. /.  RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/BFA/W/160 
6 July 2007 
 
 (07-2903) 
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration  
  
 
 
WORKING GROUP ON THE SELECTION OF EXTERNAL AUDITOR  
FOR WTO ACCOUNTS 
AND THE WTO PENSION PLAN ACCOUNTS 
 
Report of the Working Group
 
  1. The Committee on Budget, Finance and Administ ration, at its meeting of 28 March 2007 
(WT/BFA/95) took note of the process undertaken in pr evious years with regard to the selection of the 
external auditor of the WTO.  Subsequently, a le tter, which had been examined by the Committee on 
Budget, Finance and Administration, calling for comp etitive tenders for the external audit of the WTO 
accounts was sent to all WTO Members in April 2007. 
2. A Working Group on the selection of the external auditor was formed after a call for interest 
had been issued to all delegations by the Chai rman of the Committee.  Delegates from seven 
Members
1 participated in the Group. 
3. The Working Group met on 11, 20, 21 and 28 June 2007 to examine the six offers received 
from the national audit offices of the following Me mbers:  Austria, France, India, Morocco, 
Philippines and the United Kingdom. 
4. The Working Group agreed that it should be guid ed by objectivity and transparency.  Offers 
would thus be assessed only in relation to the criteria included in the call for tenders and in the light of 
WTO Financial Rules and Regulations .  In addition, the Working Group decided to proceed with the 
assessment solely on the basis of the written te nders received from the above-mentioned national 
audit offices and not to ask for supplementary in formation.  Accordingly, the Working Group 
declined an offer from one of the tende rers to make a personal presentation. 
5. The Working Group examined the various tenders in  light of the criteria contained in the call 
for tenders, which were:  (i) audit costs including preparation and presentation of audit reports and 
certification of accounts;  (ii) availability for supple mentary audit measures and costs;  (iii) familiarity 
with international organizations’ practices;  (iv) language abilities;  (v) availability for advice and 
consultation and costs;  (vi) ability to express opi nions on economy and efficiency (value-for-money), 
and;  (vii) readiness to undertake audit missions twice a year for the WTO accounts and once a year 
the WTO Pension Plan accounts. 
6. After having examined all the offers on the basis of the above-mentioned criteria, the 
Working Group was unanimous in its appreciation for the very high quality of the information 
provided.  It noted however that some of the offers  did not fully or clearly address all the requirements 
laid down in the call for tenders, incl uding with regard to language skills. 
                                                      
1 Mr. Henning Stirø, Chair (Norway), Mr. Dominic Trindade (Australia), Mr. Guido Kemmerling 
(Germany), Mr. Osamu Kawanishi (Japan), Mr. Mate o Diego-Fernandez (Mexic o) Mr. Michel Deelen 
(Netherlands) and Mrs. Esra Demir (Turkey). WT/BFA/W/160 
Page 2  
 
  7. In examining the costs, the Working Group noted that the candidates had been advised not to 
include travel and subsistence costs in the tenders , as such costs would be covered by the WTO in 
accordance with the organization’s travel rules.  Th e Working Group was therefore of the opinion that 
only the auditing fees, as quoted in the offers, should be  considered.  This would ensure that all bids 
would be considered on an equal footing regardless of the geographi cal location of the national audit 
offices.  
8. During the course of discussion, the Working Group noted WTO Financial Rule 10.5 which 
states that “Whenever tenders have been sought or  an assessment of comp etitive prices has been 
made, contracts shall normally be awarded to the supplier quoting the lowest price for an acceptable 
offer…”. 
9. Bearing Financial Rule 10.5 in mind, the Work ing Group noted that two offers had quoted an 
audit fee of zero.  Having recognized the high ca libre of all the offers, the Working Group was 
nevertheless of the opinion that, of the two candida tes quoting the lowest price, the offer presented by 
the French Cour des Comptes  more fully addressed all the requirements laid down in the call for 
tenders. 
10. Considering the above, the Working Grou p proposes that the Committee consider 
recommending to the General Council that the French Cour des Comptes  be nominated as External 
Auditor of the WTO accounts and the WTO Pension Pl an accounts effective as from the audit of the 
2008 accounts for a period of six years.  It further urges consideration that, as in previous years, the mandate should include a provision allowing either party to terminate the arrangement with a one-
year notice. 
 
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