Annex II: Financial Provisions Article I 1. The financial year of the Agency shall run from the first of January to the thirty-first of December following. 2. The Director General shall, not later than the first of September of each year, forward to the Member States (a) a draft general budget, (b) draft programme budgets. 3. The general budget shall comprise (a) an expenditure part, showing the estimated expenditure relating to the activities referred to in Article V.1 (a) (i), (iii) and (iv) of the Convention, including the fixed common costs, as well as to the non-fixed common costs and the support costs concerning the programmes referred to in Article V.1 (a) (ii) and V.1 (b) of the Convention; the fixed and non-fixed common costs and the support costs shall be defined in the Financial Regulations; the estimates shall be broken down by type of activity and by general heading; (b) an income part, showing (i) the contributions of all Member States towards the expenditure relating to the activities referred to in Article V.1 (a) (i), (iii) and (iv) of the Convention, including the fixed common costs; (ii) the contributions of participating States to the non-fixed common costs and support costs allocated, in accordance with the Financial Regulations, to the programmes referred to in Article V.1 (a) (ii) and V.1 (b) of the Convention; (iii) other income. 4. Each programme budget shall comprise (a) an expenditure part, showing (i) the estimated direct expenditure relating to the programme and broken down by general heading as defined in the Financial Regulations; (ii) the estimated non-fixed common costs and support costs allocated to the programme; (b) an income part, showing (i) the contributions of participating States to the direct expenditure referred to in sub-paragraph (a) (i); (ii) other income; (iii) for information, the contributions of participating States to the non-fixed common costs and the support costs referred to in sub-paragraph (a) (ii), as provided for in the general budget. 5. The approval of the general budget and of each programme budget by the Council shall take place before the beginning of each financial year. 6. The general budget and the programme budgets shall be prepared and executed in accordance with the Financial Regulations. Article II 1. If circumstances so require, the Council may ask the Director General to present a revised budget to it. 2. No decision involving additional expenditure shall be deemed to have been approved until the Council has approved the Director General's estimate of the additional expenditure involved. Article III 1. The Director General shall, if so requested by the Council, include in the general budget or in the programme budget concerned the estimates of expenditure for subsequent years. 2. In connection with the adoption of the annual budgets of the Agency the Council shall re-examine the level of resources and make the necessary adjustments in the light of price-level variations and any unforeseen changes during the execution of the programmes. Article IV 1. The expenditure approved for activities covered by Article V of the Convention shall be met by contributions assessed in accordance with Article XIII of the Convention. 2. When a State accedes to the Convention in accordance with Article XXII thereof, the contributions of the other Member States shall be reassessed. A new scale, which shall take effect on a date to be decided by the Council, shall be established on the basis of the national income statistics for the years used in calculating the existing scale. Where appropriate, reimbursements shall be made to ensure that the contributions paid by all Member States for the current year are in accordance with the decision of the Council. 3. (a) The arrangements by which contributions are to be made, which shall ensure the proper financing of the Agency, shall be determined in the Financial Regulations. (b) The Director General shall notify Member States of the amount of their contributions and of the dates on which payments shall be made. Article V 1. The budgets of the Agency shall be expressed in accounting units. The accounting unit is defined by 0.88867088 gramme of fine gold; the Council may, by a unanimous decision of all Member States, adopt another definition of the accounting unit. 2. Each Member State shall pay its contributions in its own currency. Article VI 1. The Director General shall keep an accurate account of all income and expenditure. At the end of each financial year the Director General shall, in accordance with the Financial Regulations, draw up separate annual accounts for each programme covered by Article V of the Convention. 2. Budgetary accounts, the budget and the financial management, as well as any other measure having financial implications, shall be examined by an Audit Commission. The Council shall designate, by a two-thirds majority of all Member States, the Member States which, in rotation on an equitable basis, shall be invited to nominate, preferably from among their own senior officials, auditors to serve on this Commission, and shall nominate by the same majority, from among the auditors, a Chairman of the Commission for a period not exceeding three years. 3. The purpose of the audit, which shall be based on records and, if necessary, done on the spot, shall be to verify that expenditure has conformed with the budget estimates and that the records are lawful and correct. The Commission shall also report on the economic management of the Agency's financial resources. At the end of each financial year, the Commission shall draw up a report, which shall be adopted by the majority of its members and thereupon transmitted to the Council. 4. The Audit Commission shall discharge such other functions as are set out in the Financial Regulations. 5. The Director General shall furnish the auditors with such information and help as they may require to carry out their duties.