Budget and Financial Statements of the OECD as of 31 December 2007

1. Budget of the Organisation

The OECD is governed by a Council composed of representatives of all the member countries.  The Council appoints a Secretary-General for a term of five years.

The Organisation is funded primarily by assessed and voluntary contributions from its member countries, within the framework of a biennial Programme of Work and Budget.

Through the Budget, the Council accords the necessary commitment authorisation and makes the necessary appropriations for the functioning of the Organisation and the delivery of its agreed output results.  It determines the amount of assessed contributions to be paid by members after taking into account other resources of the Organisation. All the OECD member countries fund the 'Part I' Budget (M EUR 170 in 2008), which accounts for about 50% of the overall Budget (M EUR 350 in 2008).  Their contributions are based essentially on a scale of contributions proportional to the relative size of their economies with a cap of 24,975%.  Part II programmes (around M EUR 75 in 2008) include, in some programmes, a significant number of non-member participants in addition to those member countries participating in those programmes. Part II programmes are funded according to a scale of contributions or other agreements among the participating countries. The other main Budget items are pensions (M EUR 88 in 2008) and publications (M EUR 12).

The approval of the Budget by Council empowers the Secretary-General, subject to any special conditions established by Council:

• to commit and authorise expenditures and to make all payments to be borne by the Organisation, for the purposes assigned and within the limits of the appropriations and the commitment authority, as the case may be;
• to receive the income entered in the Budget, together with any other resources accruing to the Organisation in respect of its activities.

The OECD is entitled to diplomatic privileges and immunities, as are officials and member country representatives.  The OECD is exempt from paying taxes related to its operating revenue and expenses.

Independent external auditing of the Organisation’s accounts and financial management is performed by a Board of Auditors.  This Board is composed of four members drawn from public audit agencies in the Member countries and appointed by the Council.  It certifies the financial statements and reviews the Organisation’s budget outturn and financial management.  The Council, in the light of this certification and review, discharges the Secretary-General from all liability in respect of his or her administration.

2. Financial Statements

• Download the Financial Statements of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development as at 31 December 2007 (1.63 MB).