RESTRICTED  
  
WT/BFA/137  
 
12 July 2013  
(13-3745)  Page: 1/3  
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration   
 
REPORT OF THE MEETING HELD ON 27 MAY 2013 
The WTO Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration met on 27 May 2013 under the 
chairmanship of the Permanent Representative Mi chael V. Stone (Hong Kong, China). 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/4128 was adopted.   
1  BUDGET AND FINANCE REPORT 1ST QUARTER 2013 (WT/BFA/W/299 & 302) 
1.1.  A member of the Secretariat presented the situation regarding Members' and Observers' 
contributions received in the first quarter of 2013.  Receipts of contributions and the cash position 
of the Organization were satisfactory.  The number of Members and Observers subject to 
Administrative Measures had been reduced by two in the last two months.   
1.2.  The 2013 budget remained on track at the en d of the first quarter with 29% of the budget 
being committed. The rise in dispute settlement ac tivity required the recruitment of 14 project 
based lawyers with contracts of up to two years. The budget will have to absorb this expenditure 
amounting to more than CHF 2 million per year. The budget situation will need to be monitored closely as it is putting significant pressure on the resources available. 
1.3.  The financial situation on trust funds was then presented, especially focusing on the Doha 
Development Agenda Global Trust Fund (DDAGTF).  Voluntary contributions amounting to only CHF 1 million coming from Australia and Estonia were received by the DDAGTF during the first quarter.  In April, a contribution from Austria had been received. In order to secure the timely 
execution of the planned activities, the Secretar iat encouraged the donors who had outstanding 
pledges to make possible payment shortly.  Germany announced a pledge of EUR 1 million for the DDAGTF. 
1.4.  The Secretariat also announced that it had implemented at the end of 2012 a risk 
management policy and that the first comprehensive risk register would be completed in the coming months. Key risks would then be presented to the Committee annually. 
1.5.  Finally, the Secretariat presented the preliminary results of the new resources management 
approach based on outputs for 2012. A table presented the allocation of resources in 2012 across the 8 main output areas of the Secretariat such as dispute settlement, facilitating negotiations, 
monitoring trade policies, administrating agreed WTO rules, research and outreach. 
1.6.  One Member made a statement advocating ze ro nominal growth (ZNG) in the budget for the 
next biennium. The Member opined that this shou ld not be a temporary measure, but a more long-
term term structural ceiling at ZNG. The Secretariat should adjust its human resources policies to 
contain the growth in expenditure for personnel. The Secretariat should also envisage the 
reallocation of resources according to priorities. Several Members supported the proposal to have a 
ZNG budget for the next biennium. 
1.7.  Several Members expressed interest in the new resources management approach based on 
outputs and asked for a more detail report. Ques tions were raised about the methodology used, 
the elements included in the data and on the amount of resources invested in outreach activities.     
1.8.  The Committee took note of this report. WT/BFA/137 
 
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  2  MEMBERS' TRANSITION OPERATING FUND (WT/BFA/W/301) 
2.1.  The Deputy Director-General presented the report on the utilization of the Members' 
Transition Operating Fund. The Fund's balance amounted to CHF 1.0 million. Savings of CHF 
900,000 were also foreseen on already approved projects.  
2.2.  The Committee was requested to approve th e funding of two projects, which included  
additional funding for the Accreditation Facility for an amount of CHF 200,000 and the completion 
of external grounds within the security perime ter for an amount of CHF 700,000. It was also 
indicated that the balance of the Fund was still expe cted to be positive at the end of the year when 
the Fund would be closed. 
2.3.  Members sought further information on th e additional requirements for the Accreditation 
facility and the bidding process. Members also congratulated the Secretariat for the management 
of the Building Project and supported the proposal. 
2.4.  The Committee took note of the report and adopted the following decision:   2.5.  The Committee agrees that the follo w i n g  p r o j e c t s  m a y  b e  f u n d e d  f r o m  t h e  
Members' Transition Operating fund fo r a total amount of CHF 900,000:   
 The additional works of the Accreditation Facility for an amount of up to CHF 
200,000; and  
 The completion of external grounds within the security perimeter for an amount of 
up to CHF 700,000. 
3  HUMAN RESOURCES REPORT - DIVERSITY IN THE WTO SECRETARIAT 
(WT/BFA/W/292) 
3.1.  A member of the Secretariat presented the fourth annual report on diversity within the WTO 
Secretariat. The report provided detailed data on the current composition of the WTO staff on the basis of WTO Membership, gender and the evolut ion of staff diversity since 1995. Data were 
provided on staff recruitment, including the number of applications received and candidates 
interviewed.  
3.2.  The Secretariat had staff with the nationalities of 82 Members at the end of 2012. The 
representation of LDCs and developing Member s and in particular of Africa had gradually 
increased. The proportion of women professionals ha d also been steadily increasing, also at higher 
grades. The diversity in the internship remained very strong. 
3.3.  Several Members welcomed the report and stressed the importance of diversity and the need 
to continue the efforts in that direction. Members asked further questions about the level of 
diversity in management, the impact of internship programmes for staff diversity and if the data included staff with multiple nationalities. Several Members also highlighted the importance of 
continuing to select staff based on merit.  
3.4.  The Committee took note of the report. 4  REPORT BY THE OFFICE OF INTERNAL AUDIT (WT/BFA/W/300) 
4.1.  The Head of the Office of Internal Audit presented the annual internal audit report to the 
Committee. She provided an overview including sign ificant findings on the audit work carried out 
in 2012, notably, the use of consultants by Divisions of the WTO and an ad hoc audit on an outsourced contract. Twelve follow up audits were also conducted and the status of the respective 
significant audit recommendations was also pres ented. Work on delegation of authority was 
completed during 2012 and a matrix was uploaded on the WTO intranet for information and guidance of the WTO staff in fulfilling their obligations. Maintenance of the matrix was handed over 
to HRD for purposes of avoiding any conflict of interest. She also briefly informed the Committee 
on the findings of the external review of the in ternal audit function recently performed by the 
External Auditor. Finally, she presented the audit plan for 2013. WT/BFA/137 
 
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  4.2.  Members asked a number of questions related to the use of consultants by the Secretariat, 
the use of external translators and on the mechanism available to staff to raise issues to the internal audit function. Members suggested a revi ew of the implementation of the new resources 
management approach recently implemented by the Secretariat and a review of the Results Based 
Management implemented by ITTC. 
4.3.  The Committee took note of the report. 5  APPOINTMENT OF TH E EXTERNAL AUDITOR 
5.1.  A Member of the Secretariat informed the Committee that the mandate of the External 
Auditor would be ending with the audit of the a ccounts of 2013. The process to select the External 
Auditor for a six-year mandate starting with the accounts of 2014 was presented. A document to invite Members to propose would be prepared and circulated to Members of the Committee. The 
Committee should aim to make a recommendation fo r the General Council to approve by the end 
of 2013. 
5.2.  The Committee took note of this information. 
6  INFRASTRUCTURE CONTRACT (WT/BFA/W/298) 
6.1.  The Chair of the Construction Project Co mmittee presented the new infrastructure contract. 
This contract with the Swiss authorities establishes the different responsibilities related to the real 
estate occupied by the WTO in areas such as ownership, use and maintenance. The current 
contract needs to be adapted following the comple tion of the Building Project. The Secretariat 
would organize another information session to present the changes. 
6.2.  The Committee took note of this information.  
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