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WT/BFA/165  
 
10 August  2017 
(17-4324) Page: 1/5 
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration    
 
 REPORT OF THE MEETIN G HELD ON 18 JULY 2017  
 
The Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration (CBFA) met on 18 July  2017 under the 
Chairmanship of Ambassador Peter BRŇO (Slovak Republic). The Terms of Reference and 
composition of the Committee are set ou t in document WT/L/44/REV.1. The Agenda is contained in 
document WTO/AIR/BFA/1 9. The agenda was formally adopted , including the three following items  
which were covered under "Any Other Business" : The Chairman update d the Committee on the 
WTOPP Management Board selection consultations ; a request from the Staff Council ; and the  LDC 
Trust Fund . 
 
1  UPDATE REGARDING THE  REVIEW OF THE ADJUSTMENT OF THE WT O DEPENDENCY 
ALLOWANCES  – WT/BFA/W/416/REV.3  
1.1 The Chairman reminded the Committee of his letter that was accompanied by  the revised 
document WT/BFA/W/416/Rev. 3 that were circulated to the Members on 12th July 2017 . He stated 
that though the CBFA had reached consensus on this matter, this had to be formalized by 
endorsing the amendments made to the Report of the  CBFA meeting that was held on 22nd June 
2017 to the General Council. He noted that the changes to the report would be the inclusion of the 
fact that the Members had now reached consensus and the incorporation of the recommendation 
to be made to the Genera l Council. He pointed out that the updated document would bear the 
reference WT/BFA/164/Rev.1. This document would be circulated during the afternoon of 1 8th July.  
1.2 The Chairman informed the Committee that due  to the strict deadline of 14th July 2017 f or 
submission of agenda items for the General Council meeting scheduled for 26th and 27th July,  it 
had not been possible to include the recommendation to be made to the General Council in the 
dispatch.  He notified the Committee that he would ask for the f loor when the agenda of the next 
General Council meeting (reference WTO/AIR/GC/13) is tabled on 26th July and request that 
Agenda Item 11 be changed to replace mention of WT/BFA/164 with WT/BFA/164/Rev.1.  
1.3  The Committee took note of the report .  
2  UPDATE  FROM THE WORKING GRO UP ON THE ASHI FUND  
2.1.  The Chairwoman of the Working Group on the ASHI Fund updated the Committee on the 
ongoing work. She stated that the Working Group  had continued discussions on funding, during its  
meeting of  27th June. She informed t he CBFA that the  Working Group  called for  a simple approach 
to the ASHI Fund. She concluded by informing the Committee that t he Working Group would  be 
meeting on 19th July 2017  to discuss a paper that the Secretariat had prepared on  the medium -
term budget outlook of the WTO Medical Plan .   
2.2.  The Committee took note of the report.  
3  OFFICE OF INTERNAL O VERSIGHT AND ITS ACT IVITIES FOR THE PERI OD FR OM 1 
MARCH 2016 TO 30 JUN E 2017 – WT/BFA/W/423  
3.1.  The Head of the Office of Internal Oversight (OIO) presented a report of the activities 
conducted by the OIO from March 2016 to June 2017. He recalled that the OIO had been 
established in December 2015 to provide an independent assessment of the management 
practices, expenses, budgetary control and allegations of misconduct.  The Head of the OIO 
reassured the Members o f the independence of his Office as well as the good collaboration with the WT/BFA/165  
 
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  Director -General and the entire Secretariat. He highlighted that management at the WTO 
demonstrated strong willingness to improve the go vernance and internal control procedures within 
the Organization.  
3.2.  The Head of the OIO indicated that  to date around 30% of the OIO annual budget was spent. 
In terms of staffing, the Head of the OIO announced that a new staff member would  be joining the 
OIO in August 2017, for an initial period of six months. The person  has extensive experience in 
internal audit and in investigations, and has worked in other International Organizations in 
Geneva.  
3.3.  Turning to the review of internal audit findings from 2009  to 1st June 2017, t he Head of the 
OIO said that92% of the internal audit recommendations are considered closed, 5% are in the 
process of being implemented and only 3% remain open at this stage. The Head of the OIO 
declared that the OIO has developed a detail ed follow -up register in order to closely monitor the 
implementation status of each recommendation.  
3.4.  The Head of the OIO provided a summary of the findings and recommendations made during 
the audit of Home Leave Entitlements (detailed in Annex 6 of the repo rt). He noted that the  OIO 
worked closely with the concerned Divisions in order to align the practices with WTO's Staff Rules 
as well as to establish and implement the required internal controls and corrective measures.  
3.5.  Subsequently, the Head of the OIO re ported on the collaboration with the Procurement 
Service for preventing potential fraud and corruption in procurement.  
3.6.  With regards to investigations, the OIO has developed a detailed ''Intake'' register, where all 
the complaints and allegations of miscon duct received by the OIO are documented and monitored. 
So far, 17 intakes of possible misconduct were reported since March 2016. The Head of the OIO 
reassured the Members that each of these intakes is considered objectively . The OIO conducted six 
investiga tions, of which four led to recommended specific sanctions against the subject(s), and two 
were inconclusive. He indicated that none of the investigations resulted in direct financial loss for 
the Organization.  
3.7.  Then the Head of the OIO informed the Commit tee that a draft anti -fraud policy was being 
reviewed internally. He drew the Members' attention to the fact that this policy emphasizes the 
culture of integrity within the Organization and the "zero tolerance" approach to fraud . He invited 
Members to read  the policy once it is finalized.  
3.8.  The Head of the OIO concluded his report by informing the Committee that the new induction 
training for newcomers would include specific sections on WTO's Code of conduct and internal 
oversight function. He also indicated  that a Town Hall meeting on ethics would take place in 
October 2017.  
3.9.  Several Members welcomed the report of the OIO and expressed their gratitude to the Head 
of the OIO for his structured report. Members appreciated  the substance and recommendations on 
the audit of Home Leave Entitlements.  
3.10.   One Member suggested that the OIO should examine the practices of other Geneva -based 
International Organizations  in order to benchmark . He then inquired if the Head of the OIO liaised 
with the UN Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) on this subject. The Head of OIO confirmed that the 
benchmarks provided by the UN JIU on Home Leave lump -sum payments have been analysed and 
taken into consideration.  
3.11.   Some Members request ed that the Committee be provided with  an update of the 
implem entation of the recommendations proposed in the audit report of Home Leave entitlements  
in early 2018 . They further asked for  a copy of the internal oversight charter. The Head of the OIO 
agreed to update the Members on the implementation status of the rec ommendations. He then 
added that the OIO Charter was still under consideration as the Institute of Internal Auditors had 
recently amended its professional standards and had modified the definition of Internal Audit. 
Additionally, there was an effort among the different International Organizations to harmonize 
some definitions. He also noted that Provisional Investigations Procedures would be developed.  WT/BFA/165  
 
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  3.12.   Some Members suggested that for future  reports, the table on investigations should be 
enhanced to include information on the sanctions adopted as  a result of investigations. The Head 
of the OIO underlined that it is the Director -General who decides on the sanctions and not the 
OIO. However, he agreed to reflect the category of sanctions in the next report. On the 
investigation activities chart, one Member wanted to know what "misconduct" covers. The Head of 
the OIO answered that it concerned all improper conduct that do es not fit in the other categories 
shown on the chart.  
3.13.   A Member applauded the Head of the OI O for the structure and clarity of his report. She 
noted that it was easy to read and understand. She said that if the OIO was not adequately staffed 
it would remain vulnerable. She enquired whether three  people were sufficient to fulfil the OIO's 
responsi bilities  expressing concern that if one person took ill then the deliverables would be 
hampered.  
3.14.   Some Members emphasized the importance of granting sufficient resources to the OIO, and 
enquired  why the new staff member would be hired only for a six -month period and not on a 
longer -term basis. Another Member suggested that the OIO could select a staff member from 
within the Organization  to join the team since such a person would have a good understanding of 
the WTO .  
3.15.   The Head of the OIO thanked the Members for their comments and support for 
strengthening the OIO team. He explained that the vacant position could not be filled on a longer -
term basis at this stage because of the zero -nominal growth of WTO's budget for 2017 and 2018, 
the current ceiling in the n umber of staff, and therefore the necessity for Human Resources to 
prioritize the allocation of resources among the several Divisions asking  for additional staffing. He 
indicated that the new staff member was hired for an initial period of six months, pend ing the 
possibility to initiate the lo nger-term recruitment process. The OIO already explored the possibility 
of selecting internal candidates. However, the position required a candidate who had highly 
specialized  skills in audit and investigations .  
3.16.   The D eputy Director General took the floor to thank the Head of the OIO for his constructive 
report. He reassured the Members that the WTO was audited  extensively by the OIO and the 
external auditors since the later also carried out performance audits of variou s areas .   
3.17.   One Member wished to know if the fact that the 2017 budget amount allocated to the OIO 
was still underspent on a proportionate  basis was due to the vacancy. The Head of the OIO 
confirmed this. 
3.18.   The Committee took note of the report.  
4  2016 ANNUAL R EPORT ON GRADING STR UCTURE IN THE WTO SE CRETARIAT – 
WT/BFA/W/422  
4.1.  An Official  of the Secretariat updated the Committee on the grad ing structure and promotions 
within the WTO Secretariat. As of December 2016, the WTO employed 709 staff, with 95% funded 
from the regular budget and 5%, corresponding to 38 staff, funded from extra -budgetary funds. In 
terms of recruitment, 67 posts were advertised, of which 34 were filled  in 2016 . The number of 
staff separated from service was 42.   
4.2.  The Official stated that t he ov erall grade structure was evolving in the right direction. The 
average grade has been trend ing downwards  because staff separating at senior grades are being 
replaced by staff at lower grades . The number of staff in grades 8 and 10 significantly decreased , 
87 in grade 10 versus 118 at the peak period , whereas the number of staff in grades 6 and 7 
continue d to increase.  She then stated that t he number of support staff has been  decreasing at 
grades  6 and 7 , since more resources were required at the professiona l level. The Official 
underlined that t he ratio of support staff to overall staff in 2016 was 40%.  
4.3.  Several Members welcomed the report and thanked the Secretariat. Regarding overall staff 
numbers mentioned in the report on page 1 (661) and page 4 ( 671),  one Member wondered why 
there was a difference of 10 staff in the calculation. The Official answered that the higher number 
included temporary staff.   WT/BFA/165  
 
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  4.4.  The Member  then asked whether job profiles were available for all positions, and the 
Secretariat answered that the WTO uses generic benchmarks that cover multiple positions.  
4.5.  A Member asked whether the ration 60% Professional: 40% Support staff was envisaged for 
the long term.  The Director of Human Resources responded in the affirmative.  
4.6.  One Member indicated t hat there were still open issues regardi ng gender equality among 
staff, especially in grade 10, 55 men, 14 in grade 1 1 and 4 in grade 12, versus 3 2 women in grade 
10, 3 in grade 11 and none in grade 12. The Secretariat agreed with the Member's comment, and  
explained that the ratio of men that apply for vacancies at senior grades by far outnumbers that of 
women applicants. He mentioned that  the Secretariat continues in making concerted efforts to 
remedy this situation through for a such as the WTO Gender Net work and invitation of experts  
from other entities such as the World Economic Forum  to hold seminars and give guidance on how 
to address this problem .  
4.7.  Subsequently, the Official announced that t he 30 promotions had been made by the Director 
General, based  on the newly launched performance based promotion exercise. The number of 
promotions arising from competitive vacancy notices was 20. The promotion procedure  to address 
reclassified posts on which no action had been taken before covered 13 positions . One Member 
asked if this category of promotions were a one -time adjustment. The Secretariat confirmed that it 
does not expect  a similar  exercise in the foreseeable future.   
4.8.  Another Member welcomed the establishment of an agreement with other International 
Organizations for external staff mobility  assessing that it was an enrichment for the Organization. 
He then asked for clarification regarding  internal mobility. In response, the Secretariat assessed 
that the internal mobility showed in chart 7 concerned only lateral mobility for staff moving at the 
same grade.  
4.9.  The Committee took note of the report.  
5  IT UPDATE  
5.1.  The Director of the IT Solutions Division update d the Committee on E -registration , reminding 
them that the  application would enhance the accreditation an d registration exercise for delegates 
and other relevant parties . The Director stated that the Coordinator  for each delegation  is the 
person who most utilizes the application on behalf of the delegates. He then mentioned that the IT 
Solutions Division is f ocusing on E -registration for  the 11th Ministerial Conference and that a 
session to demonstrate the functionalities of the system to D elegate Coordinators  was scheduled 
to take place on 27th July. In addition, the Director stated that, on 4th September, th e E-
registration for MC11 will be operational and Members would be in a position to register.  
5.2.  The Committee took note of the report.  
6  STATUS UPDATE ON EXT ERNAL AUDIT FINDINGS  – WT/BFA/W/424  
6.1.  The Director of the Administration  and General Services Division  recalled that the Secretariat 
had committed to update the Committee on the status of implementation of External Audit findings 
on a quarter ly basis. She underlined thoug h that the External Auditor had  recently presented his 
report to the CBFA  reporting on  these findings. The Director announced that t he External Auditors 
would assess the status of implementation in October 2017 and that the Secretariat would  present 
the next update  during the CBFA meeting in November . 
6.2.  The Committee took note of the report.  
7  OTHER BUSINESS  
7.1.  The Chairman update d the Committee on the consultations that he had  conducted among the 
Members regarding the selection of WTOPP Management Board Members and Alternates . He then 
stated that the slate of names would be submitted for considerat ion by the General Council during 
its meeting on 26th July.  WT/BFA/165  
 
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  7.2.  Subsequently , the Chairman  presented a request from the Staff Council to have the right to 
be represented during CBFA meetings. He underlined that this would be further discussed at a 
future meeting of the Committee.  
7.3.  Some Members expressed some reservation s and said they required more information such 
as practices in other Organizations. One Member inquired whether the Staff Council representative 
would be an O bserve r or have the right to address  the Committee. In response,  DDG Brauner 
informed the Committee that the Staff Council would attend  as an Observer.  
7.4.  To conclude the meeting , the Chairman, once again, invited the Members to request their 
capitals to make contribution s to the LDC Trust Fun d for participation in Ministerial Conferences. 
He stated that, to date, the Secretariat had received several pledges but were yet to get adequate 
cash inflows. He added that it would be desirable to receive fund s in a timely manner in order to 
purchase ai r tickets at lower costs.  
7.5.  The Committee took note of the report.  
 
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