660  
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  II. LIST OF RECOMMENDAT IONS  
6. The recommendations made are listed in the order in which they are presented  in the 
report and are assigned a level of priority, as decided by the External Auditor, which forms 
an integral part of the recommendation.  
• Priority 1 , fundamental issue requiring the Organization's immediate attention. 
Indicates the existence of a high level of risk for the Organization's objectives;  
• Priority 2 , less urgent control issue to be addressed by the Organization. Indicates 
an intermediate level of risk;  
• Priority 3 , issue for which controls could be improved and to which the 
Organization's attention is drawn. Indicates a moderate level of ri sk.  
Table 1: List of recommendations and priority level  
Area 
concerned  Priority  Recommendation  
 
Planning  1 1. Increase the number of staff responsible for preparing the budget  
and ensure the involvement of the main stakeholders, such as  the 
transformation and strategy units , and the Human Resources 
Division , in budget planning . 
Planning  2 2. Supplement the budget memorand ums circulated to the divisions, 
following the General Council's approval of the budget, by 
assigning them specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and 
time-bound objectives for the biennium.  
Planning  2 3. Establish a detailed and formalized budget procedure , with a view 
to defining precise  timetable for the budget cycle , by provid ing an 
indicative date for the submission of budget proposals to the 
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration (CBFA) , 
compatible with the preparation of detailed pro posals . 
Planning  1 4. Take steps to rebuild trust between Members and the Secretariat , 
by: (a) setting up induction sessions for new delegates and deputy 
delegates on the Organization and the functioning of the 
Secretariat, including its budget (presentation of the main 
aggregates, budgetary construction, implementation and 
reporting); and (b)  preparing, at the level of the Office of the 
Director -General, a background note for each new biennium, to be  
submitted to  the CBFA and then disseminated to services and 
Members, for the preparation of the budget, setting out the 
Director -General 's priori ties and the fundamental parameters of 
the budget proposal . 
Implementation  3 5. Undertake a general programme review to determine which 
activities could be shared with (or delegated to) other international 
organizations.  WT/BFA/W/660  
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  Area 
concerned  Priority  Recommendation  
 
Implementation  3 6. Formalize by name the delegation of authority in the chain of 
responsibility for expenditure commitments within the 
Organization, for all expenditure items, including salaries.  
Implementation  2 7. In order to strengthen budget sincerity: stop  transfer ring credits 
between  Part A  (Staffing Resources) and Part  B (Other Resource ), 
unless prior special authorization has been received from the 
CBFA.  
Implementation  2 8. Develop  a strategy for controlling staffing levels : (a) based on  a 
comprehensive diagnostic study of needs and competencies , and  
a current skills map, to ensure that they correspond to the WTO's 
priorities; and (b) by ensuring coherence between the reports on 
huma n resources and budget documents . 
Reporting  2 9. Include appropriate quantitative and qualitative performance 
indicators when presenting the output chapter s of budget 
proposals.  
Reporting  2 10. Refer , in the annual financial performance report and the regular 
budget proposal , to the budget implementation data for year n -2 
and year n -1, indicating the period for which data are projections . 
Reporting  2 11. Redesign the budget model by including in the budget proposal a 
summary presentation of the allocations requested and the 
underlying strategy, and detailed explanatory notes for each of the 
parts, sections and subsections of  the WTO budget.  
 
  WT/BFA/W/660  
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  III. OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS  
7. While there is no official WTO definition of the budget, Regulati ons 5 to 11 of the Financial 
Regulations of the WTO1, and the Financial Rules of the WTO2, set out the principles 
applicable to it. These principles most notably concern the period covered; expected content 
and form; categories of expenditure and types of resources; and the division of responsibilities 
within the Organization with regard to budget preparation, approval and review.  
8. The WTO budget can be defined, on the basis of this regulatory framework, as a forecast 
of annual expenditure and incom e, presented in Swiss francs  (CHF)  and including 
comparable figures for the previous financial year. The Organization's regular budget 
presents the use of income  from Members' contributions and other miscellaneous income  
in two ways: expenditure by nature and expenditure by activity , as shown in the two tables 
below. Expenditure by nature is presented in three parts, which are divided into sections. 
The sections are then divided into lines : Part A - Staffing Resources; Part B - Other 
Resources; and Part C - Operating Funds and International Trade Centre (ITC) .3 
Expenditure by activity is referred to as  an "output chapter ".  
9. In 2023, the regular budget stood at CHF 197.2 million. Of this, CHF 195.5 million came 
from Members' mandatory contributions and CHF 1 .7 million from miscellaneous income. 
This amount had remained the same for 10 years, following the introduction of the so -
called zero nominal growth budget in 2013. For each year of the 2024 -2025 biennium, the 
approved budget4 is now CHF 204.9 million. T he itemized 2022 -2023 and 2024 -2025 
budget proposals are set out in Annex 1 and Annex 2, respectively.  
Table 2: Simplified annual presentation of budget proposals by nature of 
expenditure according to Parts A, B and C and their respective sections  
In thou sands of CHF  2013  2020  2021  2022  2023  2024*  2025*  
Staff expenditure  131,415  131,415  131,415  131,565  131,565  135,965 135,965 
Temporary assistance  16,927  17,275  17,275  17,274  17,574  19,025 19,025 
A. Staffing resources  148,342  148,690  148,690  148,839  149,139  154,990 154,990 
General services  15,634  15,376  15,376  15,626  15,626  17,276  17,276 
Travel and hospitality  7,481  7,607  7,607  7,907  7,607  7,607 7,607 
Implementing partners  273 213 213 213 213 213 213 
Capital expenditure  3,133  2,095  2,095  3,095  3,095  3,095 3,095 
Financial expenditure  1,230  1,780  1,780  2,080  2,080  1,580 1,580 
B. Other resources  27,751  27,071  27,071  28,921  28,621  29,771 29,771 
Contributions to the ITC  18,911  18,243  18,243  18,243  18,243  18,968 18,968 
Other funds  2,200  3,200  3,200  1,200  1,200  1,200 1,200 
C. Operating funds and ITC  21,111  21,443  21,443  19,443  19,443  20,168 20,168 
Total regular budget  197,204  197,204  197,204  197,204  197,204  204,929 204,929 
* Version approved by  to the Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration (CBFA) in December  2023.  
Source: External Auditor , based on information provided by AGSD.  
 
1 Financial Regulations of the World Trade Organization, WTO document  WT/L/156/Rev.4, 2  February 2023 . 
2 Financial Rules of the World Trade Organization, WTO document  WT/L/157/Rev.2, 22 February 2017 . 
3 The International Trade Centre (ITC) deals with technical assistance and cooperation activities for trade promotion 
within the United Nations framework  of assistance for developing countries. Since 1968, the Centre has operated 
under the joint aegis of the WTO and the United Nations.  
4 CBFA Report, WTO document WT/BFA/217, 12 December 2023.   WT/BFA/W/660  
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Table 3: Annual presentation of budget proposals by output chapter ** 
In thousands  of CHF 2013*  2020  2021  2022  2023  
1. Facilitating negotiations    10,000  9,500  9,500  9,500  
2. Administering agreed WTO rules    45,000  46,500  52,500  53,200  
3. Monitoring trade policies    28,000  28,000  26,000  26,000  
4. Settling disputes    39,000  37,000  32,000  32,000  
5. Capacity building    42,000  42,000  42,000  42,000  
6. Assisting accessions    5,000  5,000  5,000  5,000  
7. Conducting research    15,000  15,500  15,500  15,000  
8. Reaching out    13,204  13,704  14,704  14,504  
Total regular budget  197,204  197,204  197,204  197,204  197,204  
 
* Presentation by output chapter not available for this period.  
** Presentation by output chapter not available for 2024 and 2025 at the time of this audit.   
Source: External Auditor, based on information provided by AGSD.  
10. Contributions from Members may be either mandatory or voluntary. Where contributions 
are mandatory, the income  and projected associated costs are presented and broken 
down in the "regular budget". The use of voluntary contributions is presented under "Trus t 
Funds" or "Extra -Budgetary Funds".  
11. Extra -budgetary t rust funds correspond to projects or programmes supported by one or 
more WTO Members and funded by them, according to Regulation 1 9 of the Financial 
Regulations. Trust funds are monitored separately, on  the basis of management or cash 
accounting, which is linked to the transaction dates for the money entering  these funds, 
unlike the regular budget, which is monitored through accrual accounting. This method 
records operations at the time they are incurred , regardless of when  the money 
transaction is made . 
12. In 2022, trust fund expenditure, via voluntary contributions, amounted to CHF  17.2 
million.5 In 2022, "total revenue"  thus amounted to CHF 215.3 million, as shown in the 
WTO financial statements6 for th at year. The scope of the audit covered by this report is 
limited to the regular budget.  
 
5 Data are available for 2022 only, trust fund data for 2023 will be available in the financial statements  for 2023 , to 
be issued  in 2024.  
6 Financial performance report dated 12 June  2023, CBFA, WTO document WT/BFA/W/632 . WT/BFA/W/660  
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  1. Budget planning  
1.1. Preparing the budget  
13. Precise identification of responsibilities and the timeline for the budget cycle is vital for 
ensuring the efficient preparation of the biennial budget, not only at the forecasting stage 
but also during the review year.  
1.1.1.  Responsibilities to be stren gthened within the framework  of preparing the  budget  
14. Preparation of the budget is centralized in the Financ ial Management  Service of the 
Administration and General Services Division (AGSD). The Head of Budget and Planning 
draws up a preliminary version of the biennial budget proposal using two main sources of 
information. On the one hand, she gathers information on the actual expenditure of year 
n-1 in relation to budget n -1 from various documents, including from the section  on 
budgetary performance in the Annual Performance Report that is prepared every year at 
the end of the accounting period. On the other hand, she collates  the perspectives  of the 
divisional directors, which, while partly reflecting the guidelines set by senior 
management , remain relative ly inflexible and limited in the context of over a decade of 
zero nominal budgetary growth. A preliminary consolidated version of the budget proposal 
document is then submitted to the Deputy Director -General in charge of administrative 
and financial matter s (DDG in charge of Finance) by the Head of Budget and Planning 
and the Director of AGSD .7 This document takes into account the budgetary 
appropriations of n -1 as well as budget trade -offs to request an increase in the budget,  as 
was the case for the prop osal for the 2024 -2025  biennium . This version may be amended 
prior to validation by the Director -General for submission to the Committee on Budget, 
Finance and Administration (CBFA).  
15. The human resources assigned to the Planning and Budget Section  in the AGSD 
Financ ial Management  Service  is 1.5 people in full-time equivalent s (FTE). The significant 
amount of time devoted to budget planning by the Planning and Budget Section , primarily 
because of  the iterative nature of the budget proposals, which are submitted to the CBFA 
a number of times during the second half  of the year  without necessarily containing any 
significant changes8, constitutes a human and systemic risk factor. The strain  on the 
Planning and Budget Section was even greater  in 2023 as the post of Director of A GSD  
was vacant as of June 2023. Consideration could be given to  two options for  bolstering 
this Section , either on a permanent basis , by considering the creation of a planning a nd 
budget division, under the direct authority of the Director -General, that would be in charge 
of administrative and financial matters , and would comprise the units currently responsible 
for strategy and transformation, management control and the budget ; or, at the very least , 
in line with a project management approach , by establishing a dedicated team that could 
include staff from the units responsible for t ransformation  and s trategy , and from the 
Human Resources  Division for the duration of the budget pr eparation  process , the 
meetings with the CBFA and adoption of the budget by the General Council.  
Recommendation No. 1. Increase the number of staff responsible for preparing the 
budget and ensure the involvement of the main stakeholders, such as the 
trans formation and strategy units, and the Human Resources Division, in budget 
planning  
 
7 The AGSD Director's post was vacant at the time of the audit.  
8 See part 1.1.2 of this report.  WT/BFA/W/660  
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  16. The budget is prepared using a bottom -up approach that takes into account the inputs  
from divisions that together are supposed to form the draft biennial budget. Although th e 
divisions with the largest budgets are always consulted when preparing the budget, t he 
information provided nevertheless remain cursory,  as it partly correspond s to the figures 
from the previous year in a zero nominal growth context. Moreover, the divisions, the 
annual allocations of which are formalized as budget memorandums, sometimes have 
limited visibility of their missions and staff ing levels,  and do not necessarily have accurate 
performance indic ators. It would therefore appear necessary to a ssign  objectives  to each 
division director regarding allocated resources , specifying the authorized staff ing levels  
and the budget allocations made.  
Recommendation No. 2. Supplement the budget memorandums circ ulated to the 
divisions, following the General Council's approval of the budget, by assigning them 
specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time -bound objectives for the biennium.  
 
1.1.2.  Setting a budget timeline as part of a formalized procedure  
17. The Organization's annual budget cycle is based, through backward planning, on 
Regulation 6 of the Financial Regulations, which provides that the "budget proposal, as 
well as any revisions for the second year of the biennium as may be necessary, will be 
presented to the Committee [CBFA] at least eight weeks prior to the last scheduled 
meeting of the year of the General Council". The last meeting of the General Council is 
held in December each year. The annual budget cycle, while not formally established in 
the WTO's internal regulations, is described in the following chart.  
Figure 1: WTO budget cycle  
 
Source: External Auditor, based on information from AGSD.  
WT/BFA/W/660  
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  18. The 2024 -2025 budget proposal was submitted to the CBFA by the Director -General on 
18 July 2023. Technical sessions were held from September to mid -October to respond 
to Members' questions on certain budget allocations (human resources, IT, programmes 
and projects, etc.). The Secretariat  has noted  that the technical sessions were more 
numerous a nd more demanding in terms of responses provided than for the presentation 
of the 2022 -2023 Mid -Term Budget Review, which  only took place in September 2022. 
Furthermore, the phase involving budget negotiations between CBFA Members and the 
Secretariat , whic h starts at the end of October, is becoming increasingly intensive, 
particularly where a request is made for a budget extension, as during the 2022 -2023 Mid -
Term Review and for the current 2024 -2025 proposal. By 17 October 2023, six "informal 
technical ses sions", representing "more than 10 hours" of meetings (not including the 
many bilateral exchanges and meetings), had been held to respond to questions raised 
by Members9, while in 2021, for the preparation of the 2022 -2023 biennial proposal, the 
term "tec hnical session" was not used, and reference was made only to "robust 
discussions", which the Director had followed up on with a written document providing 
"further clarification" .10 Similarly, in 2022, in the context of the 2022 -2023 Mid -Term 
Review proces s, only "discussions in informal mode" were mentioned, with the 
preparation of a document responding to "a number of important and well thought out 
questions".11   
19. If the Budget Section is  to submit a proposal to the CBFA in June/July, then it will only 
have budget projections based on performance data to April, which is very early to draw 
relevant conclusions on the adequacy of the year's allocations. However, the first of 
paragraph of Regulation 6 of the Financial Regulations provides that "[f]or each fin ancial 
period, the Director -General shall prepare a budget proposal containing estimates of the 
income and expenditure of the WTO, together with the comparable figures for the previous 
period". These figures must cover both allocations and actual expenditu re. A presentation 
in September would seem better, so as to give the relevant services a reasonable period 
of time for in -depth budget preparation.  
20. Furthermore, the External Auditor was provided with a document briefly describing the 
budget process and ou tlining the main activities carried out at different times throughout 
the year, such as the preparation of budget memos in January of n -1 and meetings with 
the various directors. This budget process, which reflects the main tasks undertaken by 
AGSD, the DD G in charge of Finance and the DG, does not include the second quarter 
of the year with the technical sessions and the budget negotiation period. In fact, this 
unsigned document is not as precise and detailed as the Organization's official standard 
procedu res validated by the competent authorities, such as, for example, the Procurement 
Policy or the Payment Policy.  
21. Standard unwritten practices are also followed by the Budget and Planning Unit of AGSD. 
These include budget reallocation among divisions over the course of the year, for the 
same type of expenditure, such as travel expenses.  
22. Formalizing the budget process through a written and officially validated procedure would 
be advisable in order to, not only detail the tasks and possible actions of each p arty 
involved, but also set out the various stages of the budgetary timetable. This would help 
define the various sessions in which the biennial proposal is presented, as well as the 
relevant technical exchanges and budget negotiation periods, with a view to optimizing 
the budgetary process, which has become more onerous in recent years.  
 
9 Report of the Meeting held on 17 October 2023,  CBFA (WT/B FA/216, dated 13 November 2023).  
10 Report of the Meeting held on 2 2 October 2021 , CBFA (WT/BFA/199, dated 3 November 2021).  
11 Report of the Meeting held on 8 November 2022,  CBFA (WT/BFA/208, dated 8 December 2022).  WT/BFA/W/660  
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  Recommendation No. 3. Establish a detailed and formalized budget procedure, with 
a view to defining precise timetable for the budget cycle, by providing an indicative 
date for the submission of budget proposals to the Committee on Budget, Finance 
and Administration (CBFA), compatible with the preparation of detailed proposals.  
1.2. Strategic guidelines  
23. The budget, unchanged in nominal terms for a decade, inherited from a tense geopolitical 
context, has been accompanied by a lack of strategic direction, which constrains the 
process of drawing up the budget, as highlighted in the review carried out by the private 
consultancy firm, McKinsey, in 2021 .12 In response, the Secretariat has affirmed its 
commitment to strengthening budgetary governance through a long -term transformation 
strategy, to be carried out by 2030.  
1.2.1.  Budgetary principles inherited from a tense geopolitical and geo -economic contex t 
24. Having succeeded the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1995, the 
mandate of the WTO now covers trade in services and intellectual property. The number 
of economies that are stakeholders in the Organization has continued to increase since i t 
was established in 1995, rising from 128 Members initially to 164 Members in 2002.13 Its 
budget grew steadily until 2013 in view of the broadening of the Organization's mandate 
and the consolidation of staff at a single location. Nevertheless, multilater al trade 
negotiations have lost some momentum, as evidenced by the Doha Round negotiations 
that have been open since 2001, despite initially being expected to last three years.  
25. Obtaining consensus decisions in a Member -driven organization14 becomes compli cated. 
Geopolitical challenges are compounded by tension over Member s' financial capacities, 
particularly since the 2008 global financial crisis. Members, keen to see the Organization 
make productivity gains, thus agreed , implicitly,  on two budgetary princ iples that have 
remained in force since 2013.  
26. The zero nominal growth budget was introduced for the biennium 2014 -2015, taking the 
2013 budget as a starting point and fixing the budget envelope at CHF 197.2 million  for a 
decade, until 2023 .15 In addition,  the number of regular positions financed by the regular 
budget16 was also frozen at 645.5 full -time equivalents (FTE) as from 2013. The amount 
for these positions, grouped together as "staff expenditure", as opposed to "temporary 
 
12 Structural Review of WTO Secretariat , McKinsey, 6 August 2021 (paper copy).  
13 An increase of 28%.  
14 "Member -driven" organizations are those whose actions and decisions are greatly influenced by the members 
and their needs. However, "mission -driven" organizations focus on accompli shing their mission, often defined in 
their statutes, and seek to attract members who share that vision. The author suggests that, against a backdrop of 
rapid change, it is in organizations' interest to find a balance between these two approaches. Focusing  too much 
on members' immediate needs can sometimes undermine the organization's long -term mission (and vice versa).  
Striking the right balance allows organizations to remain true to their mission and overcome divisions, while still 
meeting their members' evolving needs and expectations.  
15 Report of the Meetings held on 10, 18, 25 October and 1 November 2013 , CBFA (WT/BFA/139, dated 14 
November 2013, para. 3.24): "In order for the WTO Secretariat to operate with zero nominal growth in the WTO 
budget for 20 14 and 2015, the Committee recommended that the General Council endorse the strategic principles 
and priorities proposed by the Director -General". These resolutions apply only to the 2014 -2015 biennial budget 
and carrying over this principle of zero growth  to each new biennial budget proposal represents a continuity of the 
strategic decision which, since then "would ... provide the desired level of predictability" according to footnote of 
3.2 Budget proposals by sector of the 2014 -2015 Budget Proposals, CBF A (WT/BFA/W/309, of 2 October 2013).  
16 Regular positions and fixed -term positions (a minimum of one year or more) as opposed to short -term contracts. 
See section 2.4 on the allocation of staff.  WT/BFA/W/660  
- 17 - 
15 
  assistance", was capped a t 74%17 of the total budget (excluding the contribution to the 
International Trade Centre), or CHF 131 million.18 While it is possible for the cap  on regular  
staff to be reviewed, it has never been approved since 2013.19 
1.2.2.  Rebuilding trust  
27. Discussions held with Members and in the Committee on Budget, Finance and 
Administration (CBFA)20 in 2023 , without necessarily reflecting the views of all Members, 
reveal ed a fairly widely shared dissatisfaction with the budgetary process. The 
improvements often called for concern ed strategy, transparency and the quality of 
information. Considering that this perception is a major handicap for the Organization, the 
External Auditor considered it useful to summarize the comments below.  
- A lack of strategy : the strategic priorities of the Secretariat are not reflected sufficiently 
clearly in the budget proposals. In particular, the reasons for the staffing resources 
allocation, the definition of profiles and re -allocation of positions are not considered to 
be adequately explained. There are repeated discussions about the ability of senior 
management to mobilize teams around general principles and to transmit its initiatives 
through the divisions. It is also true that adopting a common strategic vision is a compl ex 
exercise in a Member -driven Organization, governed by consensus among 164 
Members. The reflection currently being undertaken by the Secretariat, to equip the 
WTO with pillars and targets for 2030, is only in its early stages  
 
- A lack of transparency:  many Members consider the budget statement to be neither 
sufficiently precise, nor well -reasoned, in particular with respect to expenditure 
presented as essential, but also additional allocations made throughout the year. They 
would like to have access to more precise information on the distribution of staff by 
division, in terms of quantity and quality, as well as on the distribution of vacancies and 
frozen positions. Moreover, Members have deplored the decision not to circulate the 
report21 prepared by Mc Kinsey, the private consultancy firm. Similarly, there is some 
consternation at the Secretariat's expenditure, deemed to be high, on events for which 
there was no clear interest ( the example given was that of  Trade and Gender ). Some 
Members point to a lack  of coordination among the divisions.  
 
 
17 For example, for the 2013 budget: 131,415 / (197,204 - 18,91 1) = 0.73.  
18 "The second priority was to cap personnel expenditures for permanent staff at the current budget level as these 
expenditures currently amounted to almost 74% of the budget (excluding the contribution to the ITC budget)" 
(WT/BFA/139, para. 3.4) and Table 4 1 of the 2014 -2015 Budget Proposals (WT/BFA/W/309).  
19 As at the date of the audit. "If it proves necessary due to unexpected changes in inflation rates and other elements 
..., the Committee would examine a Revision to the second year of the biennial budget  prepared by the Director -
General, which could propose increases, decreases or reallocations of resources for the second year". (Ibid. fn to 
para. 3.20).   
20 For example, draft Report of the Meeting held on 21 September 2023, of 10 October 2023, CBFA.  
21 Structural Review of WTO Secretariat , McKinsey, 6 August 2021 (paper copy).  WT/BFA/W/660  
- 18 - 
16 
  - A lack of information : the budget statement is seen as being too summarized and brief, 
and the reports on its implementation are not satisfactory either. The human resources 
budget is considered to be unrealistic, particularly in terms of the budget breakdown 
between regular and temporary staff. Budget transfers over the course of the year have 
confirmed this perception. Some Members query whether certain expenditures fall within 
the scope of the  mandate of the WTO.  The information provided to Members in terms of 
achievements, or outputs, is not considered to be very helpful. The outputs are not very 
detailed and provide no information on the outcomes of these outputs. The outputs 
provide a review of the means availa ble for each of the eight budget sections, but they 
do not serve as a measure of performance.  
28. This dissatisfaction is making  dialogue with WTO Management  difficult . As they are not 
given the information to which they believe they have the right, Members f ind it difficult to 
agree to a budget increase.22 Meanwhile, the Secretariat, considering itself to be 
inundated with many detailed questions, is reluctant to disseminate more information in 
an effort to protect its discretionary powers. However, the budget must be prepared on 
the basis of clear short -term priorities, disseminated to the divisions and shared with 
Members in order to ensure the compatibility of those priorities with Members' own vision 
of the objectives to be attained and the means to be devoted to them.  Therefore, the lack 
of a framework affects the quality of the budgetary information presented.  
29. This lack of trust between Members and the Secretariat precludes a constructive dialogue 
around budget preparation , implementation reporting. It is a major factor blocking any 
progress in collabor ation between the Members and the Secretariat.  
30. Some measures could help to rebuild this trust:  
- induction sessions for new delegates and deputy delegates on the organization and 
functioning of the Secretariat, including its budget (presentation of the main aggregates, 
budgetary construction, implementation and reporting);  
- dissemination by the Secretariat of a budget framework note for each new biennium, 
after having presented the terms to the CBFA;  
- the production of a more info rmative budget document, based on the results of the 
budgetary performance of the last budgetary period  available , including the latest 
projections where appropriate,  and underpinned by clearly established assumptions and 
priorities. It should include a su mmary and detailed notes on each section, with a 
breakdown of the staffing budget by division and grade, and a set of "SMART"23 
performance indicators, i.e. that are Specific, Measurable, Acceptable/Achievable, 
Relevant and Time -bound.  
 
Recommendation No. 4. Take steps to rebuild trust between Members and the 
Secretariat, by: (a) setting up induction sessions for new delegates and deputy 
delegates on the Organization and the functioning of the Secretariat, including its 
budget (presentation of the main aggr egates, budgetary construction, implementation 
and reporting); and (b) preparing, at the level of the Office of the Director -General, a 
background note for each new biennium, to be submitted to the CBFA and then 
disseminated to services and Members, for th e preparation of the budget, setting out 
the Director -General's priorities and the fundamental parameters of the budget 
proposal.  
 
22 The 2022 -2023 mid -term budget review, submitted to the CBFA at the end of 2022, put forward a revision to 
the 2023 budget and requested an increase of 7.7% to bring it to CHF  212.45 million, or an additional 
CHF 15.25  million. This request was rejected by the General Council.  
23 Acronym linked to the management by objectives concept defined in 1954 by Peter F. Drucker, a business 
management consultant. The method consists of identi fying quantitative and/or qualitative objectives over a defined 
period. In 1981, George T. Doran picks up this theory and conceptualizes the SMART acronym.  WT/BFA/W/660  
- 19 - 
17 
  1.2.3.  Strengthening budgetary governance according to a results strategy to be confirmed  
31. The Secretariat  stresses that, since 2022, it has been working to strengthen budgetary 
governance in order to ensure the approval of important decisions within the Organization, 
in particular on the subject of controls for staff expenditure, which account for around 75% 
of the budget. A Short -Term Needs Committee has been established to review all short -
term staff requests and make recommendations to the Director -General. The terms of 
reference of this Committee have been expanded to review regular positions that have 
become vacant and decide whether they should be filled at the same grade or at a lower 
grade, whether they should be left vacant or re -allocated to a different area of work. 
According to the Secretariat, this new procedure has helped to reduce these expenditu res 
by some 25% in 2023 compared to 2022 .  
32. Furthermore, a human resource monitoring study should be communicated by the 
Secretariat. A quantitative and qualitative analysis of staffing , currently being developed, 
will enable a comprehensive organization ch art, a staff skills map and a strategic 
allocation of staff to be drawn up.  
33. With respect to the remaining 25% of the budget, a number of governance mechanisms 
have been introduced: a new vision and strategy division created in accordance with the 
indicati ons of the transformation steering committee, the IT Steering Committee to review 
IT projects, as well as the Contracts Committee to review major contracts and improve 
the spending rationale. Senior Management  is thus looking to foster a more strategic 
culture in the area of budgeting and resource management.  
1.3. The budget vote   
34. The approval of the biennial budget is a two -part process within the WTO.24 The CBFA 
examines the budget proposal, then prepares a report and a recommendation to be 
submitted to the General Council for adoption. The General Council then approves the 
budget according to the CBFA's recommendations. Article  VII of the Marrakesh 
Agree ment, signed in 1994, provides that the General Council shall adopt "the annual 
budget estimate by a two -thirds majority comprising more than half of the Members". 
However, consensus -building is the custom within the Organization, whether that is in the 
General Council or in the CBFA.  
35. Differences in approach among the WTO Members have brought to light the emergence 
of a deadlock over the approval of the budget. During the examination of the 2020 -2021 
budget proposals, the 2021 budget was adopted separately in November 2020, after 
several months of deadlock. The reasons are mainly related to political disagreements 
concerning the budget level and its allocation, in particular on the matter of minor 
budgetary envelopes pertaining to research projects that, acc ording to some Members, 
the Organization should not fund.  
36. The proposal to amend Regulation 10 of the Financial Regulations, made in 2022 in order 
to provide for instances where the budget is not adopted at the beginning of the budget 
period, was not accep ted. Other international organizations have such a provision.25 Given 
that it is not covered by the Financial Regulations, failure to adopt the budget poses a risk 
to the WTO. If the Director -General can advance from the Working Capital Fund such 
sums as m ay be necessary to finance expenditures, in accordance with Regulation 26 of 
the Financial Regulations, this provision only applies to sub -annual budget management, 
provided that the budget has indeed been adopted.  However, the External Auditor did not 
 
24 Regulation 10 of the Financial Regulations of the World Trade Organization, (WT/L/156/Rev.4 of 2 F ebruary 
2023).  
25 For example,   Article 24 of the Financial Regulations and Supplementary Provisions of the Council of Europe.   WT/BFA/W/660  
- 20 - 
18 
  consider it useful to make a recommendation here.  While this absence of a legal solution 
may pose a risk, it is also a means of pressuring Members, forcing them to reach a 
consensus before the beginning of the next budget year, despite their disagreements and  
the longer deadlines within the budget implementation framework.  
2. Budget management  
2.1 Budget sustainability  
37. The introduction of zero nominal budget growth was made possible by the combination of 
several factors. Some are exogenous, such as the abse nce of inflation up until 2021, the 
slowdown in the Organization's operational activities during the pandemic, and the 
savings from the 25 positions reallocated following the dissolution of the Appellate Body. 
Others have been more endogenous, linked to a policy of containing staff costs by 
freezing certain positions and promotions, the greater use of temporary assistance, and 
the abolition of a few positions in support functions. Productivity gains with regard to 
various technical aspects have contributed to the sustainability of a frozen budget. It 
appears difficult to maintain budgetary constraints in today's inflationary context.  
2.1.1 Budget rationalization efforts constrained by zero nominal growth  
38. Since staffing costs account for most of the expendit ure, Part A of the budget has been 
the main adjustment variable to remain within the allocated funds in order to comply with 
the budget constraint of zero nominal growth. The budgetary cap on regular positions, in 
addition to the determination to limit all  staff expenditure to three quarters of the budget, 
meant that such expenditure remained relatively stable within the budget overall. Such 
expenditure increased by 1.1% in six years, accounting for 75.4% of total expenditure in 
2017, compared to 76.4% in 2 022. Staff expenditure has a structural tendency to be lower 
than the corresponding allocations, or to be almost in line with the budget.  
Table 4: Staff expenditure, 2017 -2022  
 
In thousands  of CHF  2017  2018  2019  2020  2021  2022  Variation 
2017/2022  
(i) Staff Expenditure  87,215  87,663   83,513   81,776   87,499   83,649   -4.1%  
(ii) Staff Pension and Post -employment 
Benefits  20,618  20,461   22,062   21,033   21,582   21,665   5.1%  
(iii) Staff Family and International Benefits  5,891  5,929   5,933   6,357   6,769   7,194   22.1%  
(iv) Other Staff Expenditure  14,227  12,568   13,394   11,055   12,723   12,451   -12.5%  
1. Staff Expenditure  127,951  126,620   124,902   120,222   128,573   124,959   -2.3%  
(i) Short -term Staff  13,605  12,981   14,674   13,764   16,363   18,240   34.1%  
(ii) Consulting  5,239  5,384   4,777   6,062   7,539   6,044   15.4%  
(iii) Panellists  1,499  1,196   1,521   762   517   749   -50.0%  
2. Temporary Assistance  20,343  19,561   20,972   20,587   24,419   25,033   23.1%  
A. Staffing Resources (Actual cost)  148,295  146,181   145,874   140,809   152,992   149,993   1.1%  
 % Total Expenditure  75.4%  74.4%  74.7%  75.6%  79.5%  76.4%  - 
A. Staffing Resources (Budgeted cost)  148,704  148,696  148,696  148,690  148,690  148,690  -0.01%  
Actual cost / Budgeted cost  99.7%  98.3%  98.1%  94.7%  102.9%  100.9%  - 
Source: External Auditor , based on information provided by AGSD.  WT/BFA/W/660  
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19 
  39. This stability was the result of two main measures, specifically the freeze on regular 
positions and the transfer of resources to temporary assistance, representing a lower 
financial burden.  
40. The freeze on positions funded by the regular budget, which took the form of keeping 
positions vacant while recruiting temporary assistance, pro vided greater flexibility and 
reduced costs in order to be able to carry out the Organization's activities. In fact, not all 
the regular positions, capped at 645.5, are fully funded. A growing number of positions - 
51 FTE in 2023 - have been kept vacant inter alia  to release resources for other 
expenditure.  
41. This practice of freezing regular positions has led to the 34.1% increase in the short -term 
staff item since 2017. It is also partially reflected in the 4.1% fall in the staff remuneration 
item. The pro portion of staff expenditure used for temporary assistance rose from 
CHF 20.3 million to CHF 25.0 million.  
Table 5: Regular positions, budgeted and actual , 2017 -2023  
Number of positions / Year  2017  2018  2019  2022  2023  Variation  
2017/2023  
(a) Regular positions open in the budget  645.5  645.5  645.5  645.5  645.5  0.0%  
(b) Regular positions actually filled  600.7  596.7  596.9  602.3  594.5  -1.0%  
Of which functional divisions  336.7  317.0  315.6  305.9  309.8  -8.0%  
Of which operational divisions  264.0  279.7  281.3  296.4  284.7  7.8%  
Var. regular positions filled / budgeted regular positions (b -a) -44.8 -48.8 -48.6 -43.2 -51.0  
 
Source: External Auditor , based on information provided by AGSD.  
42. The cost of fixed -term contracts has been kept down by the introduction, in 2012, of four 
additional lower salary scales, while the cost of regular contracts has been controlled, 
among other things, by the reclassification of high -level positions to lower grades and the 
freeze on promotions.  
43. Various cost -saving measures have been or are in the process of being implemented with 
respect to non -staff expenditure items: optimizing technical facilities to reduce electricity 
and gas consumption; installing communal bins; launching an on -demand cleaning 
system in 2024; regrouping some 20 preventative maintenance contracts for the buildings 
under a single maintenance contract; extending the lifetime of desktop and laptop 
computers; streamlining serv ice centre staffing; using new technologies for translations; 
eliminating the distribution of paper copies of documents; disciplining travel by using 
virtual mode whenever possible and reducing the number of staff on mission; streamlining 
conference servic es costs by using smaller support teams; streamlining library 
subscriptions; and renegotiating contracts with freelance interpreters and translators.  
44. Combined with the reduction in certain expenditures during the COVID -19 pandemic, t his 
has resulted in a b udgetary underperformance of Part B appropriations for resources 
other than staff. While these allocations were CHF  26.5 million in 2017 and 
CHF 28.9 million in 2022, actual expenditure was lower at CHF  24.5 million ( -7%) and 
CHF 26.7 million ( -8%), respec tively. On at least two occasions, in 2019 and 2022, Part 
B appropriations were used to top up the insufficient Part A allocations for temporary 
assistance. The budgeted and actual expenditures under Parts B and C, from 2017 to 
2022, are set out in Annex 3 .  WT/BFA/W/660  
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20 
  2.1.2 Difficult to maintain zero nominal growth budgetary constraints   
45. Several constraints have now been imposed on the budget envelope. The current 
economic environment is one of the major factors, with the reversal of the inflationary 
context. The zer o nominal growth budget and human resources allocation constraints 
have been applied without taking inflationary effects into account. However, inflation, as 
determined by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office, was 5.3% between January 2017 and 
December 202 2. When the inflation rate for that period is applied to the total approved 
budget, it translates to a loss of revenue in real terms in the order of CHF  10 million in 
2022 compared to 2017, of which CHF  6.6 million was lost from the staff expenditure 
appro priations allocated.  
46. Moreover, and despite the cost -saving measures, various irreducible staff costs have 
increased over five years, while the effects of inflation have not been taken into account. 
Remuneration has continued to rise in line with the scale s adopted by the United Nations 
and the Coordinated Organizations on the one hand, and with the step increases of each 
grade on the other. In addition, the death and invalidity insurance item almost doubled in 
2022 as a result of a new insurance contract. After service health insurance contributions 
have risen due to the steady increase in the number of retired staff and successive 
discounting of long -term liabilities. The "Travel and Removal" and "Separation Grant" 
items are rising constantly due to the hi gh number of staff leaving the Organization. Lastly, 
interpretation costs have gone up significantly since the pandemic, due in particular to the 
increasing number of meetings . Other expenditures have also increased, such as 
contractual services; electrici ty, which is affected by the general rise in energy costs; 
library subscriptions, where subscriptions to certain databases are costly; and software, 
as expenditure on this item has tripled since 201 7 due to the drive for digitization and the 
need to modern ize audiovisual, security and reproduction equipment, the cost of which 
has been spread over a number of years.  
47. Various people to whom the audit team spoke were of the view that the jobs freeze and 
promotion slowdown measures had had an effect on staff mor ale within the Organization 
and could lead to disaffection among professional staff. The breakdown by grade of the 
50.7 positions frozen in 2023 shows that the Organization had to forgo 14 senior 
management or leadership positions (grades 9, 10 and 11) and  26 mid -level professional 
staff (grades 6, 7 and 8), undermining its conceptual and negotiating mandates. A staff 
satisfaction survey26 showed that 25% of respondents lacked motivation  or were 
demotivated. In contrast, other sources believe that the large  number of applications 
received for advertised positions is evidence of the attractiveness of the WTO. Whatever 
the case may be, objective data shows that staff no longer hesitate to look for better 
employment conditions elsewhere. In 2023, 40 permanent s taff members voluntarily left 
the WTO, compared to just 19 in 2017.  
 
26 WTO 2024 -2025  Budget Proposal of 3 July 2023, draft version (WT/BFA/W/643), with information from the 
Structural Review of WTO Secretariat  by McKinsey, of 6 August 2021.  WT/BFA/W/660  
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21 
  48. The functional divisions have long been prioritized over the operational divisions27, which 
currently account for more than half of the workforce. However, Members' requests, 
particularly those resulting from new international challenges and the accession of new 
economies to the WTO, have led the Organization to transfer resources from the 
functional divisions to the operating divisions since the entry into force of the zero no minal 
growth budget. The changes in budgeted regular positions since 2013, set forth in 
Annex  4, show that operational divisions have been given relative priority over functional 
divisions. Since 2013, the number of budgeted regular positions in the functi onal divisions 
has shrunk by 7.4%, as they accounted for 56% of the total budgeted regular positions in 
2013 compared to 52% in 2023. At the same time, the number of budgeted regular 
positions in the operational divisions has grown 9.6%, rising from 44% of  the total 
budgeted regular positions in 2013 to 48% in 2023. The actual workforce figures have 
followed the same trend, primarily as a result of the reallocation of the 25  Appellate Body 
regular positions in 2021, which were prioritized for operational di visions. The breakdown 
of this reallocation is given in Annex 5.  
2.1.3 A calling into question of the 10 -year-old principles of the zero nominal growth 
budget and of capping staff expenditure  
49. Beginning with the submission in 2021 of the 2022 -2023 budget proposal28, the 
Secretariat warned about the difficulties the Organization was facing as a result of the 10 -
year-old zero nominal budget growth  principle, which in practice has led to a net decline 
in its resources taking into consideration inflatio n and the expansion of its mandates. 
While recognizing the financial difficulties of Members' economies, the Secretariat 
essentially called for a short -term review of this policy to identify the necessary additional 
resources.   
50. The 2022 -2023 mid -term budg et review29, submitted to the CBFA at the end of 2022, put 
forward a revision to the 2023 budget and requested an increase of 7.7% to bring it to 
CHF 212.45  million, or an additional CHF  15.25  million. This request was rejected by the 
General Council  for 2 023, as was the request for the 2021 budgetary surplus of 
CHF 6 million to be transferred to the regular budget, which was allocated to one of the 
Organization's reserves.30 
51. The 2024 -2025 budget proposal was submitted to the CBFA by the Secretariat in 
July 2023.31 It again included a request for a budget increase, of 7.4% in 2024 compared 
to 2023, reaching CHF  211.8 million, and an additional 0.9% in 2025 over 2024, with a 
budget target of CHF  213.7  million.  This request, which was partially accepted in 
December 202332, resulted in a budget envelope of CHF 204.9 million for 2024 and 2025, 
up 3.9% compared to 2023. The  additional  CHF 7.7 million will be financed primarily by 
an increase in Members' assessed contributions.   
 
27 The breakdown was prepared by the External Auditor. The "functional" divisions are the: Office of the Director -
General; Offices of the DDGs; Human Resources Division; Office of Internal Oversight; Information an d External 
Relations Division; Administration and General Services Division; Language and Documentation Services Division; 
and Information Technology Solutions Division. The "operational" divisions are the: Council and Trade Negotiations 
Committee Division ; Appellate Body Secretariat; Accessions Division; Economic Research and Statistics Division; 
Rules Division; Development Division; Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation; Trade Policies Review 
Division; Agriculture and Commodities Division; Trad e and Environment Division; Trade in Services and Investment 
Division; Intellectual Property, Government Procurement and Competition Division; Market Access Division; and 
Division for Knowledge and Information Management.  
28 WTO 2022 -2023 Budget Proposal, C BFA, WTO document WT/BFA/W/556.  
29 WTO 2022 -2023 Mid -Term Budget Review, CBFA, WTO document WT/BFA/W/607.  
30 Report of the meetings held on 1 and 5 December 2022, CBFA, WTO document WT/BFA/209.  
31 WTO 2024 -2025 Budget Proposal, CBFA, WTO document WT/BFA/W/643, dated 3 July 2023.  
32 Report of the meeting held on 22 November and 12 December 2023, CBFA, WTO document WT/BFA/217, of 
12 December 2023  WT/BFA/W/660  
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22 
  52. Alongside that budget increase, n ew cost-saving measures will need to be explored. If 
the Secretariat has already found some room for manoeuvre thanks to outsourcing, it 
should also consider sharing possibilities.  
53. Several outsourcing solutions have been implemented in support functions since  2017. 
For example, the Information Technology Solutions Division (ITSD) outsourced the 
Service Desk in 2014, equivalent to 8 FTE on average. Since 2014, a saving of 3.3 FTE 
has also been made thanks to the transfer of IT infrastructure activities (backing  up and 
storage of data, telephony and server hosting). Similarly, the Secretariat has outsourced 
more than 50% of translations to a network of freelance translators. The Language and 
Documentation Services Division  (LDSD) have thus reduced the number of F TE from 50.6 
in 2017 to 43.9 in 2023. The translation budget has remained unchanged, while the 
number of words to be translated has increased sharply, up from 21.6  million in 2015 to 
24.6 million by the beginning of September  2023. During the same period, the budget 
allocated for the recruitment of temporary translators has remained stable, as expenditure 
in 2022 was contained. The use of external providers has led to a saving of more than 44 
FTE, which has resulted in  savings in terms of budgetary allocations. Productivity gains 
should now be sought in the operational divisions, as to date the functional divisions have 
been the focus of such gains.  
54. Working with other international organizations to share or delegate activities r emains 
marginal. The WTO is free to benefit from procurement tenders organized by other 
international organizations in order take advantage of economies of scale. Annex 6 sets 
out the United Nations System procurement tenders of which the WTO has taken 
advantage. Much could be gained by systematizing this good practice.  
55. In the context of a budget audit, it is not for the External Auditor to identify which of the 
Organization's operational activities could be usefully shared with, delegated to or even 
integr ated into those United Nations institutions or programmes working in fields similar 
to those covered by the WTO's mandate. Against a general backdrop of strain on 
Members' finances, an objective reflection on the activities of the United Nations 
Conference  on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) or the International Trade Centre 
(ITC) might be recommended.  
56. The Secretariat recognizes that the WTO must work in coordination with the United 
Nations System to avoid any duplication  of activities.  But it stresses that s haring certain 
activities, or even delegating them to UN agencies would not be feasible given the 
specificity of the WTO's mandate. The Secretariat points out that the WTO is entrusted 
with mandates emanating from international trade agreements concluded b y its Members. 
Agreements that together create a specific "economic and commercial rule of law".  
57. Technical assistance, which is the least specific activity of the WTO's mandate compared 
to its other remits, namely international rules of trade and dispute s ettlement, has received 
CHF 4.5 million from the regular budget each year since 2012 and CHF  13.9 million from 
the Global Trust Fund (GTF) in 2023, making a total of CHF  18.4 million for 202333, 
without prejudice to funding from other trust funds. The WTO and its partners would 
benefit from undertaking a review of these technical assistance programmes to determine 
which activities could be shared with or delegated to other organizations.  
 
33 Biennial Technical Assistance and Training Plan 2022 -2023, Committee on Trade and Development 
(WT/COMTD/W/260/Rev.1, of 2  December  2021).  WT/BFA/W/660  
- 25 - 
23 
  58. A programme review could also be carried out of activities linked, inter alia , to research 
and statistics, development, knowledge management and university programmes, with 
the same aim of sharing resources and results with the same international organizat ions 
and the International Monetary Fund.  
Recommendation No.  5. Undertake a general programme review to determine which 
activities could be shared with (or delegated to) other international organizations.  
2.2 Delegations of authority  
59. Pursuant to Rule 4, A ppropriations and Allocations, of the Financial Rules of the WTO, 
Division budget memorand ums inform each Division of the amounts allocated to them. 
Paragraph  4.2 states that "The Director of Administration and General Services Division 
shall inform in wri ting the Directors of the amounts allocated to their divisions in 
accordance with the Functional Budget with the constraints limiting the use of these 
appropriations."  These memorand ums include information on the total staff expenditure 
of the division, th e different financial envelopes for temporary assistance, travel and some 
small expenditures, such as purchasing documentation, subscriptions and a "hospitality" 
line. While these memorand ums set out the budget available to the director of each 
division, t hey do not formally delegate authority for that budget to each director, they 
simply provide operational management information. The words "delegation of authority" 
or "subdelegation of authority" are not used, and the directors of the divisions are not 
identified as being responsible for approving orders that constitute an expenditure 
commitment.  
60. The Financial Rules and Regulations explicitly set forth the chain of responsibility for 
expenditure commitments. The first delegation of authority is made by the  General 
Council, set up pursuant to the Marrakesh Agreement established in 1994, to the Director -
General, in accordance with Regulation 20 of the Financial Regulations which states that 
"the General Council shall ... authoriz[e] ... the Director -General t o incur expenditure for 
the purposes for which the appropriations were adopted and up to the amounts so 
adopted." The second link in the chain is the delegation of authority by the Director -
General to the Deputy Director -General in charge of Finance. Finan cial Rule 4.1 states 
that: "The Deputy Director -General in charge of Finance is responsible to the Director -
General for ensuring that the expenditure of the WTO under the regular budget remains 
within the appropriations as voted and that such appropriation s are used only for the 
purposes approved by the General Council." Lastly, Financial Rule 1.3 describes the last 
link in the chain which is the delegation of authority by the Deputy Director -General in 
charge of Finance to other officials of the WTO: "The Deputy Director -General in charge 
of Finance is responsible to the Director -General for the application and implementation 
of these Rules.  He or she may delegate any specific authority vested in him or her 
pursuant to these Rules, in the appropriate writte n format, to other officials of the WTO."   
61. However, no specific official is named for the delegation of signature of expenditure 
commitments at the third level of delegation, which states that it must be made in "the 
appropriate written format". The Organi zation indicates that the delegation of authority 
chain is integrated into the IT system, which identifies the functions authorized to incur 
expenditure, in accordance with the Procurement Policy34, dated 9  December  2022. In 
practice, purchase requests (PR) initiated in the system by a "requesting unit" are 
 
34 In Part VII, Delegation of Authority, the Procurement Policy states that "contracts for the purchase of goods 
and/or services shall be entered into on behalf of the WTO only by an official duly authorized in writing by the 
Deputy Director -General ('DDG') in charge of Finance for this purpose".  WT/BFA/W/660  
- 26 - 
24 
  confirmed by a succession of hierarchical validations, which turns the PR into a purchase 
order (PO). Annex 7 to this report sets out the WTO pr ocurement cycle.  
62. Despite the movement of expenditure commitment authorizations through the incremental 
profiles in the IT system, the delegation of signature chain has not been formalized with 
regard to expenditure commitments, including from the DDG in charge of Finance to staff 
from the Procurement Section or the Finance Section. However, the delegation of bank 
signatures is properly established in the payment policy.  
Recommendation No.  6. Formalize by name the delegation of authority in the chain of 
responsibility for expenditure commitments within the Organization, for all expenditure 
items, including salaries.  
2.3 Re-allocation of appropriations  
63. For the regular budget, the monitoring of expenditure is carried out, in a consolidated 
manner, by the Hea d of Budget and Planning, whose purview includes permanent and 
temporary staff expenditure, which is about three quarters of the Organization's budget. 
The Financial Analysts of AGSD also assist with this monitoring for other operating 
expenditure. The mon itoring of "budgeted" and "actual" expenditure is done on a daily 
basis, through the validation of purchase requests submitted by means of specific 
monitoring IT applications.35 
64. Generally, budget preparation, monitoring and reporting is carried out by a sm all team 
comprising the Head of Budget and Planning and four Financial Analysts. The segregation 
of duties between purchase requests and orders and the payment of expenditure means 
that the rest of the Financial Management Services team, assigned to paymen ts and 
accounting, is not involved in the budget management quality control process.  
65. The four Financial Analysts who monitor budget performance, together with the Head of 
Budget and Planning, are consequently called upon to comment on future expenditure to  
be made over the course of the current financial year and actual budget consumption, 
according to the different expenditure categories. They meet with the Directors and 
procurement coordinators of the Divisions to determine potential future expenditure, a nd 
the reasons for certain changes in expenditure compared to the previous year, in order to 
justify possible budget extension requests. This information is consolidated in the 
quarterly WTO budget and finance reports and in the annual financial performanc e 
reports.  
 
35  The application tools are MobilXpense for purchases of travel services and iProcurement for other purchases. 
In addition, the QlikView tool allows committed and actual amounts to be visualized, with the possibility of refining 
the data by the nature of the expenditure, the Division, and/or cumulated over a given period.  WT/BFA/W/660  
- 27 - 
25 
  66. In financial year 2022, the following transfers were made between the three parts of the 
budget.  
Table 6: Transfers made during financial year 2022 (in thousands of CHF)  
Category  Appropriations  Expenditure  Balance  Proposed 
transfer  Revised 
appropriations  Balance  
1. Staff Expenditure  131,565  124,959  6,606  -6,606  124,959  0 
2. Temporary Assistance  17,275  25,033  -7,759  7,759  2,533  0 
A. Staffing resources  148,840  149,993  -1,153  1,153  149,993  0 
3. General Services  15,626  16,676  -1,050  1,050  16,676  0 
4. Travel and hospitality  7,907  4,883  3,023  -3,023  4,883  0 
5. Implementing Partners  213 1,170  -957 957 1,170  0 
6. Capital expenditure  3,095  2,412  682 -136 2,959  546 
7. Financial expenditure  2,080  1,646  434 0 2,080  434 
B. Other resources  28,921  26,788  2,133  -1,153  27,768  980 
8. Contributions to ITC and Special 
Reserves  19,443  19,443  0 0 19,443  0 
C. Operating funds and ITC  19,443  19,443  0 0 19,443  0 
Total regular budget  197,204  196,224  980 0 197,204  980 
 
Source: External Auditor, based on information from AGSD/Planning and Budget.  
67. Under Part A, corresponding to staffing resources, the heavy reliance on temporary 
assistance - in the order of 115 FTE - has led to excess expenditure over appropriations 
under this section in the amount of CHF  7.8 million. The underperformance of the staff 
expenditure section, producing a surplus of CHF  6.6 million, caused by leaving 51 of the 
645.5 budgeted positions vacant, was not sufficient to offset the deficit under the 
temporary assistance section.  
68. With respect to Part B, Other Resources, with the exception of the Implementing Partners 
section which frequently has excess expenditure over appropriations, the other sections 
underspend, which, on the whole, yields a surplus of CHF  2.1 million.  
69. In summa ry, Part B appropriations have been used to offset the budgetary deficit under 
Part A, particularly temporary assistance expenditure, to the tune of CHF  1.1 million, or 
4% of the initial Part B allocation. This transfer of credits is equivalent to just 0.8 % of Part 
A appropriations, but 6.7% of those for "temporary assistance".  
70. The Financial Regulations are not very prescriptive in terms of the transfer of credits. 
Regulation 8 provides that "[s]upplementary budget proposals for the current financial 
period  may be submitted by the Director -General on an exceptional basis.  The Director -
General shall prepare supplementary budget proposals in a form consistent with the 
approved budget." and Regulation 21 states that "[a]t the end of the financial period the 
Director -General shall report on the transfers of credits between sections of the 
expenditure budget to the General  Council for approval.  For items so identified by the 
Committee [CBFA] at the time of budget finalization, transfer shall not be permitted."    
71. To our knowledge, the CBFA has not drawn up a list of credits or sections for which 
transfers are not permitted. Similarly, no cap has been established for a possible limit on 
transferred amounts, as a percentage of the allocation concerned or in absolute t erms  
Moreover, although Regulation 21 only covers transfers of credits between sections, 
transfers seem to be able be made between parts, which have not been rejected by the 
CBFA. Lastly, the approval for transfers, requested ex post , is always granted.  WT/BFA/W/660  
- 28 - 
26 
  72. As a result, the Secretariat has de facto  complete discretion to reallocate credits by means 
of transfers between sections and even between parts. It may transfer operating credits 
from Part B to cover remuneration costs under Part A. No asymmetrical fungib ility rule 
has been established between remuneration credits and operating credits.  
73. The Secretariat observes that transfers from Part B to Part A is not a systematic 
management choice and has only happened twice . Since then, several measures have 
been adop ted. The Short -Term  Needs Committee has been set up to control temporary 
assistance and staff costs are monitored closely.  
74. The possibility of transferring credits from the item for  operational activities to staff 
expenditure  nevertheless  undermines budget sincerity, especially as the Secretariat could 
be tempted to overestimate certain allocations in order to build up "reserves" of credit. 
The allocation for electricity expenditure has underperformed for years and been partially 
reallocated, sometimes by as much as 50% of the allocation  
75. Nevertheless, three elements are to be highlighted with respect to transfers of credits in 
the context of the budget implementation by the Secretari at. First, the applicable rules, 
which are not very onerous, are respected. Moreover, the General Council approved, ex 
post, transfers carried out in accordance with Financial Regulation 21. Lastly, the high 
degree of constraint on the budget in an ongoing  inflationary context requires a great deal 
of flexibility in its implementation for the agile reallocation of unused credits to sections 
with insufficient funding.  
 
Recommendation No. 7. In order to strengthen budget sincerity: stop transferring 
credits between Part A (Staffing Resources) and Part B (Other Resource), unless prior 
special authorization has been received from the CBFA.  
2.4  Staffing allocations  
2.4.1  WTO staff are not a monolithic bloc and bring together different realities   
76. The WTO Staff Regulations36 and Staff Rules37 lay down the general human resource 
management principles of the Organization. Staff are recruited on the basis of a fixed -
term contr act for a minimum period of one year, renewable several times, without 
exceeding five years. A regular contract, i.e. without a fixed term, may be granted at the 
end of those five years and upon recommendation of the Appointment and Promotion 
Board. On thi s basis, regular positions are distributed across the divisions, including when 
they remain vacant and are intended to remain in the divisions concerned. Positions may 
however be transferred to other divisions depending on identified needs. Despite the 
apparent rigidity between divisions, there is in fact some flexibility in the allocation of staff. 
The Market Access Division has, for example, seen its staff almost double between 2013 
and 2023, and a new division38 was created in 2020.  
 
 
36 WTO Staff Regulations of 10 September 2017.  
37 WTO Staff Ru les, as amended 1 February 2023.  
38 Division for Knowledge and Information Management, Academic Outreach and the WTO Chairs Programme 
(KMD).  WT/BFA/W/660  
- 29 - 
27 
  77. In addition to these  two types of contracts defining the category of staff members, there 
are short -term contracts, which are for a period of less than one year.39 Furthermore, 
some staff members, between one and six depending on the financial period, are on 
"project post con tracts", the definition of which appears only in the Report on Grading 
Structure in the WTO Secretariat, published in May 2023.40 Project posts contracts allow 
additional resources to be engaged to cover a temporary peak in demand, or a specialized 
task that is not intended to be permanent, for periods exceeding 11 months, but which 
may not exceed three years. As this type of contra ct is not provided for in the Staff 
Regulations or in the Financial Rules, it is a modality that also requires a special 
dispensation.  
78. The WTO has several staffing reporting mechanisms. Financial Regulation 37(b) of the 
Organization states that the Directo r-General shall provide to the CBFA annual reports on 
human resources. These reports detail different actions undertaken by the Secretariat on 
various matters such as wage policy, grade structure, training and diversity. However, the 
scope of the informati on given in the human resource management reports is not the 
same as that of the regular budget documents. The human resource management reports 
take into account all staff, those covered by the regular budget and those paid from extra -
budgetary funds. In addition, they refer to the gross workforce, in number of persons, and 
not in full -time equivalents.  
2.4.2  A strategy to control the wage bill in the face of the zero nominal growth budget  
79. In order to mitigate the effects of the zero nominal growth budget, on 14  November  201341 
the CBFA set out a strategy for controlling personnel costs which endorsed a paradigm 
shift, specifically that budgetary priorities should be determined based on the resources 
provided and not on the resources needed. In this regard, the following main measures 
were adopted:  
- Cost controls per staff member by rebalancing the grade pyramid through the policies 
of freezing promotions, recruiting at lower grades to equivalent posts and lowering the 
salary scale by grade. Thus, b etween 2012 and 2023, the proportion of staff at grades 
10 and 12 fell sharply: grades higher or equal to 10 accounted for only 16% of staff in 
2023, compared to 21% in 2013.  
- Post reductions, borne mainly by six divisions, covering both support services,  
specifically LDSD, AGSD and ITSD, and operational services, such as the Economic 
Research and Statistics Division, the Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation, 
and the Trade Policies Review Division. These divisions have lost between 12% and 
30% of their posts to other divisions.  
- Keep the same number of positions vacant or even increase it, in order to contain the 
budget envelop for regular positions. According to the Human Resources Division, the 
number of regular positions left vacant was 52 full-time equivalents as at 30 June 2023, 
corresponding to 8% of filled positions and 9 positions more than in 2012.  
 
39 Preamble to the WTO Staff Regulations.  
40 2022 Annual Report on Grading Structure in the WTO Secretariat, CBFA, WTO document WT/BFA/W/631, 1 
May 2023.  
41 Report of the Meetings held on 10, 18, 25 October and 1 November 2013, CBFA, WTO document 
WT/BFA/139.  WT/BFA/W/660  
- 30 - 
28 
  80. Ultimately, personnel costs have been fully contained by means of efforts to boost 
productivity focused on certain divisions. However, the  absence to date of a system of 
activity and performance indicators applied to all WTO divisions, means that this 
improvement in productivity cannot be clearly substantiated other than by the reduction in 
the resources allocated. Although the Organization has a body of rules governing the 
management of staff and monitoring mechanisms (including, wage policy, recruitment 
terms, internal and external mobility, and training), these tools do not help to identify a 
strategy for making optimal use of staff in lin e with the Organization's strategic priorities.  
81. Under the pressure of a decade of budgetary constraints, the Organization has adopted 
a short -term human resources management strategy, thus meeting divisions' needs 
through temporary recruitment. This policy  appears to have reached its limits: in 2021 and 
2022, the underutilization of the budget for regular staff did not cover the excess 
expenditure on temporary assistance over what was initially budgeted. The overruns of 
the budget allocation for temporary a ssistance over the two years amounted to 
CHF 7.1 million and CHF  7.8 million, respectively, or over 40% to 45% of the initial 
envelope, which is a weakness in terms of budgetary sincerity, as the resources were not 
ultimately used in accordance with the bu dget adopted by the Members.  
82. Aware of this disparity, the Organization established, in 2022, the Short -Term Needs 
Committee, which brings together the four DDGs, overseen by the Director -General, to 
examine each division's requests and make the necessary decisions. Having met three 
times42, the Committee demonstrates that the prioritization of temporary assistance 
requests is now monitored at the highest level.  
83. Moreover, the use of short -term contracts could be indicative of real needs for new skills, 
particularly in the case of the Econom ic Research and Statistics Division. This field has 
evolved considerably in recent years; it requires profiles able to process large amounts of 
data and to develop new forms of modelling, using artificial intelligence. The situation of 
that Division is the  result of the combination of a major push to boost productivity and a 
18% drop in positions filled over the period, positions being kept vacant and the greater 
use of short -term contracts: 13 as of mid -2023, 13 in 2022 and 8 in 2019. These findings 
suppor t the Director -General's request to strengthen this area and retain these skills in 
order to provide the analyses required by the Ministerial Conference (in particular MC12) 
in terms of the quality, level of expertise and time frame.  
84. In the draft 2024 -2025  budget proposal, the Director -General showed a willingness to 
move away from the practice of using short -term contracts, which deprives the Secretariat 
of key skills that need to be fostered within the Organization. However, the request to 
create 15 posts  is not based on a full assessment of the skills and emerging needs of the 
Organization in terms of its mandate and developments in world trade.  
85. The work being spearheaded by the Human Resources Division should help to overcome 
the deficit in certain compe tencies through internal training and external recruitment on 
regular positions. A transformation strategy 2030 has been launched to promote a culture 
of innovation and high performance. Human resources management is a major 
component of this strategy, in particular with regard to the identification of competencies 
that are key for the Organization. These include general and behavioural competencies 
as well as job -specific technical skills. Therefore, the competencies and needs of each 
Division must be iden tified. The preparation of this skills map should allow the WTO to 
develop a real planning strategy for staff training, competencies and positions.  
 
42 In July 2022, December 2022 and June 202 3. WT/BFA/W/660  
- 31 - 
29 
  Recommendation No. 8. Develop a strategy for controlling staffing levels: (a) based on 
a comprehensive diagn ostic study of needs and competencies, and a current skills 
map, to ensure that they correspond to the WTO's priorities; and (b) by ensuring 
coherence between the reports on human resources and budget documents.  
3. Budget reporting  
3.1 Budget reporting for mats  
3.1.1  Different formats for the presentation of the regular budget  
86. In the main, the budget presentation takes the form of biennial budget proposals, that are 
around 50 pages  long. These proposals set out how Members' contributions will be used, 
by type of expenditure and expenditure by activity or by "Output Chapter". These are 
compared  to the budget proposal of the previous year. In addition, t he reports also include 
paragraphs comparing actual expenditure from previous years. The budget proposal f or 
2024 -2025 was adopted in December 2023 . In accordance with Regulation 6 of the WTO 
Financial Regulations, any revisions for the second year of the biennium may be 
presented by the Secretariat. These take the form of mid -term reviews.  
87. Budget execution i s monitored annually in the section on regular budget performance of 
the annual financial performance reports, and in the quarterly WTO budget and finance 
reports. The monitoring of Trust Funds is also set forth in the annual performance report, 
in the sec tion on extra -budgetary performance, and in the quarterly reports.  
88. Until 2023, Regulation 37 of the Financial Regulations provided for the quarterly 
submission of "WTO Budget and Finance" reports to the CBFA. Since they were revised 
in 2023, the Financial Regulations now provide for reports to be submitted after the first 
six months of the year and at year -end, even though the person responsible for budgetary 
planning continues to produce the reports for the first three quarters of the year. These 
short doc uments, of between four and five pages, are divided into five parts: Contributions 
from Members and Observers; Cash situation; Members and Observers under 
administrative measures; Budgetary expenditure; and Multi -year contracts, which are 
worth more than C HF 2 million. However, they do not include projections, only 
commitment and expenditure statements. Nevertheless, the Budget Section  produces a 
monthly statement for internal use, with all the commitments and a year -end projection. 
These documents allow bu dget consumption to be monitored line by line, to identify 
upstream cost centres at risk of under - or over performance, and, where appropriate, to 
transfer credits.  WT/BFA/W/660  
- 32 - 
30 
  3.1.2  Non-exhaustive projections regarding the Extra -budgetary Trust Funds, despite 
links with the regular budget  
89. In addition to the regular budget proposals, "plans" that can be compared to budget 
estimates are published for some of the Extra -budgetary Trust Funds. However, not only 
are budget estimates not made available for all Funds, as was pointed out in the 2022 
Audit Report on the Governance and Management of Extra -budgetary Trust Funds, they 
also do not necessarily cover the same periods as the estimates for the biennial regular 
budget. Instead, they tend to follow the time frames of the activities for which the Funds 
were created.  
90. The Biennial Technical Assistance and Training Plan (referred to as the "TA Plan") has a 
budget of CHF  21 million for 2024. This Plan is submitted to the Committee on Trade and 
Development by the Institut e for Training and Technical Cooperation (ITTC), including 
those activities covered by the Global Trust Fund (GTF).  This Fund finances 58% of the 
2024 TA Plan, with the remainder shared between the regular budget (22%) and other 
funds (20%).  
91. In very speci fic instances, AGSD may be required to directly manage the needs and 
expenditure of certain, so -called "minor" funds, such as the LDC Ministerial Conference 
Trust Fund 2023 -2024. This is a fund used to finance the travel costs and per diem 
allowances for d elegations from least developed countries (LDCs) so that they can 
participate in Ministerial Conferences. The Thirteenth Ministerial Conference (MC13) will 
take place in Abu Dhabi in February 2024. The estimated total budgeted expenditure is 
some CHF  722,0 00.43 
92. There are intrinsic links between the regular budget and extra -budgetary trust funds, since 
Regulation 19 of the Financial Regulations provides that voluntary contributions are 
subject to an overhead fee of up to 13% "on direct expenditure incurred b y trust funds to 
reflect supporting services". As "the acceptance of ... contributions ... [may] involve 
additional direct costs to the regular budget of the WTO or financial liability for the 
Organization".  
93. The fact that budget estimates are not available  for all extra -budgetary trust fund gave 
rise to a previous recommendation in the 2022 performance audit: "Recommendation No. 
3. Include in the quarterly and annual trust fund activity monitoring reports submitted to 
the Committee on Budget, Finance and Ad ministration (CBFA), a statement of the income 
collected and expenditure recorded shown against future budget estimates."  Measures 
are being implemented by the Secretariat in response to this recommendation and should 
be in place by 2024. As a result, budg et estimates for all voluntary contributions will be 
included in the quarterly and annual reports.  
3.2 Presentation of expenditure by activity  
3.2.1  An analytical view of the regular budget  
94. Reflection on a system of reporting that would provide Members w ith a more concrete 
view of the Secretariat 's activities began in 2010. The process led to the presentation in 
2012 of the use of resources across  eight operational missions, referred to as "budget by 
output chapters". The operational missions approved by Members are as follows: 
Facilitating Negotiations, Administering Agreed WTO Rules, Monitoring Trade Policies, 
Settling Disputes, Capacity Building, Assisting Accessions, Conducting Research, and 
Reaching Out.  
 
43 LDC Ministerial Conference Trust Fund 2023 -2024 , CBFA, WTO document WT/BFA/W/647, of 6 September 
2023.  WT/BFA/W/660  
- 33 - 
31 
  95. These output chapters are based on a cost acco unting system. Staff expenditure is 
allocated according to quarterly declarations made by individuals of the percentage of 
time spent on each activity. All WTO staff are automatically invited by email to complete 
their declarations in the system through th e eActivity interface. An administrator in each 
division oversees the individual declarations and , lastly, the divisional director validates  
the time declarations within their remit and can correct any anomalies in the same way as 
the budget control.  
96. Since 2016, each budget proposal has set out the regular budget allocated to  the eight 
activities or output chapters, both in terms of value and as a percentage of the total 
budget. The relative weight of each activity in the budget has remained stable for every 
budget period  since then.  
3.2.2  Useful yet underdeveloped provisions  
97. While this breakdown has the merit of setting out  the allocation and use of resources by 
main area, it is not a tool for measur ing activity and performance. The budget proposals 
do not include any non -financial indicators that measure activities directly linked to these 
eight main areas. While indicators , such as the number of words translated or the number 
of meetings held, are briefly mentioned in the supporting documents, they are not specific 
to each of the eight activity areas. Nor are they consistently reported in a manner that 
allows for an objecti ve assessment of changes in operational output in each area. 
Similarly, no specific objectives are defined or assigned in the budget documents for each 
of the eight areas of activity. Thus, the combined absence of specific, tangible activity 
indicators and objectives means  the CBFA and, more generally, the Members do not have  
information on the effectiveness, efficiency and performance of the actions carried out in 
these eight main areas.  
98. Nevertheless, existing data sources could  be used more effectively. The chart of accounts 
is highly detailed, allowing for the direct identification of certain projects or  elements by 
area. For example, each  trade policy review of a particular  country  or territory is  a separate 
project. Incorporating quantitative and quali tative indicators, such as the number of 
managed or upcoming projects, the number of country -specific reviews completed or to 
be completed, their duration  or the number of allocated months/staff, would provide a 
clearer understanding of how projected and a ctual resources are used.  
99. In addition, each division is currently in the process of introducing indicators. As part of its 
performance audit report on the WTO's handling of the COVID -19 health crisis and its 
consequences  in 2021, the External Auditor reco mmended introducing key performance 
indicators (KPIs) to  monitoring the Organization's internal performance.44  
100. The Secretariat  recalls that KPIs  are established for each division, while the breakdown  
of expenditure by activities is done  on a cross -cutting  basis. It would therefore be 
extremely difficult, if not impossible, to apply the divisional KPIs  to the results. On the 
other hand, it recognizes that indicators such as number of meetings, words  translated , 
trade policy reviews , etc. can be included . 
 
44 "The External Auditor recommends formalizing the monitoring of the Organization's performance through 
quantified means and performance indicators.  These indicators should be defined by each service and 
transmitted to the Financial Operations Directorate for consolidation. In the longer term, this monitoring could 
form the basis for an annual performance report separate from the Annual Report and the  Financial Performance 
Report ." WT/BFA/W/660  
- 34 - 
32 
  101. In comparison, for example, the 2023 programme budget for the International Trade 
Centre (ITC), the joint technical cooperation agency of the UN and the WTO, funded in 
part from the WTO regular budget, publishes its own specific budget report under the 
Programme Budget for 2023 , which is  submitted to the UN General Assembly .45 The 
budget execution p erformance is assessed against the planned  results for 2023 and 
target  performance measures  compar ed to previous years. For example, the three main 
planned  results for 2023 are:  
- South -South trade and investment creates growth opportunity for micro -, small and 
medium -sized enterprises from East African countries;  
- increased demand for trade intelligence as a global public good, enabling decisions for 
global trade recovery;  
- partnerships for enhanced trade and more resilient micro -, small and medium -sized 
enterprises in countries in conflict and post -conflict situations.  
102. The performance measures , together with the target indicators  for 2023,  used for e ach 
of these planned  results are:  
- trade investments facilitated by the International Trade Centre's South -South trade and 
investment programme (in millions of USD);  
- the number of users of and total volume of transactions facilitated by the Internation al 
Trade Centre's global public goods offering (in millions of USD);  
- the number of micro -, small and medium -sized enterprises that improved business or 
transacted trade, and partnerships for trade in conflict and post -conflict situations.  
103. Thus, following  the same model as the ITC budget proposal, present ing the budget  
according to eight areas of activity, together with  quantitative and qualitative non -financial 
activity indicators and more detailed narratives giving  a more substanti ve account of the 
actions undertaken  by the Organization, would probably  be more informative for 
Members. Presenting the budget in this manner  could also be an effective way of 
demonstrating the pressure on operations and the need for additional resources.  
Recommendation No.  9. Include appropriate quantitative and qualitative performance 
indicators when presenting the output chapters of budget proposals.  
3.3 Budget information quality  
3.3.1  The Financial Regulations lays down the principle of comprehensive b udgetary 
information  
104. According to the Financial Regulations, the budget proposal shall contain a certain 
number of elements  for information purposes. It shall provide estimates of income and 
expenditure of the WTO, together with comparable figures for the  previous period 
(Regulation  6). The budget proposal shall present the breakdown  of expected expenditure 
by key categories , such as those for staff, temporary assistance, general services, travel 
or capital expenditure.  In addition, the budget proposal sha ll set out how the Secretariat 
intends to deploy the budgeted resources to achieve the WTO’s objectives, such as 
dispute settlement or technical assistance  The budget proposal shall also show the 
maximum number of Full Time Equivalent (FTE) Posts in each y ear of the biennium, 
together with anticipated changes in the distribution of the FTE Posts by grade and by 
division , and it shall be accompanied by such information, annexes and explanatory 
statements as may be requested by or on behalf of the General Cou ncil, and such further 
 
45 "Section 13:  International Trade Centre" in "Part IV:  International cooperation for development" of the "Proposed 
programme budget for 2023", General Assembly, United Nations document  A/77/6 (Sect. 13), 15/03/2022  WT/BFA/W/660  
- 35 - 
33 
  annexes or statements as the Director -General may deem necessary or useful. 
(Regulation 7).  
105. The Secretariat provides Members with a substantial amount of information, including 
updates from the DDG in charge of  administrative and fi nancial matters. Members receive 
an annual performance report circulated in the spring of the following year .46 Since 
May 2022, the CBFA has received six statutory reports on the Secretariat's transformation 
exercise47 and five updates .48 The Secretariat, and in particular the Budget Section of 
AGSD , supervised by the Deputy Director -General in charge of Finance, stand ready  to 
respond to Members' requests, answering many questions that may relate to the details 
of the appropriations or their implementation . 
3.3.2  Summarized reports that could be improved by incorporating comparisons with 
actual expenditure from previous years and detailed notes  
Annual financial performance reports that are overly summarized  
106. Given that  Members frequently ask questions about how resources  have been allocated , 
the section on regular budget implementation in the annual financial performance reports 
may appear to  be overly summarized . A few examples related to staff expenditure, which 
account s for m ost of the budget, taken from the annual report for 2022 illustrate this point.  
- With regard to the underspending on staff (Part A, Section 1, more than 65% of 
the budget), paragraph 2.8 of the report states  that "[t]he expenditure under Staff 
Remuneration is slightly below budget.  This is principally due to a certain number of posts 
kept vacant throughout the year, which also resulted in lower expenditures on Pension 
Contributions, Family Allowances, and Education Grant".  No mention is made of the 
divisions affected by these vacancies, the number  of vacant positions , the reasons for 
those vacances or their consequences . 
- With regard to the overspending on temporary staff (Part A, Section 2, almost 9% 
of the budget with an overspend of almost 45% of the allocation in 2022), paragraph 2.10 
of the report simply  states that "[t]he main ove r-expenditure under temporary staff costs 
is due to the recruitment of additional short -term staff for the organization's growing needs 
as well as filling of vacant posts on a temporary basis and replacing staff members on 
long-term sick leave and leave wi thout pay".  This explanation makes no mention of the 
divisions that benefited from these recruitments , the number of staff involved or the 
priorities invoked, even though the overspend of CHF  7.8 million under this section 
resulted in a transfer of CHF  1.15 million from Part B to Part A.  
 
A budget based on a  logic of means  instead of a logic of results , and that lacks sufficient  
information.  
 
46 The most recent annual performance report is dated 3 May 2023, WT/BFA/W/632.  
47 In 2022: 9  May,  1 July, 1  September; in 2023: 9  March, 16  May, 21  September.  
48 In 2022: 8  November, 1  December; in 2023: 16  May, 27  June, 18  July. WT/BFA/W/660  
- 36 - 
34 
  107. The presentation of the budget proposal for the biennium 2024 -202549 marks an improvement 
in the information provide d to Members, as it contains a summary focused on resources for  
each of the eight sections, with expenditure forecasts that substantiate the requested 
appropriations. The staffing allocation per  division is shown in Table 13 of the budget 
proposal. The impact of 10 years of the zero nominal growth budget is discussed at length.  
108. The fact remains that the information provided is general and is barely or not at all linked  to 
any policies pursued by the Organization or to the structures implementing them. As a result:  
- With regard to  regular positions , paragraph 4.34 sta tes "[t]he budget submission put 
forward in 2022 requested the approval by Members of 18 posts additional to the current 
organizational headcount.  Since then, efforts have been made to fill three of these positions 
by the redeployment of staff.  As a result , the current request comprises adding to the 
Organization's headcount 15 positions identified by senior management as critical to fill the 
most urgent skill gaps within the Secretariat".  
- With regard to  appropriations for staff pensions, paragraph 4.39 s tates that they "relate 
to the WTO's contributions for pension and health insurance for regular budget staff as well 
as health insurance contributions for retired staff".  Paragraph 4.40 states that "[n]o change in 
Member contribution to the WTO Pension Pla n is included at this time because it is the subject 
of a separate discussion among Members for decision".  
- With regard to  short -term staff, paragraphs 4.57 and 4.58 explain that "[t]he Secretariat 
is disciplining the use of short -term staff but still nee ds flexibility to use short -term staff where 
appropriate to meet operational and Member need s. … For 2024, the Secretariat proposes to 
cut the actual expenditure 2023 for short -terms by a further 30%.  However, this still requires 
increasing the current bud get. Therefore, the allocation  for Short -Term Staff is increased by 
CHF 2.2 million.  This amount recognizes the need to recruit temporary staff in times of 
workload peaks, given the fact that the number of regular posts is finite ."   
109. In addition, the appro priations actually committed in year n -1, or at least the actual expenses 
covering part of year n -1, together with the latest projections for the rest of year  n-1, are not 
mentioned in the explanation  of budget requests . Only the allocation for year n -1 is given . The 
baseline presented is the previous appropriation and not the actual expenditure,  even partial,  
which means that it is not possible to ensure that requests are consistent with what was 
actually spent in the previous financial year and constitute s a factor in the setting of 
appropriations. This shortcoming, which may be regarded as a limiting factor in  terms of  
budgetary sincerity , is reflected in the repeated transfers of credits  referred to in Part 2 of this 
report.  
 
Recommendation No. 10. Refer, in the annual financial performance report and the 
regular budget proposal, to the budget implementation data for year n -2 and year n -1, 
indicating the period for which data are projections.  
3.3.3  A budget model in need of imp rovement  
110. The budget model could be reworked in order to respond to the need for explanations 
expressed by many Members , by strengthening the basis on which information is 
provided. Without wishing to decide for the Secretariat , we would suggest the followi ng 
avenues, which would involve not only reviewing the presentation of the budget, but also 
supplementing it with information on the sections, FTEs and performance indicators.  
 
49 WTO Budget Proposal 2024 -2025, CBFA, WTO document WT/BFA/W/643, dated 3 July 2023 (non -final 
version).  WT/BFA/W/660  
- 37 - 
35 
  111. Consideration could be given to dividing the budget proposal in to two parts, wit h the first 
part providing a summary presentation of the budget, like the budget section of the annual 
performance report; and the second part providing a more detailed description of each 
budget section or subsection. The summary part, presented as an exe cutive summary, 
would primarily be intended for the General Council. In contrast, the detailed descriptions 
provided for each section and subsection would be intended for CBFA Members.  
112. The budget proposal could be divided in to two parts, along the lines o f the financial 
statements, with each line in the budget document being detailed in a "note" setting out 
the rationale  for, including the Director -General's strategy and objectives, and the 
outcome of the appropriations requested.  
113. The structure for monitor ing the budgetary accounts consists of 39 cost centres (CC) 
divided between senior management and the four Deputy Directors -General. This 
provides a granular level view of the distribution of appropriations  and their execution, 
part by part and section by section.  
114. This information should also be given, in FTEs and by Division or by CC, for regular staff  
and temporary assistance  (Part A, Sections 1 and 2 of the budget). Lastly, this detailed 
presentation of each budget section would ideally  be accompanied b y two to four 
performance indicators , thus  introduc ing an initial results -based budget management 
approach.  
Recommendation No. 11. Redesign the budget model by including in the budget 
proposal a summary presentation of the allocations requested and the und erlying 
strategy, and detailed explanatory notes for each of the parts, sections and subsections 
of the WTO budget.  
 
IV. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS  
115. The External Auditor would like to sincerely thank all WTO staff members involved in the 
audit for their excellent cooperation and making themselves availab le. Special thanks are 
extended to AGSD, particularly  the Financ ial Management Service  and Budget Section,  
for their willingness to share their insights and experiences.  
End of audit observations.  
  WT/BFA/W/660  
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36 
  ANNEX  1: Presentation of the itemized 2022 -2023 biennial budget, in thousands of 
CHF 
 
Source: WTO – 2022 -2023 budget proposal .  
WT/BFA/W/660  
- 39 - 
37 
  ANNEX  2: Presentation of the  itemized 2024 -2025 biennial budget, in thousands of  
CHF, approved by the CBFA in December 2023  
 
 
Source: WTO – 2024-2025 budget proposal . 
WT/BFA/W/660  
- 40 - 
38 
  ANNEX 3: Budgeted and actual expenditure under Parts B and C, 2017 -2022, in 
thousands of CHF   
 
In thousands  
of CHF  2017  2018  2019  2020  2021  2022   
Budget  Actual  Budget  Actual  Budget  Actual  Budget  Actual  Budget  Actual  Budget  Actual   
(i) 
Telecommunications 
& Post  831 571 831   484   831   487   641   401   641   498   541   383   
(ii) Contractual 
Services & 
Maintenance  10,681  10,154  10,881   10,378   11,123   10,472   11,163   9,977   11,613   11,363   11,613   13,342   
(iii) Energy & 
Supplies  2,251  1,554  2,251   1,330   2,251   1,267   2,066   1,383   2,066   1,063   1,966   1,416   
(iv) Documentation & 
Publication  1,478  1,348  1,479   1,303   1,479   1,446   1,458   1,187   1,458   1,320   1,458   1,526   
(v) Other / 
Miscellaneous  88 11 88   14   88   38   48   8   48   18   48   10   
3. General Services  15,330  13,640  15,530   13,509   15,773   13,710   15,376   12,956   15,826   14,263   15,626   16,676   
(i) Travel  7,135  6,536  7,144   7,213   7,234   7,123   7,393   1,213   7,993   716   7,693   4,762   
(ii) Hospitality  215 159 216   149   216   139   214   49   214   40   214   121   
4. Travel & 
Hospitality  7,351  6,695  7,360   7,362   7,450   7,262   7,607   1,262   8,207   756   7,907   4,883   
5. Implementing 
Partners  213 603 213   405   213   428   213   443   213   191   213   1,170   
(i) Procurement of 
Fixed Assets  1,430  1,970  1,762   1,875   1,430   1,689   1,455   2,929   2,255   2,716   2,555   2,138   
(ii) Rental & Leasing 
of Equipment  919 399 920   483   920   523   640   284   640   226   540   274   
6. Capital 
Expenditure  2,349  2,369  2,682   2,357   2,350   2,213   2,095   3,213   2,895   2,942   3,095   2,412   
(i) Bank & Interest 
Charges  80 221 80   517   80   273   580   622   580   712   880   446   
(ii) Building Loan 
Reimbursement  1,200  1,200  1,200  1,200  1,200  1,200  1,200  1,200  1,200  1,200  1,200  1,200  
7. Financial 
Expenditure  1,280  1,421  1,280   1,717   1,280   1,473   1,780   1,822   1,780   1,912   2,080   1,646   
B. Other Resources  26,523  24,730  27,065   25,351   27,065   25,086   27,071   19,696   28,921   20,065   28,921   26,788   
Actual cost / 
Budgeted cost  93.2%    93.7%   92.7%    72.8%   69.4%    92.6%   
C. Operating Funds 
& ITC  21,975  23,675  21,443  24,943  21,443  24,443  21,443  25,803  19,443  19,443  19,443  19,443  
Actual cost / 
Budgeted cost  107.7%  116.3%  114.0%  120.3%  100.0%   100.0%  
 
Source: External Auditor, based on information provided by AGSD . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  WT/BFA/W/660  
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39 
  ANNEX  4: Budgeted permanent staff  as FTEs,  2013, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023  
Division50  2013  2019  2021  2022  2023  2023/13  
Senior management, including the Office of the Director -General  22 23 25 31 31 40.9%  
Accessions Division  7.8 8 10 9 10 28.2%  
Administration and General Services Division  72 62 66 68 66 -8.3%  
Agriculture and Commodities Division  18.6 19 19 23 22 18.3%  
Council and Trade Negotiations Committee Division  13 13 14 14 14 7.7%  
Development Division  19 21 21 20 20 5.3%  
Economic Research and Statistics Division  41.8 39 39 37 37 -11.5%  
Human Resources Division  21.9 27 29 28 28 27.9%  
Information Technology Solutions Division  47.8 41 30 39 41 -14.2%  
Information and External Relations Division  30.8 31 38 28 30 -2.6%  
Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation  34.8 31 30 30 31 -10.9%  
Trade in Services and Investment Division; Intellectual Property, 
Government Procurement and Competition Division  16.1 16 16 15 17 5.6%  
Language and Documentation Services Division  147.3  118 99 100 102 -30.8%  
Legal Affairs Division  18 37 38 37 35 94.4%  
Market Access Division  11.8 20 22 20 21 78.0%  
Office of Internal Oversight  2 2 3 3 2 0.0%  
Rules Division  21.8 33 37 38 37 69.7%  
Trade and Environment Division  10.8 14 16 19 19 75.9%  
Trade Policies Review Division  55.4 52 52 53 49 -11.6%  
Trade in Services and Investment Division  17.8 16 16 15 15 -15.7%  
Delivery Unit  0 0 6 0 0 NS 
Division for Knowledge and Information Management  0 0 20 19 18 NS 
Strategy and Planning  0 0 0   1 NS 
Appellate Body Secretariat  15 25 0 0 0 -100.0%  
Total budgeted staff  645.5  648 646 646 646 0.1%  
Of which functional divisions  361.8  341 328 334 335 -7.4%  
Functional divisions/total staff  56.0%  52.6%  50.8%  51.7%  51.9%  -  
Of which operational divisions  283.7  307 318 312 311 9.6%  
Operational divisions/total staff  44.0%  47.4%  49.2%  48.3%  48.1%   - 
 
Source: External Auditor, based on the approved budgets of the years identified . 
  
 
50 The breakdown was prepared by the External Auditor. The "functional" divisions are the: Office of the Director -
General; Offices of the DDGs; Human Resources Division; Office of Internal Oversight; Information and External 
Relations Division; Administratio n and General Services Division; Language and Documentation Services Division; 
and Information Technology Solutions Division. The "operational" divisions are the: Council and Trade Negotiations 
Committee Division; Appellate Body Secretariat; Accessions Div ision; Economic Research and Statistics Division; 
Rules Division; Development Division; Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation; Trade Policies Review 
Division; Agriculture and Commodities Division; Trade and Environment Division; Trade in Service s and Investment 
Division; Intellectual Property, Government Procurement and Competition Division; Market Access Division; and 
Division for Knowledge and Information Management.  WT/BFA/W/660  
- 42 - 
40 
  ANNEX  5: Reallocation of Appellate Body budgetary items eliminated in 2021  
 
Divisions  Posts  
Senior management, including the Office of the Director -General  3 
Accessions Division  1 
Agriculture and Commodities Division  2 
Development Division  1 
Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation  2 
Intellectual Property, Government Procurement and Competition Division  1 
Language and Documentation Services Division  3 
Legal Affairs Division  1 
Market Access Division  3 
Rules Division  3 
Trade and Environment Division  3 
Division for Knowledge and Information Management  2 
Total  25 
Of which functional divisions  7 
Of which substantive divisions  18 
 
Source: External Auditor, based on the staff numbers provided by AGS D/Budget and Planning . 
  WT/BFA/W/660  
- 43 - 
41 
  ANNEX  6: List of United Nations System procurement tenders used by the WTO 
(2021 -2023)  
Year  CC #  DATE  Vendor  Requesting  
Unit Currency  Amount 
Requested  Comments  Organization  
2021  296 16-sept-21 Everis Spain SL  LDSD  CHF 70,000  
 UNOPS  
2021  297 06-oct-21 Adobe  ITSD  EUR  74,791  Approved for a period 
of three (3) years from 
1 November 2021 to 
31 October 2024  UNOG  
2021  300 29-oct-21 Swisscom, Colt, 
Sunrise, Microsoft, 
UNICC.  ITSD  CHF 1,334,960  Approved (multiple 
durations and 
amounts)  WHO & 
UNICC  
2021  300 29-oct-21 Manpower  AGSD  CHF 90,000  Approved for a period 
of 20 days as of 8 
November to 3 
December 2021  WIPO  
2021  302 12-nov-21 Gartner through 
UNICC  ITSD  USD  81,683  Approved, but any 
project above CHF 
50,000 will be 
presented to the CC 
for further approval.  UNICC  
2022  314 11-march -
22 UNOPS  HRD  USD  60,000  Approved  UNOPS  
2022  319 13-may-22 Manpower  AGSD/HRD  CHF 60,000  Approved  WIPO  
2022  321 03-june-22 ODRL  HRD  USD  88,000  Approved  UNDP  
2022  323 20-jul-22 CWT  AGSD  CHF 2,233,333   ND UNOG  
2022  323 20-jul-22 Adobe  ITSD  EUR  83,516   ND UNOG  
2023  332 26-jan-23 SIG AGSD   ND ND Approved  WIPO  
2023  336 17-march -
23 Organisation 
Development & 
Research Limited 
(ODRL)  HRD  USD  63,600  Approved  
UNDP  
2023  338 02-june-23 Microsoft  ITSD  USD  1,742,481  Approved  UN 
2023  342 01-sept-23 NOS  AGSD  CHF 320,000  Approved  ILO 
Total (2021 to 2023)  6,302,365    
 
Source: AGSD/Procurement . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  WT/BFA/W/660  
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42 
  ANNEX  7: Overview of the procurement process at the WTO  
 
The Procurement Manual of June  2017 and the Procurement Policy of 9  December  2022 
formalizes the WTO's procurement cycle process in terms of an ethical framework, scope and 
responsibilities. The procurement cycle is as follows:  
 
➢ Request to initiate a Pu rchase Requisition (PR)  
  
Once a need for goods and/or services by a unit or operational division has been identified, a 
focal point, who is part of the Requesting Unit, is appointed for each division with access rights 
to Oracle/i -Proc, and can initiate a  request to the Procurement Service within Oracle by 
creating a Purchase Requisition (PR). Once the technical and financial criteria have been 
defined, the Procurement Section will issue invitations to tender, at which point the selected 
supplier will fill  in and sign a Vendor Registration Form (VRF) and provide all germane 
information (i.e. company name, address, IBAN, etc.). The Procurement Section will carry out 
a background check in order to verify eligibility (i.e. financial position, solvency, credibi lity, 
etc.).  
 
➢ Validation of the contract  
 
Once the supplier has been selected, negotiations end with a review of the contract. The 
contract is approved and signed in accordance with the matrix set out in the WTO Procurement 
Policy dated 9 December 2022,  which sets out the delegations of authority by function. The 
review of contracts involves analysing their complexity, identifying their financial implications 
and any ensuing commitments. The Contracts Committee51 reviews contracts for amounts 
greater tha n CHF 50,000. It is composed, inter alia , of the Deputy Director -General in charge 
of Finance, the Legal Counsel, and the Chief of the Procurement Section. Documents are 
signed by staff of the Procurement Section. They may consult the Legal Counsel or the 
Contract s Committee as and when they deem it necessary in order to fully understand the 
impact of any contracts and commitments for the WTO.  
 
➢ Creating a supplier account  
 
Once a contract has been signed by Procurement, the Budget and Finance Section uses the 
information contained in the Vendor Registration Form to register the supplier as a vendor in 
the Oracle Database. A member of the Financ ial Management Service is responsible for 
creating the profile through Oracle. The Head of Financial O perations is in turn responsible for 
reviewing the information and validating in order to activate the profile . The Financial 
Management Service receives a notification when profiles are created and when any changes 
are made (e.g. change or addition of ban k details, company name, payment currency, etc.) 
via a dedicated email address in order to ensure that requests are processed in full.  
 
➢ Creating Purchase Orders (POs) through Oracle  
 
Once the supplier account has been created and the contract signed, the  Purchase 
Requisition must be validated by a Procurement team manager. This action automatically 
triggers the creation of a purchase requisition or purchase order in Oracle , which is  sent to the 
Procurement Unit. Approval involves reconciling the PO with the contract or similar. If there is 
a discrepancy, the PO is rejected, and notification of the rejection is sent to the Requesting 
 
51 Section 9.2 of the Procurement Manual, June  2017 . WT/BFA/W/660  
- 45 - 
43 
  Unit for modification and resubmission. An PO canno t be created for a period of over one year. 
For example, a contract for an activity lasting over two years will require two separate POs 
covering 12 months each. If the contract does not specify a price (e.g. a framework contract) 
or if the supplier subseq uently changes the price, the PO is approved based on the 
amendment and/or quotation approved by the Requesting Unit and Procurement.  
 
➢ Recognition of services rendered and recording of invoices  
 
Once the PO has been validated in Oracle, the Financial Ma nagement Service will register 
the invoice issued by the supplier. The Requesting  Unit approves the invoice in the system. In 
so doing, the WTO confirms that the service has been rendered, i.e. when the invoice is 
received and not when the goods are delive red or the service provided . Invoice approval 
requires an automatic two -way match in Oracle, which reconciles the key components of the 
invoice with those of the PO. Any discrepancy will mean  the invoice cannot be record ed and 
will be investigated by two a ccountants until it has been resolved. Such issues are handled 
informally between the Financial Management Service and the Requesting  Units.  
 
➢ Payments  
 
Twice a week, a staff member from the Payables Section of the Financial Management 
Service  collates  any validated invoices scheduled for payment in order to create a payment 
batch on Oracle. The Head of Financial Operations checks all payments made , and  validate s 
the payment dates and invoice details against the payment information detailed in the batch. 
The batch is then exported in secure Excel format and imported by direct banking. In the 
banking platform, the Financial Management Service needs to approve the payment twice. 
The payment information is reconciled  with the information contained in the invo ice and 
the PO.  
 
__________