RESTRICTED  
  
WT/BFA/W/518  
 
11 June  2020 
(20-3218) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration   
 
BACKGROUND OF OUTPUT REPORTING  
1  INTRODUCTION  
1.1.  Output R eporting was introduced b y the WTO in 2012 with the objective of reflecting an 
additional dimension of the expenditure compared to the reporting by expenditure line , in a bid to 
enhance presentation of reports beyond the  traditional way of reporting by object of expenditure.  
1.2.  The overall structure of the outputs was determined by the eight missions of the WTO  as stated 
on the website of the WTO.  These are:  
WTO Missions  
1. Negotiat ing  
2. Administering and monitoring the application of the WTO's agreed rules  
3. Monitoring and reviewing trade policies  
4. Settling disputes  
5. Building capacity  
6. Assisting the process of accession  
7. Conducting economic research  
8. Reaching out  
 
1.3.  The 8 Output Chapters  constitute the backbone structure of the planning, budgeting, 
monitoring and reporting processes. Division s, Director s and  DDGs were consulted in order to work 
on the details linked to the Output Chapters . The result was a three -tier hierarchical structur e to 
capture and consolidate the appropriate information. Today, the list contains approximately 
300 Outputs and approximately 100 sub -outputs) . An example of the structure is as follows:  
Output Structure  
1. Chapter (e.g. Monitoring Trade Policies )  
1.1. Sub -chapter (e.g. Trade Policy Reviews )  
1.1.1 Output (e.g. Trade Policy Review of Country X ) 
 
1.4.  The entire WTO expenditure is recorded against outputs. Outputs are connected to the 
chapter/sub -chapter structure. This provid es the ability to assess how much was spent on each 
chapter, sub -chapter and output.  
Table 1 Level 2 of WTO Output Structure  
Output 
Code  Output Title  
1 Facilitating Negotiations  
11 DDA Negotiations  
12 Other Negotiating Bodies  
2 Administering Agreed WTO Rules  
21 Ministerial Conference  
22 General Council and its Bodies  
23 Council for Trade in Goods and its Bodies  
24 Council for Trade in Services and its Bodies  WT/BFA/W/518  
 
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  Output 
Code  Output Title  
25 Council for Trade -Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and its Bodies  
3 Monitoring Trade Policies  
31 WTO Trade Policy Review Body  
32 Trade Policy Reviews  
33 Trade Policy Monitoring  
34 Notifications on WTO Agreements  
4 Settling Disputes  
41 Dispute Settlement Body  
42 Dispute Activities  
43 General Support to Disputes  
5 Capacity Building  
51 Building Capacity Courses and Training  
52 Building Capacity Other Activities  
53 Building Capacity Support Activities  
59 ITC 
6 Assisting Accessions  
61 WTO Accessions  
62 Government Procurement Agreement Accession  
7 Conducting Research  
71 WTO Official Flagship Publications  
72 Other Publications and External Collaboration  
73 WTO Reports and Papers  
74 Support to Publications  
75 Trade Statistics & Monitoring  
76 Trade Finance  
77 Promoting Research  
8 Reaching Out 
81 Press Relations  
82 Maintain dialogue with Members, NGOs, Civil Society, Academia, Parliamentarians and Private 
Sector  
83 Work with Other International Organizations  
84 Dissemination of Trade -related Materials  
9 General Support Functions  
91 General Administrative Management  
92 Human Resources Management  
93 Information Technology Management  
94 Languages, Documentation and Information Management  
95 Facility Management  
1.5.  Trade -related divisions have outputs that are usually directly connected to a n Output C hapter. 
Support divisions have outputs that are usually not directly connected to a  specific Output C hapter. 
For this reason, support costs that cannot be directly charged to an operational output are charged 
to 9, General Support , and re -distributed to the eight Output  Chapters , according to pr e-defined  
dispatch keys (e.g. per headcount, per IT project, documents translated etc .). This tool offers the 
possibility to look at the full cost of an operation. For example, to the direct c ost of conducting a 
Trade Policy Review in a certain area, the (indirect) support costs of IT, administration and HR are 
added, which finally reflects the full cost of the Output . 
2  COLLECTION OF OUTPUTS  
2.1.  On an operational basis, the entire WTO staff , including short -terms and interns, are requested 
to fill in their Outputs on a quarterly basis. Every division is report ing to a budget focal point, who 
is responsible for the submission of the outputs of the various division s. The focal point s also provide 
guidance to divisions in case of questions.  WT/BFA/W/518  
 
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  2.2.  After every quarter, the data is reconciled with the payroll and recorded in the system. After 
four quarters have been collected, the cost dispatch between support divisions and operational 
division s takes place in order to reflect the real cost of operations.  
2.3.  Since the biennium 2016 -2017, the Secretariat has established a budget and reported on the 
expenditure per Output in the Financial Performance Report. The reporting on the years 2016 – 2019 
was as follows:  
Table 2 2016 Expenditure by Output Chapter  
Output Chapter  Budget 
2016  % of 
Total  Expenditure 
2016  % of 
Total  Difference  
Budget - 
Expenditure  
1 Facilitating Negotiations  10,604  5% 7,706  4% 2,898  
2 Administering Agreed WTO Rules  44,000  22% 43,001  22% 999 
3 Monitoring Trade Policies  26,000  13% 31,559  16% -5,559  
4 Settling Disputes  34,000  17% 40,924  21% -6,924  
5 Capacity building  42,000  21% 43,309  22% -1,309  
6 Assisting Accessions  9,000  5% 3,534  2% 5,466  
7 Conducting Research  16,600  8% 11,201  6% 5,399  
8 Reaching out  15,000  8% 14,915  8% 85 
Grand Total  197,204  100%  196,148  100%  1,056  
Table 3 2017 Expenditure by Output Chapter  
Output Chapter  Budget 
2017  % of 
Total  Expenditure  
2017  % of 
Total  Difference 
Budget - 
Expenditure  
1 Facilitating Negotiations  10,600  5% 9,623  5% 977 
2 Administering Agreed WTO Rules  45,000  23% 45,302  23% -302 
3 Monitoring Trade Policies  26,000  13% 25,780  13% 220 
4 Settling Disputes  35,000  18% 39,666  20% -4,666  
5 Capacity Building  42,000  21% 41,683  21% 317 
6 Assisting Accessions  7,000  4% 5,997  3% 1,003  
7 Conducting Research  17,000  9% 13,486  7% 3,514  
8 Reaching Out  14,604  7% 15,165  8% -561 
Grand Total  197,204  100%  196,701  100%  503 
Table 4 2018 Expenditure by Output Chapter  
Output  Chapter  Budget 
2018  % of 
Total Expenditure  
2018  % of 
Total Difference  
Budget - 
Expenditure  
1 Facilitating Negotiations  8,000  4% 9,611  5% -1,611  
2 Administering Agreed WTO Rules  44,000  22% 44,751  23% -751 
3 Monitoring Trade Policies  28,000  14% 28,305  14% -305 
4 Settling Disputes  44,000  22% 38,326  20% 5,674  
5 Capacity building  42,000  21% 41,948  21% 52 
6 Assisting Accessions  5,000  3% 4,411  2% 589 
7 Conducting Research  14,000  7% 14,911  8% -911 
8 Reaching out  12,204  6% 14,213  7% -2,009  
Grand Total  197,204  100%  196,475  100%  729 
 
 
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