RESTRICTED  
  
WT/BFA/180  
 
10 July 2019 
(19-4569) Page: 1/16 
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration    
 
REPORT OF THE MEETIN G HELD ON 17 JUNE  2019   
The Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration (CBFA) met on 17 June 2019.  
 
His Excellency Ambassador Dagfinn Sørli, Permanent Representative of Norway to the WTO and 
EFTA, welcomed Members to the meeting. He introduced the agenda for the day, bearing the 
reference  WTO/AIR/BFA/3 2/Rev.1  and the annotated agenda bearing the reference 
JOB/BFA/3 5/Rev.1 .  
 
As there was no request for the addition of any subject under Other Busines s, the agenda set out in 
WTO/AIR/BFA/32/Rev.1  was adopted.  
 
The Chairman noted that presentations on a genda i tems A , B and C of the agenda would be made  
in sequence before  he opens the floor to questions and comments, as these three agenda are closely 
related.  
 
The Chairman welcomed the representatives of the External Auditor s, Mr. Bernard Holstein and 
Mr. Michael Beyme from  the German Supreme Court of Audit ors, to the meeting .  
 
 
1  WORLD TRADE ORGANIZA TION 2018 FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE REPORT - 
WT/BFA/W/482  
1.1.  In presenting the budget part of the 2018 Financial Performance Report, an Official of the 
Secretariat  noted that 99% of the income of the WTO was constituted of Member contributions and 
1% from miscellaneous income. She highlighted the drive rs that led to  miscellaneous income 
received surpass ing the forecast amount by close to CHF 600,000 .  
1.2.  She stated that the overall expenditure rate for 2018  was 99.63 % of the budget . The budgetary 
savings were mainly from Staff Costs, with a compensatory ef fect between underspend on staff 
expenditure and overspend on temporary assistance. Budgetary savings were also realized from 
general services and capital expenditure. The budget for financial expenditure was exceeded , given 
the extent of negative interest  charged by banks. An amount was transferred from the  areas of 
underspend to the Building Renovation Fund.  
1.3.  The Official of the Secretariat further presented a slide showing the expenditure by Outputs.  
She note d that ov erall, the expenditure was in line wit h that for  2017, with the key differences 
pertaining to adjustments which had been made to the 2018 budget,  relative to the 2017 one, which 
were finally not followed by the expenditure level.  
1.4.  Another Official of the WTO Secretariat acknowledged the Externa l Auditors' presence and 
thanked them for the ir cooperation during the audit process. He present ed the financial statements 
for 201 8, citing improvements in the presentation such as more detailed information presented in 
the notes and tables supporting the  financial statements , in keeping with a recommendation that 
had been made by the External Auditors. Noting that the overall budgetary savings for 2018 were 
CHF 1.3 million, he emphasized that this was only a budgetary  result  and that, after taking element s 
mandated by IPSAS such as the actuarial costs of After Service Health Insurance and pension into 
account, the financial result for 2018 was  a deficit of CHF 28.2 million.  
 WT/BFA/180  
 
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  2  REPORT OF THE INDEPE NDENT EXTERNAL AUDIT OR ON THE AUDIT OF T HE FINANCIAL 
STATEMENTS OF THE WO RLD TRADE ORGANIZATI ON FOR 2018 – WT/BFA /W/488  
2.1.  Mr Bernard Holstein, a representative of the External Auditor s, present ed the essence  of the 
External Auditors ' Report on the 2018 Financial Statements of the WTO. He said that t he audit w as 
carried out in accordance with the Financial Regulations  of the WTO and in conformity with 
International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) as adopted and amended by the International 
Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) and issued as Internat ional Standards for 
Supreme Audit Institutions (ISSAIs).  
2.2.  Mr. Holstein's comments covered the financial audit in general, the audit scope and the audit 
approach  and informed the Committee that , from the External Auditors' assessment, the  financial 
statement s of the WTO and those of the WTO  Penson Plan fairly presented  the financial position as 
at the end of 2018 and complied with the  IPSAS . He presented the audit observations related to the 
financial parts of the Audit Report.  
2.3.  Mr. Beyme  took over from Mr. Holstein. He commented that the  financial statements of the 
WTO reflect  accruals and provisions  as at 31  December 2018 . He said that the External Auditors 
recommend  that the WTO review  the applicable calculations  for provision for disab ilities and revis e 
related potential risks in order to implement effective mitigation measures.  He underlined other 
recommendations that the External Auditors had made, including a call to recognize prior year 
unutilized bonus amount s in miscellaneous inco me, in 2019.  
2.4.  He stated that t he increase of CHF 55.8 million in the ASHI liability as at 3 1 December 2018 
was mainly attributable to an actuarial loss of CHF  43.1 million resulting from  a higher  insurance 
premium  and changes in the demographic assumptions.  
2.5.  He said that the Secretariat had agreed  to all the recommendations  relating to the  financial  
audit.  
2.6.  Mr. Beyme then gave salient points from the performance audit of human resources. Th ese 
encompassed the management of recruitment  and payroll ; and the need for clear description s of 
processes which define the tasks, operations, responsibilities and interactions between the different 
process participants. On the latter, he mentioned that the description of the processes is on  going 
and he thus recommended that these be finalized.   
2.7.  Other recommendations on human resources included the development of  clear instructions 
regarding the documents that ought  to be in each staff member's file; consolidat ing the current 
heterogenic landscape of systems and applications in a timely manner ; developing  specifications and 
process maps  to ensure that the procurement process for a human resources information system 
will be based on requirements  that are well defined and effective ; reduc tion of the n umber of salary 
scales to one uniform scale ; enhancing  the performance evaluation system ; reviewing and adjusting 
the rules for the secondary dependency allowance ; closing  the Summer Student s' Programme  or 
develop ing an appropriate Programme based on formal guideline s; and better monitoring of 
accumulated annual leave to avoid the WTO pay ing for too many  untaken annual leave days at the 
time of separation . The External Auditors upheld their previous observations  regarding the need to 
adjust the rules a nd guidelines for home leave.  
2.8.  In summarizing, Mr. Beyme said that the WTO  Secretariat would consider the suggest ions in 
the recommendations and come up with appropriate proposal s for implementation  or response s.  
2.9.  Mr Holstein once again took the floor and informed the Committee that the External Auditors 
had also audited the 2018 financial statements of the WTO Pension Plan and had concluded that 
they fairly presented the financial position. In view of this, the Auditors gave the WTO  Pension Plan 
financial statements an unqualified opinion.  
2.10.   Mr. Holstein concluded  by saying that the most important result for the Members and for the 
Secretariat  was that the a udit had not reveal ed any significant weaknesses or errors, which the 
External Auditors considered as being material to the accuracy, completeness, and validity of the 
financial statements of the WTO. Therefore,  the Auditors placed  an unqualified audit opinion on the 
WTO's financial statements for 2018.  Mr. Holstein  express ed gratitude to the Di rector General and WT/BFA/180  
 
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  all the staff of the WTO Secretariat  and the Secretariat of the  WTO Pension Plan for their cooperative 
and responsive attitude, their kind and expert assistance and for the facilities that had been made 
available to the  audit team.  
3  WTO SECRETARIAT'S RESPON SES TO THE 2018 PERF ORMANCE AUDIT OF HUM AN 
RESOURCES – WT/BFA/W /489  
3.1.  An Official of the Secretariat took the floor and acknowledged the External Auditors ' report on 
the performance audit of human resources, which encompassed areas such a s recruitment , payroll  
entitlements, performance evaluation and the bonus system. He noted that no errors or causes of 
fraud were detected in the performance audit and said the Secretariat find s everal observations very 
useful. He said that most of the ob servations are fully in line with a number of initiatives already 
launched by the Human Resources  Division .  
3.2.  The Official of the Secretariat said that the transformation initiative of human resources had 
been launched in January 2017 and that significant w ork, geared towards addressing various issues 
is underway. These t he first phase of the project related to the Process Improvement and Technology 
Strategy , which had been  completed in the first quarter of 2019. This had identified 
158 recommendations , 72 of which were being addressed . The human resources team is also  
working on the second phase of the transformation initiative and is finalising the request for 
proposal s for the  tender for an IT-based human resources  platfor m.  
3.3.  In parallel, the human res ources team has been reviewing existing policies. The Performance 
Management System  has been reviewed and a final recommendation is expected to be made , to the 
Director General,  by the J oint Advisory Committee.   
3.4.  The review of the Home Leave policy is close to being finaliz ed and will be sent to the Joint 
Advisory Committee for subsequent  recommendation to the D irector General .  
3.5.  The WTO Secretariat i mplemented an enhanced  Recognition Programme a t the end of 2017.  
This offers a number of recognition tools , including team awards.  
3.6.  The Chairman invited Members to pose questions and make comments.  
3.7.  A member expressed appreciat ion of the financial performance and results of the Organization. 
With reference to Table 4 of th e Financial Performance Report, he asked why there was over 
expenditure  of 40%  for short term staff  as the budgeted amount  approximated CHF 9 million and 
the expenditure was CHF 13 million. He recognized that t his was partially covered by  under 
expenditure  of regular staff remuneration . He asked what the driver behind the decision to hire  
temporary staff was and to what extent this signal s a structur al issue . 
3.8.  An Official of the Secretariat responded that an internal committee , composed of the 4 D eputy 
Directors General, the Director  of Administration and General Services , the Director of Human 
Resources  and the Chef de Cabinet , had been established to review  Divisions'  requests for temporary 
assistance. Though the internal committee often  reject s a numbe r of requests , it is also fair to say 
that there is  a great number of needs in a number of Divisions.  Recruitment processes take some 
time and during these periods , there is a need to adequately staff  Divisions . 
3.9.  A Member thank ed the External Auditor s for their report and noted the unqualified audit opinion 
placed by the External Auditor on  the WTO Financial Statements for 2018. The Member said that her 
delegation had taken  careful note of the report on the p erformance audit on human resources and 
the Secretariat's responses. She said that her delegation expect s the Secretariat to continue to 
inform the CBFA of development s regarding the main issues highlighted by the External Auditors . 
She said that her delegation had noted that the WT O had budgetary savings as at 
31 December  2018. She asked whether the Secretariat inten ds to propose th e amount in question 
be transferred to the Working Capital Fund, bearing in mind a similar decision that had been taken 
by the General Council in Decembe r 2018, in relation to the accumulated budget ary surplus.  
3.10.   An Official of the Secretariat said that the Secretariat is inclined to propose that the budgetary 
surplus for 2018 be transfer red to  the Working Capital Fund.  WT/BFA/180  
 
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  3.11.   A Member said that the External Audito rs' Report contains comprehensive recommendations 
in many areas. He asked the External Auditor s if there are any specific implementation  timelines 
expected of the WTO Secretariat and the  monitoring , thereof.  
3.12.   A representative of the External Auditors respo nded that at the start of their annual audit 
cycle they follow up on the outstanding recommendations. He stated that the Secretariat had taken 
the implementation of recommendations  made in previous years seriously and indications are that 
the same would apply to the most recent audit recommendations. He then clarified the distinction 
between a  financial audit , saying that the recommendations from this are obligatory as it connotes 
wrong and right; and a performance audit , which provi des recommendations regarding 
improvements that can be made without compelling the Secretariat to take all recommendations 
into account .  
3.13.   An Official of the Secretariat recalled that the Secretariat presents  an update on the 
implementation status of audit recommendations, to the Committee, at least every 6  months . He 
mentioned that the last update had been in March 2019. In this regard, he noted that the Secretariat 
had implemented almost all the previous recommendations. He said that the Secretariat would 
assess the new recommendations and determine how and when to implement these, discuss this 
with the External Auditors during their trip in October 2019 , and duly update the Committee at a 
future meeting.   
3.14.   A Member asked the following series of questions a nd request for clarification on the 2018 
Financial Performance Report: What is the property plant and equipment of CHF 11 million referred 
to in Table 1?; the nature of  legal damage s referred to in the first sentence of the paragraph  2.2; 
the reason for th e overspending under Separation Grant and US Taxes in paragraph 2.8; the nature 
of  savings under consultants  in Table 26; the reason for temporary staff for the Public Forum, under  
paragraph 2.58 and Table 18 ; clarification on  paragraph 5.39  regarding the  phrase, "the combined 
permissible maximum holding in foreign currency is 10% of overall funds" ; and the relationship of 
this to  cash at bank presented in terms of US only in T able 41.  
3.15.   The member said that her delegation appreciate s the Secretariat's effo rts towards the saving s 
under communications and post.  
3.16.   An Official of the Secretariat said that  Table 1  is a recapitulation of the decision taken by the 
General Council in 2018 to transfer the accumulated budgetary surplus  for 2012 to 2017 to the 
Working Capital Fund as well as the status of other adjustments required by IPSAS for the same 
period .  
3.17.   On acquisition of property plant and equipment,  the explanation given was that this relate s 
to the costs related to the furnitu re and other installations in the buildings.  
3.18.   The clarification given for refund from prior year expenditure,  was that this represents 
expenditure  and/or provisions relating to the previous year  which had not materialized and were 
thus unwound. An example  given w as the provision that had been made for legal damages  which 
was reversed as the ILO Tribunal had found in favour of the WTO in two cases  that had been put 
before it. The reversal of provision s is recorded  under miscellaneous income.  
3.19.   With respect to the separation grant and US Taxes, an Official of the Secretariat explained 
that this pertains to WTO staff members who have to pay US taxes  on their WTO income  and which  
is reimbursed to the staff. She said that the Secretariat would elaborate more on thi s in the next 
report. She further said that the separation grant is  paid upon separation , according to the status of 
the sta ff. 
3.20.   Responding to a question regarding the budget and expenditure for "Consulting" in Table 13, 
the Official of the Secretariat said  that this  relates to consulta nts who hav e been working for 
Technical Assistance related training courses  and the fees they get.  
3.21.   With regards to the question on the Public For um, the response was that this is a very big 
activity in the WTO , which  lasts for  four days and that to prepare for it short-term staff are hired 
specifically during the period .  WT/BFA/180  
 
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  3.22.   Regarding Table 41, an Official of the Secretariat said this is a summary of the cash that the 
Organization had as at 31 December 2018 , first presented in CHF  and then in the equivalence in 
other currencies that the Organization holds cash in, being United States Dollars, Euros and Pound 
Sterling . 
3.23.   DDG Brauner expressed gratitude for the fact that the External Auditor s had made a 
distinction between  the financia l audit and the performance audit. He said that, through the 
performance audit, the  External Auditors make recommendations geared at  helping the Secretariat 
to be more efficient  and that the Secretariat will seriously consider these.  He said that there are  
some recommendations that the Secretariat will certainly follow , such as  looking into the 
accumulated leave . He said that it is important for people to take leave and thus  pre-empt complain ts 
about  burnout. Regarding the Summer Students'  Programme , DDG Br auner said this a small gesture 
which has to do with  a modern approach to work and families. He said that he finds it appropriate 
for children  to get an opportunity to experience their parents ' work environment and scope as this 
will give them a  better understanding. He said that the Secretariat would discuss the response to 
this recommendation . 
3.24.   A Member followed up on the response to a question he had raised regarding the extent of 
over-expenditure on temporary assistance. Noting that the Secret ariat's response was that the 
temporary staff budget line is used to compensate if regular post s have not yet been filled , he 
expressed the view that the Secretariat had made reference to the workload and that temporary 
staff have been used to compensate f or that workload. He said that it is worrisome  because maybe 
something is askew regarding the balance between the work plan of the Organization and its regular 
human resources  and further from the context that the Secretariat drafts the budget and should n ot 
depart  too much from it. He emphasized that 40% over expenditure itself may be an indication  that 
the budget is not a proper reflection of  forecast expenditure . He stated that i t would be good for the 
Committee to keep an eye on this  and the evolution i n 2019, in order to assess whether this is 
specific to 2018 and incidental, or whether it is becoming structural , in which event, the Committee 
would need to have deeper discussions.   
3.25.   An Official of the Secretariat said that the Member's observations were  valid and said that 
there is another aspect , being that  the total headcount  approved by Members  has remained 
unchanged over many years. He said the dilemma the Secretariat  is faced with  is how to maintain 
the ever-increasing level of services to Members w ithout being able to expand the regular headcount. 
He closed by saying that the senior management of the Secretariat was keeping a close watch on 
this.  
3.26.   DDG Brauner added that 29 posts were moved from other  Divisions to the divisions dealing 
with legal matters and that giv en pressures over time, some Divisions from which posts had been 
moved were compensated through  short term employees.  
3.27.   Referring to T able 19 of the 2018 Financial Performance Report, a member asked what was 
included in "Facilitating Negotiations" . He sought clarification why there was an o ver-spend  as there 
had not been any discernible increase in negotiations in 2018 . He also said that  the output "Reaching 
Out" shows a fairly significant overspend and that  he had found the explanation in paragraph 3.10 
confusin g as it seems to suggest that, despite a revised budget based on a conscious decision to 
lower expenditure, the expenditure had remained the same. He further said that the  behaviour of 
the spending did not reflect the budget and that there were no extenuating circumstances described 
in paragraph 3.10 to explain the significant over spending. He asked if there are extenuating or 
explaining factors and if the budget is intended to be a recommendation or a command.  
3.28.   An Official of the Secretariat  said that the  Output budget for "Facilitating Negotiations " had 
been reduced from CHF 10.6 million in 2017 to CHF 8 million in 2018. She said that, nonetheless, 
the 2017 expenditure  was CHF 9.6 million , about the sa me as that for  2018, though 2018 was not 
a year for the Ministerial Conference . She noted that this  item includes negotiations  as well a s trade 
facilitation . She explained that during the Outputs exercise , the Secretariat  has to separate several 
keys according to which the expenditure o f support Divisions  is dispatched to the overall eight Output 
Chapters  and that the last and most important key is translation of documents. A lot of documents 
were translated under trade facilitat ion and this is what made the difference in 2018.  WT/BFA/180  
 
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  3.29.   The Member took the floor and  asked a follow up question as to why trade facilitation was 
reflected under "Facilitating Negotiations" instead of "Administering Agreed WTO Rules" since  
negotiation s were conc luded  in 2013 . He also asked about the nature of the overspend under 
"Reaching Out".  
3.30.   An Official of the Secretariat said that t he Output s were introduced in 2011 and  that trade 
facilitation had remained under "Facilitating Negotiations". She said that , with respect to "Reaching 
Out", the Output budget had been reduced from CHF 15 million in 2017 to CHF 14 million in 2018. 
The difference was reallocated to other Outputs. She said that the expenditure had proven the 
estimated reduction s to be over optimistic.  
3.31.   Regarding the comment that had been made on moving Trade Facilitation to "Administering 
Agreed WTO Rules", an Official of the Secretariat said that this w ould be considered . 
3.32.   The Member reiterated that the CHF  1.6 million  over spend was significant and enquired as 
to the documents that had been  created  and translated . He said that the notion that the spend was 
lower than that for the previous year, despite going way over the expected budget , signifies a chronic 
problem that needs to be a ddress ed. He cautioned against seeing spending less than the previous 
year as a positive when in fact the budget had been over forecast. He said that the budget has to 
be conform ed with. 
3.33.   An Official of the Secretariat provided further explan ation on the process for allocating 
activities to Outputs, c iting the complexity of the allocation of individual staff members' activities 
considering the fact that people in several Divisions may work on areas attributable to more than 
one Output.  
3.34.   A Membe r asked DDG Brauner which, if any other recommendations aside from the Summer 
Students' Programme, the Secretariat was likely to not implement.   
3.35.   DDG Brauner said that the Secretariat t akes the recommendations of the  External Auditors 
very serious ly and wi ll look at all of them  in-depth . He pointed out that the Secretariat had only 
received the recommendation s in the last few days and still has to discuss them. He noted that,  
overall,  the Secretariat found the recommendations to be  valuable.  
3.36.   The Chairman said that the Committee t akes note of the reports made to the Committee, the 
questions asked, the comments made, and the responses given. He said that the Committee also 
has a duty to give a recommendation which is basically in 2 parts. The first one is the housekeeping 
part, and that in accordance with the Financial Regulations 21 and Financial Rule 4.4, transfers 
between WTO budgetary sections are necessary in order to cover excess expenditure over approved 
appropriations , by using savings from other budg etary sections. The second part is where the 
Committee recommend s that the General Council approve the WTO Audited Financial Statements 
for the year ended 31 December 2018.  
3.37.   The Committee recommends that the General Council approve the transfers 
between bu dgetary sections as outlined in paragraph 2.31 of the document  
WT/BFA/W/482. The Committee further recommends that the General Council approve 
the WTO Audited Financial Statements for the year ended 31st December 2018.  
4  REPORT FROM THE OFFI CE OF INTERNAL OV ERSIGHT (OIO) - WT/BFA/W/484  
4.1.  The Head of the Office of Internal Oversight (OIO) presented a summary of the activities 
conducted by the OIO since July 2018. He confirm ed the organizational independence of the OIO  
and certified that no circumstances have affe cted, in fact or appearance, the independence of the 
OIO during the period under review . He stated that the OIO had had a very g ood collaboration with 
the Director  General, the Deputy  Directors General and other staff members at all levels of the 
Organizat ion.  
4.2.  The Head of the OIO indicated that the OIO has its  own operational budget , which has remained 
unchanged since 2017 . He said that a recurrent concern had been  lack of sufficient staffing . In this 
regard, he  announce d that a vacancy announcement had been published for the position of 
Investigator  and that the selection process is ongoing . The Head of the OIO also informed the WT/BFA/180  
 
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  Committee that other options  are being explored to reinforc e the resources of the OIO , such as the 
prospect of increased support from the Office of the Legal Counsel to the Administration.   
4.3.  He highlighted that  one of the priorities for  the OIO has been to  build trust on the internal 
controls and internal justice mechanisms  at the WTO . The last staff surv ey (2018) showed that staff 
are still afraid, if not reluctant, to report breaches of Standards of conduct .  
4.4.  He indicated that, in line with the recent modifications made in Financial  Regulation 38 , the 
OIO and AGSD had prepared a document describing the I nternal Controls Framework at the WTO.   
4.5.  He spoke of several initiatives aim ed at explaining the different avenues available at the WTO 
for addressing grievances, with a special f ocus on the new policy dealing with harassment, 
discrimination and abuse of a uthority. In this regard , the Human Resources Division would soon 
release an online training module,  "Respect@harmony@WTO ", which will be mandatory for all staff 
members and will explain how to address prohibited conduct  at the WTO . He further mentioned th at 
the OIO ha s developed some material to enhance its visibility, such as a dedicated webpage and 
leaflets.  
4.6.   The Head of the OIO informed the Committee that, since July 2018, the OIO had received 
more tha n 30 reports of possible misconduct  ('intakes') , five ( 5) of which progressed to the 
investigation  stage. Two ( 2) investigations were closed  with the Director  General having decided to 
apply severe sanctions . The Head of the OIO expressed his expectation that, with the upcoming 
online training on Respect @harmony@WTO , the number of intakes would  remain high this year.  
4.7.   The Head of the OIO indicated that the priorities for this coming year  would be  to (1) complete 
the selection process for the Investigator  and continue reinforcing the capacity of the Office ; (2) 
review the procedure for administrative investigations to include new trends and practices such as 
enhancing the whistleblowing protection at the WTO ; (3) conduct internal audits, as described in the 
Audit Plan for 2018 -2019; (4) conduct investigatio ns and outreach activities ; and (5) continu e 
provid ing support to management , staff members and stakeho lders.  
4.8.   The Head of the OIO also stated that , jointly with 10 other Geneva -based International 
Organizations, the WTO is organizing a big conference of International Investigators , which  will be 
taking place  in Geneva  in November 2019 . More than 150  participants from around the world are 
expected .  
4.9.   A Member thanked the Head of the OIO for his presentatio n. She reiterated the comments 
that her delegation had made in  previous CBFA meeting s, underlining the importan ce for the  OIO to 
have sufficient staff to perform its tasks in a timely manner . She expressed her delegation's deep 
concern that the Office yet again had to inform the CBFA that it is still short  of staff. She 
acknowledged the update that the Head of the OIO ha d given and said that her delegation  expect s 
that, at the next meeting of the CBFA, the  OIO can indeed confirm that the person nel situation is 
stable and sufficient. She said that her delega tion had taken note that an increasing number of 
investigation cases were brought to the Joint Appeals Board and that the OIO expects the number 
of investigations to remain high in 2019 -2020. She further noted that more than 70% of staff 
Members felt that it was necessary to implement a stronger whistleblowing protection policy at the 
WTO. She called for the finalization of the internal oversight  charter and that it should be  shared 
with the Members  as soon as possible.  
4.10.    The Head of the OIO expressed gratit ude for the continu ed support for the work done by the 
OIO and his hope that the OIO will soon reach the level of resources it needs. He made a commitment 
that the OIO  will review the investigation procedure to enhance the whistleblowing protection at the 
WTO. He also stated that the OIO plans to finalize the internal oversight charter in 2019.  
4.11.    A Member echoed concerns on the issue of staffing  of the OIO and the effect that using  short 
term staff to deal with investigations had. The Member further  expressed concern about the aspect 
of a possible increas e in investigation cases. She recognized that this increase would be partly due 
to the Respect@harmony@WTO e -learning courses . However, she asked if there may be  an 
underl ying issue as to why such cases come up . WT/BFA/180  
 
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  4.12.    The Head of the OIO responded that, i ndeed, short term contracts affect investigations 
because Investigators come and go  and that it is always better to have people on longer -term basis. 
He said that insofar as the increase  in the number of i nvestigation cases  is concerned , the WTO 
Secretariat is not an exception as other International Organizations have been experiencing a similar 
trend. He said that the main driver of this is the increased awareness of society at large and a quest 
to address  misconduct and harassment in particular.  Another aspect being that as the OIO is 
relatively new, people need some time to trust the system before being confident to report 
misconduct.  
4.13.    An Official from the Secretariat buttressed the last point by saying that an increase in case s 
reflect s a new confidence in the Administration and in the Secretariat  as people now feel confident 
that grievances would be taken seriously and addressed , since concrete action had been taken in at 
least two ( 2) cases . He further  said that  the fact that more cases are brought doesn't mean that all 
cases would be brought to the attention of the OIO  as in some instances the issue at hand can be 
addressed by education  regarding what is permissi ble behaviour  and what it is not.  
4.14.    Respo nding to a suggestion by a Member that the Secretariat could, in a future meeting, 
inform the Committee of the measures that could be taken to pre -empt situations that could lead to 
reports being made to the OIO, an Official of the Secretariat informed the  Committee of measures 
already in place . These include: focal points in the Human Resources Division; an internal and an 
external mediator ; the OIO ; coaches ; and colleagues in the Staff Council who assist with such 
matter s. He stated that t hese measures have proven to be very effective.  
4.15.    DDG Brauner added that the Administration has  a much better relationship with the Staff 
Council than that which existed in the past. He informed the Committee that there were monthly 
meetings with the Staff Council. Further more, a policy was introduced whereby any staff member 
has a  right, if s/he has a grievance , to be represented by somebody else and such person will be 
protected . This has resulted in a  more open culture.  
4.16.    The Chairman closed this agenda item by saying tha t the Committee takes note of the report 
and the statements made.  
5  REVIEW OF SELECTED F INANCIAL REGULATIONS  OF THE WORLD TRADE 
ORGANIZATION – WT/BFA/W /485  
5.1.  Recalling that the  Committee had discussed this topic during its meetings in March and April , 
the Chairman said that the focus of discussion s would  be on the amended text for the Financial 
Regulations that had not yet been endorsed by the Committee.  
5.2.  An Official of the Secretariat said that at the m eeting that had taken place on 30 April, 
10 reformulated F inancial Regulation s had been presented, of which 5 were endorsed by the 
Committee.  She said that the Financial Regulations being present ed were the  5 that some Members 
had requested to be reconsidered and c larified. She said that in the process  of reviewing these, the 
Secretariat deemed it best to incorporate suggested modifications to Financial Regulation 27 in 
Financial Regulation 26, as th is was the more appropriate place given the change that had been 
proposed. As Financial Regulation 26 had  not been on the original list of the reformulated Financial 
Regulations, the number of Financial Regulations presented to the Committee during the meeting 
was 6 . 
5.3.   Regarding Financial Regulation 19, the Official of the Secretariat stated that, pursuant to a 
request by a Member, the WTO Secretariat's Guidelines for the Receipt and Notification of Voluntary 
Fund Contributions were  proposed for inclusion as Annex C to the Financial Regulations.  
5.4.  The Member that had requested this be done stated that his delegat ion had raised this because 
there was a background to t he subject  and said that annexing the  guidelines to the  Financial 
Regulation s would give guidance on various aspects to be included, such as the timeline of the 
projects and mandatory requirements like  the timelines for notification.  
5.5.  A Member asked whether it would be appropriate to modify the title of Annex C to include the 
underlined words: " WTO Secretariat's Guidelines for the Receipt and Notification of Voluntary Fund 
Contributions  from Members and Observers ". WT/BFA/180  
 
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  5.6.  An Official of the Secretariat said that t he Secretariat  would modify the title as suggested . 
5.7.  An Official of the Secretariat proposed that, based on suggestions by a few Members in the 
previous Committee meeting, a definition of equity could be  included in Financial Regulation 23.  
This would give clarity to the reader whenever mention is made of WTO equity  in the Financial 
Regulations. She said that the definition of equity was common across various accounting standards: 
"Equity  is defined  as the residual interest in the assets of the entity after deducting all its liabilities. " 
She said that in simple terms, equity is the difference between assets and liabilities. Still on Financial 
Regulation 23, the Official of the Secretariat noted that the phrase "budgetary surplus" in 23(c) 
would be corrected to "budgetary savings".    
5.8.  A Member said that his delegation had engaged with great commitment with a view to reaching 
a solution on the review of the Financial Regulations. He said that he regretted he had to repeat the 
points that he had already raised during previous meetings. He said that his delegation cannot accept 
the proposed wording of Financial regulation 23 and th at the same applies to Financial Regulations 
28 and 29. He said that his delegation can accept the proposed definition of the budgetary result in 
23 (a) but the financial result should reflect the real cash balance of the Organization. He said that 
real ex penditures and income should not be mixed with liabilities, which represent future fictitious 
expenditure. He proposed to rephrase Financial Regulation 23 (d) as follows, "The unspent 
appropriations of a financial period, reduced by the arrears of assessed  contributions for that period, 
determine the WTO year -end Financial Result".  He referred to the fact that this phrasing was included 
in paragraph 1.12 of the report of the meeting of the Committee that had taken place on 30th April 
30, document WT/BFA/179 . He said that IPSAS only requires the reporting of certain liabilities. He 
ventured that no other International Organizations are using the wording proposed by the WTO 
Secretariat while the drafting advanced by his delegation is based on the definition of  the cash 
balances in the UN family. He continued by saying that the Secretariat's proposal to set liabilities 
against the cash balance seems to serve the purpose to obtain a negative result which would mean 
in consequence that Members would give up t heir legitimate right to  decide on a potential positive 
financial result at the end of the budget cycle.  
5.9.  An Official of the Secretariat said that the definition which the Member was proposing pertains 
to a system  of cash accounting whereas the W TO follows an accrual -based accounting system .  
5.10.   Another Official of the Secretariat emphasized that t he definition that the Member had  just 
read refers to a cash basis result. He said that this definition relates to what would be in the coffers 
of the WTO, after taking i nto account the provision of arrears. He  explained that the objective of the 
definition is  to put in writing , in Financial Regulation 23 , exactly what is in fact done when the 
financial statements are prepared . This encompasses  adjusting  the budget ary result to incorporate 
elements that are obligatory when preparing IPSAS -compliant financial statements that are to be 
reviewed by the External Auditors . He made reference to Note 21 of the Financial Statements, which 
contains a  table that shows th e reconciliation of the budgetary result and the financial result .  
5.11.   A representative of the External Auditors made a clarification that, from their perspective , 
IPSAS makes it obligatory for  the elements contained in the determination of the financial resul t to 
be included in the financial statements. He said that , thereafter, it was up to the Members to 
determine how they want to proceed as there  is no stipulation  from IPSAS regarding whether and 
how a deficit is to be funded or whether and how a financial surplus is to be distributed. The 
representative of the External Auditor further stated that when they undertake an  audit of the 
Financial Statements , they check if the financial result is correct and then give their  audit opinion . 
He said that an unqualif ied audit opinion had been given for the 2018 financial statements, and 
those of the previous year because , from the External Auditors' point of view , the documentation of 
all position s was correct  and adhered to the IPSAS  rules and the Financial Regulatio ns of the WTO.  
5.12.   DDG Brauner sought clarification from the External Auditors. He said that IPSAS requires that 
the liabilities be shown, the full story being that,  with IPSAS, certain liabilities  have to be reflected 
after the b udgetary result. Therefore, u nder IPSAS, the Organization will always produce a negative 
result given its current circumstances . He said that the aspect of what to do in view of the financial 
result is not prescribed in IPSAS. He observed that the delegation that had raised issue with  the 
definitions in Financial Regulation 23 is  demanding that the WTO change s its reporting system were 
it not to show the negative financial result  and only show a positive budgetary result.  WT/BFA/180  
 
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  5.13.   A representative of the External Auditors empha sized that the WTO has to show the negative  
financial  result , noting that the b udget ary result is a first step, the second  step being  the financial 
result. He reiterated that Member s can thereafter decide how to handle the financial result.  
5.14.   A Member said he appreciate d the explanations given by the Secretariat as well as the 
remarks of the  External Auditors. He said that he had a  hard time understanding the terms under 
Financial Regulation  23 because they were all new to him. He said that given the explanations,  his 
delegation does not have  any substantial objection towards what is being proposed . He, however, 
said that there may be a problem at the concept level. He stated that his delegation tends to compare  
the financial result  with the profit and loss result of a private company . He continued by saying that 
the two are not exactly the same . He said that insofar Financial Regulation 23 is concerned, t he 
concept that lies behind the term financial result would be  the capacity the WTO has to deal with 
future liab ilities, with present resources. He said that, in o ther words, future pensions and medical 
liabilities  are being compared with  money that is presently saved . He further stated that the financial 
result is obviously always going to be negative , though it doesn't mean  that the WTO is in a situation 
of bankrupt cy. He said that this fact needs to somehow be reflect ed, and that is has to be shown 
that this would be a worst -case scenario , a conservative scenario which is not realistic , that would 
happen if the WTO continue s to pay pensions and medical expenses with the resource s that i t 
currently  has. He said that this should be shown in a more  educational  manner . He said that this 
could be through a footnote to the term, "financial result", explaining that this is a very conservative 
hypothesis, perhaps the worst -case scenario.  
5.15.   The Chairman said that it was abundantly clear that the Committee needs to come back to 
paragraph 23, and more homework needs to be done, as the Committee would  not be able to reach 
consensus on this paragraph before the Summer Break.  
5.16.   An Official of the Secretariat said that t he clarification being made  in Financial 
Regulation  26(b) is based on a previous comment that the sums advanced from the Working Capital 
Fund, in exceptional circumstances, should be subject to prior authorization of the General Council 
and that this would be on the basis of a recommendation from the Committee. No Member raised 
issue with this reformulation.  
5.17.   An Official of the Secretariat said that no adjustments had been made to the previous 
reformulation of Financial Regulation 27 as the comments that had been made were reflected in the 
reformulation of Financial Regulation 26(b).  
5.18.   Turning to Financial Regulation 28 , an Official of the Se cretariat stated that it  relate s to the 
approval for the return of funds in the  Working Capital Fund  to Members. She said that the  emphasis 
here had been , and was, that such return of funds  should only be possible in the event that the WTO 
equity is positi ve. This is intended to avoid a scenario where Members could take away the funds in 
the Working Capital Fund without meeting their obligations , in the event that total liabilities exceed 
total assets.  
5.19.   A Member commented on Financial Regulations 28 and 29 and asked that the phrase "if the 
WTO equity has a positive balance" be deleted from both Regulations. He said that he had indicated 
his flexibility on this issue and had suggested possibilities to redraft  to the Secretariat. He said that 
his delegation is  ready to compromise but refutes any attempt to take away from Members the 
authority to decide on how they want to spend the resources of the Working Capital Fund. He said 
that if it were for his delegation and a lot of other delegations, Members would hav e started to 
address the issue of liabilities a long time ago. He added that his delegation takes the issue of long -
term liabilities very seriously and feels that the issue could be solved quite quickly if there were 
more flexibility. He said his delegatio n is willing to compromise but that this should not be confused 
with capitulation.  
5.20.   An Official of the Secretariat said that more  discussions with several Members  were still 
required regarding Financial Regulations 23, 28 and 29. She stated that the Secreta riat introduc ed 
the concept of WTO equity being positive as a prerequisite to the  Working Capital  Fund being 
returned  to Members in order to take into account the fact that a Member may wish to leave the 
Organization and such Member may ask for a proportio n of the Working Capital Fund  and ignore its 
obligations under the liabilities . She anecdotally stated that this would be akin to a Member 
requesting a portion of the amount in the WTO bank balance whilst  totally ignoring the fact that it WT/BFA/180  
 
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  has obligations in so far as the liabilities are concerned. She said that this was the spirit with which 
the Secretariat introduc ed the element of WTO equity being positive. She said that if this concept 
were removed, the result would be a weakening of Financ ial Regulations  23, 28 and 29  as it would 
imply  that any Member can leave whenever it wishes, regardless of it owes to the Organization,  and 
in the process  take with it a proportion of the Working Capital Fund. She said that the Secretariat is 
open to any suggest ed changes t hat would  not ignore what it is that is being sought. She said that 
much as the Secretariat respects every Member, i t is also important that what the Secretariat seeks 
to be  address ed should not be ignored . She added that the Secretariat  is also open to any 
suggestions in terms of better understanding  and better drafting . She informed the Committee that 
the Secretariat had really struggled to come closer  to the delegation's suggestions and that it would 
be very useful to get more input fr om other Members . She said that the Secretariat may call for 
consultations , through the Chair man, to better understand what the weaknesses of the text proposed 
by the Secretariat  are, and any consequences  that may arise from this . She said that i f the majo rity 
of Members are of the view that any Member can take a portion of the Working Capital Fund  without 
addressing the liabilit ies attributable to it , given  the understanding that the Secretariat's role is to 
provide service to Members, the Secretariat woul d do as the Members bid.   
5.21.   The same Member that had raised contention with the proposed changes to Financial 
Regulations 23, 28 and 29 said that he did not support the view which was just advanced by the 
Secretariat. He said that he is willing to talk to a nybody who wishes to have a debate on this issue. 
He said that, on the substance, his delegation and the Secretariat are not very far away and that it 
would be easy to find a solution. He closed by saying that all he is asking for is a little more 
willingn ess to compromise and to look at the exact wording of this paragraph.  
5.22.   A Member sought clarification, making reference to  the aspect of previous  discussi ons related 
to the  accumulated budgetary surplus . He asked whether his understanding, following on from the 
clarification just given by the Secretariat , is correct. He stated that i n any given year the long -term 
liabilities would be so much tha t there would never  be a real picture of a ny year wher e there would 
be any surpluses because the liabilities  would be high and there would always be a negative equity 
position. He said that the allocation of surpluses to the Working Capital Fund is for posterity and that 
deploying them for investment in  equity or other long term investment is a risk to the Organiza tion 
because the Organization could run into a situation where it cannot take the funds out from those 
investments.  
5.23.   An Official of the Secretariat responded that even if investments are for the long term, they 
can be in products that are easily liquidated . She said that the Working Group on the Management 
of the Working Capital Fund is discussing this aspect at  length  and will submit a report to the CBFA.  
5.24.   DDG Brauner said a distinction has to be made between two situations. One is the use of the 
Working Ca pital Fund in the operations of the WTO and the other is giving part of it back to a Member 
leaving the Organization. He said that the intention is to not return any part of the Working Capital 
Fund to a leaving Member when the Member's portion of the liab ilities is not covered. He said that a 
decision being made on how to use the money for the Organization would be a different story.  
5.25.   A Member asked what is meant by "Members who have contributed to the Working Capital 
Fund". An Official of the Secretariat replied that, according to Financial Regulation 24 (a), any 
Member that accedes to the WTO is required to contribute a certain amount towards the Working 
Capital Fund. The Member followed up by asking whether this means that it is all of the Members 
that a re concerned by that. The response was in the affirmative.  
5.26.   On the issue of Financial Regulations 23, 28 and 29, a Member wondered how the parties 
could proceed in a constructive manner, with the aim of finding a solution as soon as possible.  
5.27.   The Chairman of the Committee said that o ne of the ground rules in this Organization is  that 
if there is no consensus on any changes, then things stay are they are. He then said the day's 
discussion had resulted in agreement on the amendments proposed for  Financial Reg ulations 19, 26 
and 27. He said that there is no consensus on Financial Regulations 23, 28 and 29. He said that if 
these were to be returned to in September , it would  be because consensus is close to being achieved . 
He said that deliberations should take place in the interim period to work towards getting consensus . 
He said that if not , the three paragraphs will not be in the list of amendments to the Financial  
Regulations to be recommended to  the General Council.  WT/BFA/180  
 
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  5.28.   The Member who had raised concerns regarding the remaining Financial Regulations said that 
he was unhappy with this way of proceeding. A solution was relatively close, but compromise would 
have to not only be from one side.  
5.29.   The Chairman said that talks would  go on  but that this was not going to be  achieve d during 
this particular Committee  meeting. He said that there would be consult ations to  see if a way out 
could be found . He closed by saying that the ambition is to find consensus on the three paragraphs.  
6  STRATEGIC FACILITIES P LAN – WT/BFA/W/480  
6.1.  An Official of the Secretariat introduced the agenda item by saying that the Strate gic Facilities 
Plan was first developed in 2018  by the Facilities Management, Conference and Safety and Security 
Section s of the WTO. He said the  purpose of this plan is to propose the projects in the short and 
long term to make sure that the WTO building s and premises are safe and secured, fully operational 
and in optimal conditions.  
6.2.   He informed the Committee that the WTO premises contains 7 buildings : the Extra Muros 
building , which is the new Building; the C entre William Rappard , the historical building; the Welcome 
Pavilion; and the Chinese garden which are owned by the WTO. The Salle William Rappard is owned 
by the the Swiss Fou ndation for International Organizations ' Buildings  (FIPOI) and t he Villa 
Rappard  1 and Villa Rappard 2 are owned by the Republic and Canton of Geneva.  
6.3.  The Official of the Secretariat said that operational and capital expenditure for 2018 
approximated C HF 4 million.  Examples of projects that were completed in 2018  include: the  
replace ment of 600 standing lights , which had been installed 8 or 9 years ago , with Light Emitting 
Diode (LED)  lights ; a series of projects related to  use of water from the lake to cool the facilities and 
the infrastructure of the C entre William Rappard; the replacement of the furniture in communal 
meeting rooms, and the installation of video conferencing installations ; the replace ment of audio -
visual equipment in the conference rooms ; the upgrade of security equipment; and the 
reinforcement of  access control to certain  offices.   
6.4.  Turning to plans for 2019-2020, the Official from the Secretariat spoke about the replacement 
of spotlights in the corridors of the C entre William Rappard, to be financed by the FIPOI ; the  
insulat ion of the façade of the C entre William Rappard  in order to reduce the dissipation of heat and 
improve air tightness of the building ; the replacement of the Building Maintenance Monitoring 
system ; refreshing of offices with new furniture; the replacement of carpet s in the corridors of the 
Centre William Rappard; and r eplacing obsolete X -ray machines.  
6.5.  The Official of the Secretariat said that the projects  would be financed from the regular budget  
for maintenance and capit al expenditure , the Building Renovation Fund, and funds from the FIPOI . 
6.6.  In summing up, the Official of the Secretariat said that the budget for the  medium -term 
projects , from 2018 to 2022 , is CHF 13 .5 million and that for longer term projects, from 2023 to  
2026,  is CHF 14 .2 million.  
6.7.  An Official of the Secretariat expressed gratitude to the Swiss Government for their continued 
generosity. She said that  the Centre William Rappard  was donated by the Swiss Confederation whilst  
the Council Room which still belon gs to them , is fully maintained by them . She appreciated the ir 
gracious ness when arranging for maintenance work to be carried out . She said that, in addition,  an 
amount of  CHF 1.2 million  is provided by the FIPOI  per annum for maintenance of the C entre William 
Rappard .  
6.8.  The Chairman express ed the Members' gratitude to the Swiss Government.  
6.9.  A Member asked if any  consideration has been given to mak ing sure that all the renovation 
upgrades in th e building s are accessible for people with  disabilities or have additional requirements 
and needs.  
6.10.   An Official of the Secretariat informed the Committee that Secretariat staff members had 
participated at the International Facilities Management Association meeting in May. He s aid that the 
key theme for 2019 was "H ow to Build Accessible Facilities for Everyone. " He added that in its  WT/BFA/180  
 
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  projects, the first thing that the Secretariat does is  to aim  to comply with the Swiss codes and 
regulations and , as a second step , see what the UN and its agencies are doing. He confirmed tha t 
accessibility will be one of the main issues that will be covered during the upcoming projects.  
6.11.   The Chairman summed up by saying that the Committee takes note of the report  and the 
statements that were made .  
7  WTO PENSION PLAN REP ORT – ORAL UPDATE  
7.1.  The Cha irman of the WTO Pension Plan, Mr. Robe rt Prochazka, gave a brief update o f the 
activities of the WTO Pension Plan  Management Board , focussing on new developments since the 
last update which he had given during the Committee meeting in March meeting.  
7.2.  First, he informed the Committee that the WTO Pension Plan has  received an unqualified audit 
opinion from the External Auditors for the 2018 financial period. He noted that the External Auditors 
had raised a few helpful recommendations that will be reviewed and discussed further with them 
over the coming  months so as to respond appropriately. He said that the financial statements and 
audit report will be presented to the General Council in July.  
7.3.  Secon dly, he recalled that he had announced a vacancy on the Management Board of the WTO 
Pension Plan  during the last meeting of the CBFA for a member  to be selected by the General Council. 
He said that, c onsistent with the agreed guidelines for the selection o f new members by the General 
Council, a candidate who is willing to be submitted to the General Council for election in July  had 
been identified and that t he General Council documents related to the process will be shortly 
circulated.  
7.4.  Thirdly, t he Chairman  of the WTO Pension Plan Management Board  informed the Committee 
that an Actuarial Working Group had been established  in anticipation of the next full actuarial 
valuation of the Pension Plan , which will be undertaken in 2020.  The Working Group will review , and 
make recommendations on , the key assumptions that will be used in th e valuation.  The working 
group will start its work before the Summer break and is expected to provide its feedback to the 
WTO Pension Plan Management Board in the fourth quarter of 2019. 
7.5.  On investments, the Chairman of the WTO Pension Plan Management Board mentioned that he 
had touched on the recent volatility in financial markets  during the Committee meeting in March . He 
said that c urrent economic circumstances , such as negative inter est rates , remain challenging for 
investors and are likely to remain so for some time. He mentioned an expect ation that markets 
might correct and that the WTO Pension Plan may e xperience a period of below average returns in 
the coming years. He noted that as a long-term investor , the WTO  Pension Plan can tolerate and 
may even benefit from this short -term volatility  as market downturns provide the opportunity to 
purchase assets at more attractive prices that also hold the potential for more sustained returns.  
8  2018 ANNUAL REPORT O N DIVERSITY IN THE W TO SECRETARIAT - WT/BFA/W/483  
8.1.   An Official of the Secretariat informed th e Committee that the report shows a breakdown of 
staff members by gender and highlighted the evolution by region. She said that now 88 Members 
are represented in WTO Secretariat, an increase of 2 from 2017, with the addition of Burkina Faso 
and the Republi c of Moldova.  
8.2.  She said that there is continuous improvement for professional staff in the representation of 
developing countries and LDCs, having increased from 21.6% in 1995 to 37.9% in 2018, with a 
continued increase in female professionals.  
8.3.  The Offici al from the Secretariat said that Africa and Asia continue to display positive growth 
over time, and Europe, North America, and Oceania continue to illustrate a decrease. On the aspect 
of gender, she said that the percentage of female staff has increased f or Africa, Asia and Europe, 
while there have been fluctuations regarding female staff from Latin America, North America and a 
decrease for Oceania.  WT/BFA/180  
 
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  8.4.  Referring to Latin America, she said that there is a slight decrease for female professionals 
compared to 1 995, but an increase from 2017 (from 3.6% to 3.9%). The number of female 
professional staff from Latin America went from 7 in 1995 to 16 in 2018.  
8.5.  The Official from the Secretariat said that there were improvements in gender balance amongst  
professional st aff from 1995 to 2018. Female professionals represented only 31% of the professional 
population in 1995, and this increased to 44.8% in 2018. Although the difference is slight compared 
to last year, the trend is still overall positive.  
8.6.  The chart depicting  gender diversity by grade for professional staff from grade 6 to grade 12 
shows that the number of professional staff members in 2018 was 415, whereas in 2017 it was 411. 
She said that there were more female professionals in grade 6 and grade 9. She furth er said that 
there are now 6 females at Director level, compared to 5 in 2017. She closed by saying that the 
grading structure was moving away from the inverted pyramid.  
8.7.  Compared to 2017, a higher number of qualified candidates applied from Asia, although there 
still needs to be improvement for Latin America and Africa. Latin American had a slight decrease in 
the number of suitable candidates compared to 2017.  
8.8.  In terms of outreach, students from several universities visited the WTO where the Secretariat 
participated in interactive discussions as well as Questions and Answers sessions.  
8.9.  On average, 182 individuals applied per external vacancy notice in 2018. Notably, more men 
than women applied for professional positions, especially at the Director level. The  only grade where 
there were more female applicants was grade 8.  
8.10.   There were 1,106 applications for the Young Professionals Programme, compared to 1,502 in 
2017. Most participants of this Young Professionals Programme and Internship Programmes, of which 
there are 6, were from Africa, Asia and Europe, based on data from 2005. In terms of gender 
diversity for all programmes, the representation was slightly higher for women in 2018. However, 
overall, the percentages remain quite balanced in terms of gender.  
8.11.   The Committee took note of the report.  
9  UPDATE FROM THE CHAI RWOMAN OF THE WORKING GROUP FO R THE SELECTION OF 
AN EXTERNAL AUDITOR – ORAL UPDATE  
9.1.  The Chairwoman of the Working Group on the Selection of an E xternal Auditor informed the 
Committee that t he Working G roup had met on the 2 of May to discuss and finalize the Invitation to 
Bid. The document WT/BFA/INF/3 entitled "Invitation to Bid for the Selection of the External Auditor" 
was released to all Members on 15 May.   
9.2.  The Chairwoman stated that Supreme Audit In stitution s that are interested in being considered 
have time to submit their expression s of interest by 15 July. Subsequent to this, the Working Group 
would  meet to assess the application s. 
9.3.  She informed the Committee that, a ccording to the timeline, the Working Group aims to present 
a report with the result of the assessment after the Summer break  and that t he Selected External 
Auditors will be notified of the outcome by the end of 2019 and will take up duties in the Fall of 
2020, after the required h andover from the current External Auditor s. 
10  UPDATE FROM THE CHAI RWOMAN OF THE WORKIN G GROUP FOR THE MANA GEMENT 
OF THE WORKING CAPITAL FUND  – ORAL UPDATE  
10.1.   A Member read a statement on behalf of the Chairwoman of the Working Group on the 
Management of the Working Capital Fund, as she was not able to attend the meeting.  
10.2.   The Working Group has met 4 times since April  and covered areas such as  questions being 
raised; testing assumptions ; collecting new information ; and drafting text for a policy. In addition 
to the Working Group meetings,  the Chairwoman has  held informal consultations with several 
Members who had particular questions  at various points in the process.  WT/BFA/180  
 
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  10.3.   At its me eting on 30 April,  the Working Group  agreed that documentation to serve as the 
basis for further discussion should be circulated in advance of the next meeting. On 20  May, the 
Secretariat circulated a discussion draft of a revised approach to a management policy for the 
Working Capital Fund. This revised discussion draft separated general administration and 
governance from more technical investment management issues. When the Working Group met on 
23 May, there was  generally positive feedback about the administration and governance section of 
the document but less satisfaction with the investment elements of the document. Therefore, the 
Chairwoman had made a pro posal for the I nvestment Advisor of the WTO  Penson Plan to be invited 
to provide an expert view on the more technical aspects of the policy.    
10.4.   At the Working Group's meeting on 7  June, the Investment Advisor provided a general 
overview of investment strategy and relative risks and answered technical questions about 
investment approaches. Additionally, he shared his perspective on  the type of  further questions the 
Working Group might wish to consider when deciding what investment approaches would be most 
suitable for the Working Capital Fund.  
10.5.   The next step will be to circulate a revised draft policy that takes into account  the comments, 
questions  and suggestions that have been raised by the Working Group and elaborates further on 
investment guidelines based on the inputs from the Investment Advisor. This revised draft will be 
discussed at the next meeting  of the Working Group.  All interested Members were encouraged to 
join the Working Group discussions. The Chairwoman  remains available for informal consultations 
with any interested Members.  
10.6.   A Member made reference  to paragraph 53 on page 13 of the report of the External Auditors , 
bearing the reference  WT/BFA/W/488 . Therein, the External Auditors remind  Members  that the 
General Council transferred the budgetary surplus to the Working Capital Fund. The report further  
states  that "this amount would be subject to a separate investment strategy aiming to avoid negative 
interest and to ensure available funds in case of unexpected shortcomings ". The Member expressed 
the view that this should be the guideline  for the mandat e of the Working Group.  
10.7.   The Committee t ook note of the report and the statements made.  
11  LETTER FROM THE STAF F COUNCIL OF THE WTO  – WT/BFA/W/487  
11.1.   The Chairman recalled that during the Committee's previous  meeting  he had informed the 
Committee of a letter he had received from  the Staff Council of the WTO. The letter was subsequently 
forwarded to Members  and is contained in a document  bearing the reference  WT/BFA/W/487.  
Through this letter, the Sta ff Council request s to be present at meetings of the Committee, on an 
ad-hoc basis, whenever issues of systemic interest to staff are to be discussed.   
11.2.   The Chairman informed the Committee that he had met with representatives of the Staff 
Council on Thursday 13 June in order to get a better understanding of the context and background 
for their request. The representatives of the Staff Council had underlined that they are not requesting 
to intervene or make statements. Furthermore, they pointed  out the value of being able to better 
understand Members' views on issues of s ystemic interest to the Secretariat staff.  
11.3.   The Chairman said that he had promised  the Staff Council that he would  bring the ir request 
to the attention of the Committee and had  underlined that the decision , whether or not to 
accommodate the request , rests with the Committee. On this background, the Chairman invite d the 
Committee to give their reactions to this request from the Staff Council.  
11.4.   A member said that his delegation requires  more time to consider the request.   
11.5.   The Chairman noted that d elegations m ay need some time to consult with their c apitals before 
responding. He then said the Committee will revert to th e issue at its next meeting and that he 
would accordingly inform the Staff Council of this . WT/BFA/180  
 
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  12  LDC MINISTERIAL CONF ERENCE TRUST FUND 20 20 – WT/BFA/W/486  
12.1.   An official fr om the Secretariat said that the document  had summarized the essential points. 
He invited Members to give consideration to  making  contribution s to the LDCs Ministerial Fund  and 
said that interested Members  could get in touch with  the Secretariat  for facilitation of this . 
12.2.   The representative of the EU delegation informed the Committee that, a s on previous 
occasions for Ministerial Conferences, the EU will be making a contribution. She said that the EU 
would be s hortly preparing the documentation  for the Commitment .  
12.3.   The Chairman reiterated the invitation to  Members to transmit th e information to their 
capitals , with a view to  them giving consideration to contribute generously to the Trust Fund for 
LDCs to participate in the 12th Ministerial Conference . 
13  CLOSING COMMENTS  
13.1.   DDG Brauner requested the floor and said that he  paid respect to and thank ed Members who 
would soon be departing from Geneva and moving on to other assignment s. He said that he had 
very much  appreciated working with them as they had b een very active in the Committee . He said 
that their continued engagement with and challenging of the Secretariat staff who work closely with 
the CBFA had been appreciated and had helped the Secretariat team  to evolve in positive ways . He 
asked to be informed of any other Committee members who were leaving so that he can express 
his gratitude  to them . 
13.2.   The Chairman thanked the Committee for their active participation during the  meeting  and 
announced that the n ext formal meeting of the CBFA will take place  in September . He said that the 
Secretariat would communicate the exact date and time  in due course.  
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