RESTRICTED  
  
WT/BFA/157  
 
27 October  2016 
(16-5905) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration    
 
  
 
REPORT OF THE MEETIN G HELD ON 13 OCTOBER  2016  
The Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration (CBFA) met on 13 October 2016 under the 
Chairmanship of Ambassador Inga Ernstsone (Latvia). The Terms of Reference and composition of 
the Committee are set out in document WT/L/44/REV.1.  The agenda contained in document 
WTO/AIR/BFA/11 was adopted.  
  
1 WTO BUDGET AND FINAN CE REPORT – 3RD QUARTER 2016 – WT/BFA/W/ 404 
1.1.  The Secretariat presented the budget and finance report for the third quarter 2016. The 
contribut ions received  from Membe rs, as at the end of September  2016, were slightly above those 
for the  same period in 2015. At the end of the third quarter of 2016, 52 % of the Members had 
fully paid their annual contribution. With respect to the asses sed amount of  CHF 195 .5 million, 
73% was received. The receipt of contributions as at the end of the  third quarter, from Observers 
amounted to CHF 377,566 representing 61 % of the assessed amount. 60% of Observers  paid their 
annual contributions  in full . 
1.2.  The Secretariat  informed the Committee that at the end of the third quarter of 2016, five 
Members were subject to Category I of the Administrative Measures ; four Members were subject 
to Category II ; six Members were subject to Category III ; one Observer wa s subject to Ca tegory I ; 
one Observer  was subject to Category II ; and one Observer was subject to Category III.  Since the 
report in June 2016, Equatorial Guinea came out of  Category II  of the Administrative Measures, 
and Sudan moved from Category II to Category I .  
1.3.  The Secretariat then presented the consolidated s tatement of budgetary e xpenditures as at 
30 September  2016.  The statement consist ed of three main  parts: Staffing Resources; Other 
Resources; Operating F unds and ITC. The budget situation was on track with an ove rall 
expenditure rate of 75% (or CHF 147 million ). 
1.4.  The Committee took note of the report . 
2  REPORT OF THE WORKIN G GROUP CONCERNING A N AUDIT COMMITTEE - 
WT/BFA/W/403  
2.1.  The Chair of the Working Group ( WG) presented the report  to the Committee . The Members ' 
attention was drawn to a numbering error  in the last paragraph of the report (on page 5 ). It was 
stated that the references to paragraphs 2 2 and 25 should be replaced by the paragraphs numbers 
4.2, 4.4 and  4.5. The Secretariat would reissue a corrigendum.  
2.2.  The Chair of the WG thanked the Members for  their active participation in the deliberations 
that took place throughout the  process as well as the S ecretariat for its assistance and support. He 
underlined that the WG had engaged with three other International Organizations and the external 
auditors.  
2.3.  The Chair of the WG informed the Committee that the WG had not  been able to reach a 
consensus  on whether or not to recommend that an Audit C ommittee be established at the WTO 
Secretariat . Acknowledge ment was made tha t a Chief of the Office of Internal Oversight had 
assumed dut y at the beginning of September  2016, thus enhancing the internal control 
environment.  A good number of Members who were of the view that there are positive aspects to WT/BFA/157  
 
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  Audit Committees expressed the hope that the topic could be revisited at an appropriate time in 
future.  
2.4.  All Members who took the floor expressed gratitude to the Chair of the WG and thanked all 
the Members who contributed  to the process . Member s noted  that the report would provide 
background for further discussions on the subject. One Member suggested that the Secretariat 
could consider establishing an internal group which would meet regularly to assess the internal 
control environment and ensure continuous improvement.  
2.5.  Another Memb er pointed out that now, with the appointment of the new Chief of the Office of 
Internal Oversight, the oversight function of the Organization was strengthened, stemming the gap 
that had existed for two years after the departure of the previous Chief of In ternal Audit.   He said 
that the reports of OIO and of the external auditors and their oral clarifications in CBFA meetings 
provided excellent and ample information on the workings of the Organization. He expressed 
doubts whether an Audit Committee would ha ve added value if Members would fully avail 
themselves of this expertise. The External Auditor’s reports showed that the Organization was not 
facing serious problems and that the risks were limited. He noted that costs were unavoidable in 
case of establish ing an Audit Committee and he doubted whether these costs were warranted in 
view of the limited risks. Though not principally opposed to the establishment of an Audit 
Committee, which could be very useful for a big company with high risks, he was not convi nced 
that the Organization needed one at this point, given its size and risks.  
2.6.  The Committee took note of the report .  
3  REVISION OF THE FINA NCIAL RULES OF THE W ORLD TRADE ORGANIZAT ION - 
WT/BFA/W/396/REV.1  
3.1.  The Chairperson stated that the revised version of t he Financial R ules was presented  at the 
last CBFA meeting. She recalled that the Secretariat had sent the WTO Financial Rules document 
with changes tracked ; a table summarising the changes and the differences between the financial 
rules currently in force and the revised version; and a table containing questions and answers .  
3.2.  Some Member s thanked the Secretariat for the improved presentation of the document and 
the table s provided .  
3.3.  A few  Members enquired  why there were substantial changes in the Procuremen t chapter . 
The Secretariat answered that there were many changes  in this domain since 2007, when the rules 
were last revised . 
3.4.  The Secretariat reaffirmed its commitment to taking Members' comments into account and 
requested Members  to send questions in writ ing to facilitate the process. The Secretariat would  
then circulate a consolidated table of questions and answers  ahead of the next CBFA meeting.  
3.5.  A Member wished to know  why information  about the Office of Internal Oversight was 
reflected  in only one place  within the Financial Rules . The Secretariat indicated that neither the 
Office of Internal Audit nor the Office of Internal Oversight existed at the time of the previous 
revision of the Financial R ules, in 2007 and that the aspect of internal audit was ina dvertently 
omitted  during the  revision of the Financial Regulations, in 2014. In addition the Secretariat stated  
that Financial Regulation 38 is the basis for the delegation of internal control and oversight duties 
by the Director General . The Secretariat further informed the Committee that complementary 
documents are in place such as the internal control framework, administrative memoranda and 
others.  
3.6.  The Chairperson thanked the Members  for their constructive comments . She then encouraged 
Members to send their questions and comments to the Secretariat after the meeting .  
3.7.  The Committee will continue its discussion of this subject at the CBFA meeting, scheduled for  
1 November 2016.  
 
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