which the Inter-agency Procurement Services Office procurement catalogues provide the most competitive prices and on the condition that the use of the catalogues is obligatory. The guidelines would have to be amended accordingly, especially since we could find no evidence during our audits in the field that the catalogues are being used, except for vehicles, where this is a requirement. 193. Furthermore, the instructions provided in the General Administration Manual should not only reiterate the principles already mentioned in the Financial Rules, such as efficiency and economy, but should also provide the user with more concrete guidance on how to achieve them. For instance, a review of the procurement activities in field offices suggested that the staff was quite unaware of the fact that it is more efficient to combine several purchase orders, We therefore recommended improving the guidelines in such a way as to stipulate explicitly that (a) standard supplies should be purchased in bulk and that (b) current and foreseeable procurements and purchases of similar items or items procured from the same source should be combined. 194. The Administration pointed out that action had already been taken to revise the General Administration Manual to reflect the Financial Rules and to give field offices clearer procedures and more detailed advice on procurement activities. It is expected that the draft will soon be finalized, It was further explained that the Administrator took into account the effects of inflation, saving staff time, simplification of procedures and his desire to delegate further responsibility to field offices, when he increased the limit up to which formal invitations to bid or requests for proposals are not required, from $US 10,000 to $US 20,000. 195. Although we still believe that the limit was risen too sharply, we consider 
**Analysis**
The text appears to be discussing procurement and budgeting practices within an organization, specifically the United Nations. The language used is formal and technical, suggesting a focus on administrative and financial procedures. The text mentions guidelines, manuals, and financial rules, which suggests a concern for efficient and economical use of resources. The discussion of procurement practices, such as combining purchase orders and increasing the limit for informal bids, further supports this analysis.

**Category**
Administration, Finance