01

Design and implement an Organisation-wide system of standardised staff costs for budgetary purposes. The system should enable staff budgets to be prepared and executed on the basis of centrally defined standard rates, rather than individual payroll profiles. The SSC framework should include:

- A central governance structure responsible for defining, approving and updating SSC rates;

- A clear methodology specifying the scope and composition of the rates;

- A periodic update of the rates, based on actual payroll data and relevant changes in staff cost;

- An annual reconciliation between SSC-based budgets and actual staff costs, in order to monitor variances and maintain budget reliability and transparency;

- A clear mechanism for the treatment of variances between SSC and actual payroll costs.

DPB will continue to explore the application of standardised staff costs for budgetary purposes with the aim of completing a feasibility study in 2026, and a potential implementation for the Programme and Budget 2028-2031, depending on the outcome of the feasibility study.

31 December 2027

02

The Council of Europe strengthen the governance of PO and payment approvals by implementing a common Organisation-wide approval framework. This framework should include:

- A standard approval process across all entities;

- The implementation of an integrated Organisation-wide tool to initiate, approve and record purchase order approvals, ensuring a complete and reliable audit trail;

- A clear identification of the approver, date of the approval, reference to the underlying transaction, and evidence of budget availability;

- Integration with existing tools used to monitor and control financial delegations, in particular those relating to the authorisation of expenditure and payments.

DIT is working with the relevant departments to develop a standard source to pay solution that consists of various workflows. The project is ongoing and will be finalised in 2027.

31 December 2027

03

The Organisation to develop and implement a structured roadmap to improve integration between budgeting, accounting, reporting and HR systems, with a view to reducing reliance on disconnected tools and manual transfers.

DPB, DHR, TPA and DIT will explore ways of improving the integration of the systems referred to in the recommendation, with the aim of drawing up a roadmap by the end of 2027.

The implementation timetable should be set out in the roadmap.

31 December 2027