RESTRICTED  
  
WT/BFA/143  
 
15 July 2014 
(14-4055) Page: 1/5 
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration    
 
 REPORT OF THE MEETIN G HELD ON 2 JULY 201 4 
The Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration met on 2 July 2014  under the chairmanship 
of Ambassador Francisco Alberto Lima . 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/ 4325 was 
adopted.  
 
1  ACCESSION OF YEMEN  (WT/BFA/W/3 32) 
1.1.  A member of the Secretariat introduced the document regarding the assessed contribution of 
the Republic of Yemen following its accession  and pointed out that the pro -rata Observer 
contribution for Yemen remained unpaid. On that issue, t he Government of Yemen had announced 
to the Secretariat that the outstanding amount would be settled  shortly.  
1.2.  Consequent to the accession to the WTO on 26 June 2014 , the Committee recommends to 
the General Council that a pro rata contribution to the 201 4 budget amounting to 
CHF 53,653  be assessed to the Government of the Republic of Yemen , as well as a 
contribution to the Working Capital Fund amounting to CHF 53,086  as an advance to the 
Fund.  
2  ORGANIZATIONAL REVIE W OF THE WTO SECRETA RIAT  
2.1.  The Deputy Director -General (DDG Brauner) updated the Committee with the latest report on 
the organizational review process initiated by the Director -General at the end of 2013. He recalle d 
that four working  groups had been established in order to look into the most important issues 
raised by WTO staff. He mentioned that the "rapporteurs", over the past three months mandated 
to examine their respective subject, had delivered report s on the four following issues: 
promotions, management, mobility and the application of rules.  
2.2.  DDG Brauner indicated that the report had been presented by the " rapporteurs" to the staff 
and Management . At this stage, the "rapporteurs" had chosen three members of t heir respective 
group and would closely work on their subject  with at least th ree designated Directors. This group 
was named Joint Recommendation Group. DDG Brauner underlined that other Directors w ere 
welcome to take part.  He also declared that the classi fication committee had been abolished by the 
former Senior Management in replacement with the job profiling process.  
2.3.  The meeting between Senior Management  and "rapporteurs" plus three had already taken 
place on Mobility, Promotions and Rules. The meeting o n Management  would be held Thursday, 
3 July 2014. Regarding mobility, DDG Brauner mentioned that currently it was not compulsory at 
WTO. In order to encourage Staff members to go on Mobility, one of the recommendation could be 
to create a "mobility platfor m" where all WTO vacancies would be recorded and where staff could 
place their offers and requests . He also stated that Managers could be asked to participate in a 
360 degree  feedback . A 360 -degree feedback is an evaluation method that includes direct 
feedback from a staff's subordinates, peers, and supervisor(s), as well as a self -evaluation.  
2.4.  DDG Brauner emphasized that the Strategic Review report was the outcome from 
stakeholders and not from the Management. The recommendations outlined in it would be sub ject 
to review by the Joint Advisory Committee and then the Director -General.  
2.5.  Several delegations expressed their views on the review process. Most of the delegations 
thanked the Senior Management for this detailed and clear report and also the progress m ade. WT/BFA/14 3 
 
- 2 - 
 
  Some delegations wanted to know the current working environment  and the expectations within 
the Secretariat following the process review. A Member asked for more details about the closure of 
the classification committee and on the 360 ° feedback. DDG B rauner reassured Members about 
the good climate among Staff. On the 360 ° feedback, he stated that this process could be up and 
down and also lateral. Some Members wanted to know the relationship between mobility, 
promotions and diversity. Another Member as ked about the impact of promotions on diversity. 
DDG Brauner indicated that it was not yet decided whether the mobility process would be at same 
grade level or integrating "brackets" at a grade level difference up and down. DDG Brauner 
pointed out that adv ertising for mobility, in a second step could increase diversity. He reminded 
the Committee that 84 nationalities of WTO  Members were currently  represented in the 
Organization.  
2.6.  Two delegations thanked the staff involved in the process review for their goo d work and 
investment. Other Members proposed to share with the Secretariat their experience on those 
topics  and would be ready to convey their comments to the Secretariat.  
2.7.  Several Members wanted to know the impact that this process review would have on t he 
inverted pyramid  issue that ha d been raised previously . Another Member wished to know how the 
stakeholders recommendations would be taken into account and when the Director -General would 
consult staff on this. Membership also requested any possible dead line when Secretariat's and 
Members' views would converge. DDG Brauner answered that the process review was an on -going 
process with some decisions taken by the Director -General before the summer break.  
2.8.  Some Members noted the overlap between the Working Gr oups and the Organizational 
Review announced by the Director -General in the bu dget proposal in October 2013. They asked 
about progress in relation to the issues identified at that time – especially the inverted pyramid 
and the flexible deployment of staff – and said it would be important that any changes 
contemplated as a result of the Working Groups’ suggestions should be implemented in a way that 
would be coherent with the review of those issues. One Member noted links with the CBFA Working 
Groups on Afte r Service Health Insurance and Financial Regulations and said it would be important 
to avoid implementing recommendations that would entail financial commitments. DDG Brauner 
emphasized that recruiting at lower grade would inevitably cause problems as the recipient would 
contribute  less to the WTO Pension Plan whereas the Organization would compensate more for 
high graded retirees. Most Members declared that they supported the modernization in the 
Secretariat.  
2.9.  DDG Brauner pointed out the Staff's commitment , their knowledge and talent, which had led 
to this outcome. With regard to the inverted pyramid, the recent recruitments showed that the 
Secretariat  stressed the need to correct the "upside -down pyramid" by cutting the number of high -
level posts. He remin ded the Committee that three staff positions  in grade ten who had left the 
Organization were  replaced by  grade six  for the new recruitment  process . With respect to a 
question on the micro level approach raised by a delegation, DDG Brauner  declared that the  
Organization introduced models showing flexibility by reallocating the workforce to respond 
efficiently to Members' needs.  
2.10.  The Chairman thanked DDG Brauner for this detailed report. He stated that delegations 
were duly informed and wanted to be part of t he process review without any intention of micro 
manag ing the process . He encouraged Members to deliver constructive comments to the 
Secretariat and bear in mind that the stakeholders were taking part of this process as well as 
Members to keep in mind the work done on this working groups was in addition to their regular 
work in the Secretariat . He concluded by informing the Committee  that a dedicated informal 
session would take place before the summer break, to continue to discuss this issue.  
2.11.  The Co mmittee took note of the report and comments . 
3  PROGRESS REPORT OF T HE WORKING GROUP ON  THE LONG TERM EMPLOYEE B ENEFIT 
OBLIGATIONS  (ASHI)  
3.1.  The Chairman of the Working Group  on ASHI  updated  the Committee on the on -going work 
of the Working Group , which had met three t imes since its establishment in April 2014.  WT/BFA/14 3 
 
- 3 - 
 
  3.2.  At the first session, the Working Group Members identified technical issues which led to 
questions to the Secretariat. The Secretariat answered these questions and also had provided the 
Working Group with compar ative information collected from United Nations, OECD  and WIPO. Over 
the next six years, the WTO contributions for the health Insurance of retirees was projected to 
double.  
3.3.   Members of the Working Group requested that the Secretariat prepare a comprehensiv e 
report , before the S ummer break,  which should contain the new policies to enable the long term 
financial viability and sustainability of the Plan. The Working Group would discuss  further  the 
benefits and coverage of the WTO Health Insurance plan.  
3.4.  The Cha irman of the Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration pointed out the 
complexity of this review and hoped that the Working Group would reach results on this matter 
bearing in mind that it was a sensitive issue for WTO Staff.  The Chair concluded by u rging the 
Committee to look into this issue carefully and seriously.  
3.5.  The Committee took note of the report.  
4  PROGRESS REPORT OF T HE WORKING GROUP ON THE WTO  FINANCIAL REGULATION S 
4.1.  Then the Chai rman invited the Chair of the Working Group on WTO Financial Reg ulations. The 
Working Group had met twice since its establishment in April 2014.  
4.2.  The Working Group held consultations with the Secretariat . The Chair also met  the outgoing 
external auditors. It focused its discussions on the key issues to be addressed  to the Committee. 
Three sections had already been reviewed  in the current WTO Financial Regulations in chapters 4, 
9 and 11 covering the calculation of assessed contributions, the preparation of the annual accounts 
and the external audit.  The Secretariat was a lso working at reviewing Financial Rules . In parallel, 
the Working Group also studied the United Nations and OECD approaches to Financial Regulations. 
The Working Group would issue a draft report and its conclusi ons to the Committee in 
October  2014.  
4.3.  The C ommittee took note of the report.  
5  ANNUAL REPORT OF THE  OFFICE OF INTERNAL A UDIT (WT/BFA/W/327)  
5.1.  The Head of the Office of the Internal Audit presented the 2013 internal audit report to the 
Committee. She provided an overview including significant findings o n the audit work carried out 
in 2013.  She prese nted the current set up of the i nternal audit function and made 
recommendations .  
5.2.  According to the report , seven follow up audits were conducted and the status of the 
respective significant audit recommendatio ns was presented  to the Committee. Then, she a lso 
reported on the findings of the external review of the internal audit function recently performed by 
the External Auditor. Finally, the audit plan for 2014 -2015 was presented to Members.  
5.3.  She asked Members to assess the viability of creating an Audit Committee which would have 
an oversight role with the objective of enhancing the Organizational independence of the Audit  
function as required by   Internal Audit standards and as recommended by the External Audi tor. 
This would further promote Accountability, Transparency and good Governance within the WTO as 
a whole.  She proposed to circulate relevant documentation regarding the establishment of an Audit 
Committee .  
5.4.  Members welcomed the detailed and constructive report  and thanked the Head of the office 
of Internal Audit. They appreciated the improvement made progress and made on the report  and 
also on the outstanding recommendations . Most of Members agreed on looking more into detail 
the idea of the establishment  of an Audit Committee,  which according to the report presented 
would have direct interaction with the Office of the Internal Audit  function. Members looked 
forward to discuss this matter further.  WT/BFA/14 3 
 
- 4 - 
 
  5.5.  The Chairman thanked the Head of the O ffice of the Internal  Audit for her co nstructive 
explanations on the a udit work during his visit to the Office of the Internal Audit. The Committee 
took note of the report.  
6  BUDGET AND FINANCE R EPORT 1ST QUARTER 2014 (WT/BFA /W/330 AND 329 ) 
6.1.  A member of the Secretariat presented  the situation regarding Members' and Observers' 
contributions received in the first quarter of 2014. Receipts of contributions and the cash position 
of the Organization were satisfactory. With respect to Members ' contributions, 47% of the overall 
assessme nt had been received. On the Observer side, 44% had been receive d. As of 
31 March  2014, 53 Members and 11 Observers had no outstanding balance.  
6.2.  The number of Members and Observers subject to Administrative Measures had been reduced 
from 17 to 13 since the end of March . Two Observers made a payment and had been removed 
from the Administrative Measures.  
6.3.  The 2014 budget remained on track at the end of the first quarter with an expenditure rate of 
28% of the budget being committed. There was an over -expenditure  under temporary assistance 
due to the 17 dispute settlement  lawyers recruited on a two -year basis and the replacement for 
long sick leave and leave without pay.  
6.4.  A member of the Secretariat presented then t he fin ancial situation on trust funds, especially 
focusing on the Doha Development Agenda Global Trust Fund (DDAGTF). Voluntary contributions 
amounting to CHF  900,000 from Estonia and the Netherlands were received by the DDAGTF during 
the first quarter. The implementation of the 2014 activities would not meet any difficulty 
considering the amount of CHF 18.1 million carried over from 2013 in the fund. Contributions were 
expect ed from Denmark, France and Norway based on existing multi -year pledges . 
6.5.  The Secretariat drew the attention of the Committee on impo rtant patterns like the E -
learning strategy to provide more courses on -line; emphasising partne rships to leverage additional 
financial and h uman resources; the implementation of Results Based Management to evaluate 
where resources should be allocated; and the introduction of the Progressive Learning Strategy  to 
promote better targeting of course content. These measures have helped to allow the WTO to 
provide technical assistance  more efficiently .  
6.6.  The Secretariat drew attention of the Committee to the Direc tor General's efforts to expand 
the role of the WTO in providing technical assistance and capacity building that would  support the 
implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement. Some Members pointed out the importance of 
Trade Facilitation contained i n the Bali Package and appreciated the effort of the Secretariat made 
in that area.  
6.7.  The Chair of the Committee agreed on the importance of support ing the initiative on Trade 
Facilitation  taken forward by the Director General as reported by him in the last  Trade Negotiations 
Committee meeting  (TNC) . The Committee took note of the report s. 
7  PENSION PLAN REPORT (WT/BFA/W/ 328) 
7.1.  The Chair  of the  WTO Pension Plan  Management Board presented the document on the 
actuarial position of the WTO Pension Plan. He explaine d to the Committee how the Working 
Group, established by the Management Board, in October 2012, had proceed with its review  and 
analysis of the actuarial position of the Plan.  He indicated that the working group would be 
focused on developing recommend ed actions to address the gap between the projected long term 
costs of the Plan and the current level of contributions to fund the Plan .  
7.2.  He underlined the importance of the Pension Plan and committed to providing the Committee 
with periodic updates on the wo rk of the Management Board until the time that formal 
recommendations can be presented.  
7.3.  The Committee took note of the report . WT/BFA/14 3 
 
- 5 - 
 
  8  PROGRESS REPORT ON G RADE STRUCTURE AND P ROMOTIONS  
8.1.  A member of the Secretariat updated the Committee on the grade structure and pr omotions 
within the WTO Secretariat.  The overall grade structure highlighted the professional and support 
staff in grade 1 to 12. As of May 2014, WTO employed 739 staff with 94.2% funded from the 
regular budget and 5.8% funded from extra -budgetary trust fu nds. The professional staff 
represented 57% and the support staff 43% of the total staff  in the Secretariat . The largest 
number of professional staff was in grade 9 and in grade 5 for support staff. Staff on grade 10 had 
decreased from 118 in 2010 to 100 i n May 2014. He also indicated that from 2013 to May 2014, 
45 inter -division staff movements were completed. From January 2013, of the 54 positions 
advertised, 40 were professional posts of which  27 were advertised at Grade 6 and 7.  
8.2.  The Secretariat  also dre w the attention of the Committee that there was no in situ  promotion 
exercise since 2011 . The Secretariat underlined that t he ten staff who were promoted  in 2014 had 
been awarded through a competitive basis.   
8.3.  Some Members raised some questions and wished t o receive more clarification about  several 
areas like  job profiling; statistics of internal and external recruitments ; on recruitment of 
professional staff at grade 6. A Member requested a revision of the report in order to have 
compar able data.  
8.4.  The Commi ttee took note of the report  and was seeking a review from the Secretariat . This 
review would be further discussed and then taken again for adoption in the next formal meeting of 
this Committee . 
__________