Financial Regulations

Entered into force on 1 January 1987¹

 WHEREAS the International Agreement of 25 January 1924 for the creation of an Office International des Epizooties in Paris

WHEREAS the Organic Statutes, appended to the said International Agreement and in particular Articles 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 thereof

WHEREAS the Organic Rules and in particular Articles 6, 8, 13 and 14 thereof

WHEREAS the General Rules and in particular Articles 46 – 50 thereof²

Article 1 Field of application

These Regulations shall govern the financial management of the Office International des Epizooties (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Office’).

Article Financial Year

The financial year shall correspond to one calendar year, from 1 January – 31 December.

Article 3 Budget

3.1. The Director General shall prepare budget forecasts for the next financial year and budget estimates for the two subsequent financial years.

3.2. The forecasts shall cover income and expenditure for the financial year and shall be expressed in French francs³

.3.3. The Director General shall take all necessary steps so that the budget forecasts of the financial year be examined by the Administrative Commission three months before the date fixed for the opening of the General Session of the Committee, preceding the financial year in question.

3.4. The Administrative Commission shall examine budget forecasts in terms of income and expenses prepared by the Director General and shall submit such forecasts to the Committee during the annual General Session together with a proposed annual contributions scale for Member Countries, drawn up in accordance with the provisions of Article 14 of the Organic Rules.  The budget forecasts, the forecasted programme of activity and the proposed contributions scale approved by the Administrative Commission shall be transmitted to all Member Countries at least sixty days prior to the commencement of the General Session, so that they can be examined by interested Government bodies.

3.5. The Committee convened in General Session, after having duly examined the forecasts, shall vote on the budget of the next financial year, in accordance with the provisions of Article 15 of the Organic Statutes and Article 6 and 14 of the Organic Rules.

3.6. If he considers it necessary, the Director General may request extraordinary contributions to finance specific activities which are in line with the routine activities of the OIE, the funding of which cannot be derived from annual contributions, due to the exceptional character of such specific actions.  This request shall be examined by the Administrative Commission and be submitted to the Committee in the same form as the budget forecasts for the financial year. The extraordinary contribution must be voted by a two-thirds majority of the total number of Member Countries of the Office, in accordance with the provisions of Article 14.2. of the Organic Rules.

Article 4 Funds

4.1. In voting the funds for the subsequent financial year, the Committee shall authorise the Director General to incur expenditure and make payments, in accordance with the purpose and within the limits of the funds voted.  The Director General may also incur administrative expenses corresponding to a future financial year prior to the relevant credits being voted, where such commitments are necessary for the continued correct operation of the Office, on condition that these expenses do not exceed fifty per cent of the credits allocated for these administrative expenses in the budget of the current year.4.2.The Director General may transfer funds within a given chapter of the budget.The Director General may proceed with the transfer of funds from one chapter of the budget to another within a six per cent limit of the annual budget. If the Director General anticipates that this limit will be exceeded he shall provide all necessary explanations to the Administrative Commission and the Committee.

The Director General shall be authorised to use all or part of any approved budgetary credits to cover unforeseen expenditures which are necessary for the proper operation of the Office. The Director General may use all or part of any funds voted in the budget to cover any unforeseeable expenses.

He shall account therefore to the Administrative Commission and to the Committee.

Article 5 Ordinary Income

5.1.Ordinary income shall be constituted from the annual contributions from Member Countries as provided for in Article 11 of the Organic Statutes and Article 14 of the Organic Rules of the Office.The contributions scale for the subsequent financial year shall be adopted by the Committee convened in General Session.

5.2.Following the General Session of the Committee during which the budget for the subsequent financial year was approved, the Director General shall inform Member Countries of the contribution amounts established by the Committee.At the end of each calendar year, the Director General shall remind Member Countries of the amount of their annual contribution for the subsequent calendar year.

5.3. Contributions shall be due and payable in full at the beginning of each year. Any outstanding balance at 1 January of the subsequent calendar year shall be considered to be outstanding for one year.

5.4. Annual contributions are calculated in French francs³and shall be paid in this currency or in one of the currencies accepted by the Director General.

5.5. The Director General shall submit a report on the collection of contributions to the Committee.

5.6. New members shall be required to pay a contribution for the year in which they become members, at a rate fixed according to the date at which they become members.

5.7.The Administrative Commission may submit to the Committee any recommendation it may consider necessary to expedite the payment of contributions.

Article 6 Other Income

6.1. Other income includes:

a. miscellaneous income linked to the usual operation of the Office (publications sales, financial proceeds etc.); 

b. extraordinary contributions referred to in Article 3.6. above; 

c. voluntary contributions of certain Member Countries; and 

d. subsidies, donations and legacies of any nature.6.2.

The Director General may accept subsidies, donations and legacies referred to in Article 6.1. above, in cash or otherwise, on condition that they are provided for purposes compatible with the principles, aims and activities of the Office. Whenever these subsidies, donations and legacies directly or indirectly imply financial commitments for the Office, the consent of the Committee shall be necessary.

Article 7 Management of Funds

7.1. A general account shall be established in which expenses of the Office shall be recorded. Annual contributions of Member Countries, miscellaneous income and subsidies, donations and legacies, the purpose of which has not been defined, shall be credited to this general account.

7.2. A sum to be allocated to a Reserve Fund shall be withheld from annual income. The total of this fund shall not exceed the total annual budget.The Reserve Fund is intended to guarantee the continued operation of the Office in exceptional circumstances. Except in cases of force majeure, the Director General shall obtain the prior authorisation of the President of the Committee before withdrawing amounts from this Fund. He shall subsequently report on the use of this Fund to the Administrative Commission and the Committee.

The Reserve Fund shall be used, under the conditions set out in the above paragraph, to pay for the administrative expenses provided for in Article 4.1., paragraph two, of the present Financial Regulations.

Notwithstanding the provisions of the second subparagraph of the present article, where the amount of the Reserve Fund exceeds 7/12ths of the Annual Budget, the Director General may transfer all or part of the investment income of the Reserve Fund to the income account of the Annual Budget.⁴

7.3. The Director General may set up deposit funds and special accounts. He shall clearly define the object and conditions for creating each deposit fund and special account. If necessary and on account of the purpose of a deposit fund or special account, he may establish specific financial regulations governing the fund or account under consideration. Unless otherwise stated, these funds and accounts shall be managed in accordance with the present Financial Regulations.

Article 8 Deposit of Funds

The Director General shall choose the bank or banks with which funds of the Office shall be deposited.

Article 9 Investment of Funds

9.1. The Director General shall be authorised to invest the funds which are not required for the immediate operating needs of the Office, on condition that the greatest care is exercised in the choice of investment and that the investment is made in an institution in which he has no direct or indirect interest.

9.2.The Director General shall be authorised to invest sums from the Reserve Fund in accordance with the conditions stated in Article 12 of the Organic Statutes.

9.3. The Director General shall report on these investments within the framework of the Financial Report presented to the Administrative Commission and the Committee.

Article 10 Internal Control

10.1. The Director General shall fix the rules and methods of the accounting principles to be applied in order to ensure efficient and economical financial management. He shall notably: 

a. clearly state the procedures of expenditure commitments; 

b. require that all payments be made upon presentation of supporting documents and other documents proving that the services or goods to be paid have actually been received and have not already been paid for; 

c. designate the authorised personnel under his responsibility to receive funds, incur expenses and make payments on behalf of the Office; 

d. set up an internal financial control system providing either effective permanent supervision or back-dated examination of financial operations, or both, in order to ensure that: 

i) the receipt, deposit and use of funds and other financial resources of the Office are carried out correctly; 

ii) all commitments and expenditure comply with the budget appropriations and other financial provisions voted by the Committee, or with the purpose of deposit funds and special accounts as well as with the rules governing these funds and accounts; 

iii) the resources of the Office are used in a rational manner.10.2.The Director General shall set the rules applicable to the acquisition of materials, supplies and other goods or services required by the Office, notably to tenders.

Article 11 Accounting

11.1. The Director General shall have the necessary accounts kept and shall prepare annual accounts showing, for the financial year to which they apply: 

a. income and expenses for all funds; 

b. the use of available credits; 

c. the financial situation, that is: 

– on the one hand, the situation of stocks and shares and investments, the situation of liquid assets and the situation of outstanding amounts receivable, 

– and on the other hand, the situation of outstanding amounts payable. 

d. the situation of fixed assets.11.2.The accounts of the Office shall be kept in French francs³

.11.3. The annual financial statements shall be submitted to the Auditors at the latest by 31 March following the year end to which they refer.

11.4. The report on the income and expenditure for the financial year is presented to the Administrative Commission then to the Committee at the meetings which follow the year end according to the Financial Report provided for in Articles 6g and 8d of the Organic Rules and in Article 34 of the General Rules.

Article 12 Audit of the Accounts

12.1. The Committee shall appoint an external Auditor who shall examine the annual accounts and ensure that the provisions of the Financial Regulations are adhered to. The external Auditor shall be appointed for a period corresponding to one Financial Year. His appointment can be renewable.

12.2. The Auditor shall possess in his country all titles and qualifications required to fulfill his duties as the examiner of accounts.

12.3. The accounts shall be examined in accordance with the principles generally accepted by international organisations for external control.

The external Auditor shall, in particular, perform all necessary tests and procedures on accounting documents and at the Headquarters of the Office, to enable him to certify that:

– the management account submitted to him by the Director General is correct and in accordance with the books and the accounting documents of the Organisation; 

– the financial transactions evidenced by these documents have been carried out in accordance with the relevant provisions and that the budgetary amounts have been adhered to; 

– the amounts and cash deposited and held in the petty cash correspond to the amounts indicated on the statements received from the depositories; 

– the accounting records concerning movable goods and equipment are in accordance with the lists of such goods and equipment.12.4.

The Auditor shall prepare a report setting out all the observations that he considers necessary concerning the preparation and presentation of the accounts, at the latest four months after the year end. This report, accompanied by the certified accounts, shall be submitted to the Administrative Commission and then to the Committee.

Article 13 Delegation of Authority

The Director General may delegate to other members of the Office all powers he considers necessary to ensure the correct implementation of these Regulations. These officials shall not delegate the powers conferred on them by the Director General.

Article 14 Transfer of duties of the Director General

In the case of a change in the occupancy of the post of Director General, and to ensure the continuity of the work of the Office, the transfer of duties is undertaken under conditions fixed by the Committee, between the outgoing Director General and the new Director General in the presence of the Administrative Commission, in a document which is countersigned by the President of the Committee of the Office.

Article 15 General Provisions

15.1. These rules will come into effect after their adoption by the Committee and the participating Countries, in accordance with Article 15 of the Organic Statutes of the OIE. The Director General shall notify Member Countries of the date they come into effect.15.2.In accordance with Article 15 of the Organic Statutes of the OIE, the provisions of these Financial Regulations may be added to or amended on the proposal of the Director General or the Committee, only with the consent of participating Countries.

15.3. In the event of any contradiction between the provisions of these Rules and the provisions of the Organic Statutes or Organic Rules of the Office, the latter texts would take preference.

¹ The proposed Financial Regulations were adopted by the OIE International Committee (Resolution No. XVI of 27 May 1983), then modified by Resolutions No. VII of 23 May 1985 and No. VIII of 3 May 1986; they came into force after being approved by the Member Countries.

²The numbering of these Articles has been modified to take into account the insertion of the new Chapter VI in the General Rules by the OIE International Committee (Resolution No. XII of 20 May 1988).

³In Euros since 1 January 1999

⁴New paragraph (Resolution No. VII adopted by the OIE International Committee on 18 May 1990), entered into force on 1 January 1991.