They would review a scale of assessment to determine what portion of its budget each country should contribute, she said in Sun City, where the Ministers will meet.
In a video-conference relayed to Pretoria, Dlamini-Zuma told reporters: "As you can imagine, this is a difficult issue. People are always fighting to pay less".
Dlamini-Zuma is to chair the third extraordinary session of the AU executive council that will be attended by the foreign ministers of all 53 member states.
The session was called to sort out a number of important issues before the next AU summit in Maputo, Mozambique in July.
According to an AU background document, funding of the union is being impeded by arrears in membership contributions, and outdated and inadequate financial administrative procedures.
Total arrears currently stand at $44-million.
At least 11 member states are under sanctions for being in arrears.
This means they are not allowed to speak at AU meetings.
The countries concerned include the Democratic Republic of Congo, Comoros, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, and Somalia.
The document says financial experts are expected to propose ways for the AU to utilise resources, taking into consideration the capacity of member states to contribute funds.
"This could include a review of the scale of assessments as a source of funding for the programmes and projects of the union".
This matter will be considered at the Sun City meeting, says the document.
Dlamini-Zuma said other issues to be discussed by the AU executive council included a draft common defence policy for the continent.
"Again, you can imagine that this is not going to be an easy issue".
The common defence policy would seek to prevent inter-state conflicts, to minimise internal ones, and to deal with external aggression where a collective response is required.
Another issue on the agenda was recruiting members for the AU commission, a body that would provide guidance and leadership in various fields.
Many factors had to be taken into account in putting the commission together, Dlamini-Zuma said.
There should be two commissioners for each of the five African regions, and one of the two had to be a woman.
"To get all those permutations right is quite a big challenge," Dlamini-Zuma said.
The foreign ministers will meet in Sun City until Friday, and continue their deliberations in Sandton on Saturday.
On Sunday, they will attend Africa Day celebrations in Johannesburg. The occasion will also mark the founding 40 years ago of the Organisation of African Unity, the forerunner of the AU. – Sapa.
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