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International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) president Lamine Diack has vowed not to cut prize money for major events to help bring down costs.

Diack must stand for re-election next year and with the economic downturn putting extra pressure on the organisation’s finances, there are those who believe it is time for him to step aside with London 2012 chairman Lord Coe and world pole vault record holder Sergey Bubka being mentioned as possible replacements.

But Diack claimed at a meeting of the IAAF's ruling council in Kiev over the weekend that the financial situation has now stabilised.

He said: "Following our last council meeting, in Doha in March, the IAAF management took a hard look at the IAAF’s financial status in a time of economic uncertainty, with the aim of ensuring that we could cut costs but also consider new revenue sources.

"I am delighted that the council accepted that a great effort had been made, led by the treasurer Jean Poczubut and supported by each IAAF department, to reduce costs significantly.

"The important point is that we have done this without damaging the IAAF’s core business or fundamental projects which count as an investment in our future."

The IAAF's finances have been improved by a new deal with Samsung to sponsor the Diamond League.

"Without going into specific details, I want to underline the fact that the IAAF will have a better balance of income and expenditure and never less than $50m in capital reserves, until 2015 at least,” added Diack.

"I am also happy that the improved strength of the dollar compared to the euro has helped us to save money on our administration costs.

"We have not needed to cut the prize money offered at IAAF and we will first look to reduce staff costs by a reassessment of roles and careful restructuring, rather than layoffs."