The Council elects from amongst its members a President and at least one Vice-President. The President holds office for three years. The Office of UPOV is under the direction of the Secretary-General . For 1999, the value of each unit was around 54,000 Swiss francs. The contributions serve to cover the expenses of the Union, which are occasioned by the meetings of the Council and other bodies established by the Council, the activities of the Union in promoting the concept of plant variety protection and the cooperation of its members in relation to plant variety protection.
Budgets are biennial .
The budgeted income for the 1998-99 biennium is 5,769,000 Swiss francs and the budgeted expenditures, for the same biennium, is 6,203,000 Swiss francs. The accounts of the Office are audited by the Government of Switzerland.