Empowering the farmers with Audit Management Training

The participants of the Audit Management Training in their different activities

AUDIT MANAGEMENT Training conducted by DAR under the leadership of Leonito M. Gaveria, OIC Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer II in partnership with SIDECO was successfully attended by thirteen (13) Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries’ Organizations (ARBOs) namely: Asenso Bulusan Credit Cooperative; BAMUCO; BHARBEDECO; BIGKIS Cooperative; BUFAFIDECO; CADECO; CABAMUCO; CARFADECO; JUMUCO; MADECO; SAFADECO; SCCPC; and SCDECO.

Thirty-four (34) trainees were grateful for this opportunity where they learned the important elements of internal audit; the books of accounts and other financial records of the cooperative; conducting the internal audit; and preparing the internal audit report.

“Most of us were high school graduate only, that’s why we are so thankful that at our age we were given this chance to learn these things which are taught in college. Our cooperative is just new, thus, we really need trainings like this,” said Isidro Gracilla, BOD Chairperson of Bigkis Cooperative in Irosin, Sorsogon.

According to Ignacio B. Espinosa, Chief Administrative Officer, if in the old days there is a saying that we have to live with our means, today, we have to live less than our means. It doesn’t mean that because there is money to spend it should be spent here and there. Cooperatives should monitor the coop’s money. It’s just like the target-budget procurement.

Audit Management Training is one of the five trainings under the Cooperative Strengthening Project of DAR. The first three were the Pre-membership Education Seminar; the Training on Strategic Planning; and the Records Management Training which have been conducted in the previous quarters. The other one is the Conflict Management Training which will be conducted by December 2015.

SAFADECO undergo training on Audit Management

Representatives of SAFADECO during the Audit Management Training.
Inset Photo: Mrs. Evelyn Peña, resource speaker from South-Luzon
                    Federation of Cooperatives

SAFADECO (Salvacion Farmers' Development Cooperative) in Sorsogon City was among the thirteen (13) Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries’ Organizations (ARBOs) that participate in the recent training on Audit Management conducted by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in partnership with South-Luzon Federation of  Cooperatives or SIDECO.

     Particularly, they learned about the kinds, purpose, scope and frequencies of internal audit; duties and responsibilities of the audit committee; code of ethics for the audit committee; auditing standards; books of accounts and other financial records of the cooperative; standard chart of accounts; rules and regulations; preparation of audit plan; standards in audit report writing; the value of the internal audit report; and monitoring audit recommendations.

Sorsogon City BARC undergo Basic Training and Knowledge Journey

BARC Officers from different barangays of Sorsogon City during the Basic BARC Training

Inset Photos: the Municipal Agrarian Reform Program Officers of Bacon District and Sorsogon City

JUST recently, the City Agrarian Reform Office headed by Norberto Laguna and the Municipal Agrarian Reform Office in Bacon District headed by Lucy Bailon gathered the officials of Barangay Agrarian Reform Council (BARC) within the component city of Sorsogon for the BARC Strengthening Project funded under the Grassroots Participatory Budgeting.

     Two major activities were made in this Project which are Basic Training wherein they learned the salient features of CARP and CARPER; the organization development skills; leasehold system, and mediation process; as well as refreshing topics such as history of land reform and the memorandum circular no. 05, series of 2010 or the composition of BARC; and another activity is the Knowledge Journey wherein they travelled to Camarines Sur and get in touched with other organizations to learn new things from other’s experiences.