Six Nueva Vizcaya organizations participated in two training activities conducted by the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) through the Direct Market Linkage Development Program – Institutional Capacity Building (DMLDP-ICB).

       Two training modules on “Audit and Internal Control” and “Accounting and Bookkeeping” were conducted on July 5 to 8, 2011 for 24 participants from the beneficiary organizations. The training participants were composed of Board Directors, managers, audit committee members, accountants, and bookkeepers from the Bambang Farmers and Irrigators Cooperative; Life Giving Center for Integral Evangelization, Inc; Villaverde Abot Palad Association, Nagbitin Development Cooperative; Kinabuan, Ganao, Biruk, Kimbutan and Sanguit (KINGBIKS) Vegetable Farmers Marketing Cooperative and KALASAG Farmers Marketing Cooperative. The organizations have a combined total of around 700 members.

       The four day training oriented the participants on the current thrusts of the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA). It included an orientation on the new Philippine Cooperative Code 2008 or Republic Act 9520, particularly the law’s provisions on the new chart of accounts, revised annual financial reports, submission of a social audit report, mandatory training for cooperative officers and committee members, accreditation of cooperative external auditors and training service provider.

       The training also included lectures on compliance with the requirements of the CDA and COOP-PESOS (compliance, organizational structure, operational plans and programs, portfolio quality, efficiency, stability, operations, and structure of assets), which help determine an organization’s current liquidity, solvency, stability and asset quality position, among others. Minimum internal control standards on financial transactions such as disbursements, receipts, custody of assets, cashiering, and others were also taken up. Participants were likewise taught on audit procedures, audit program preparation,

audit report formats, the concept of “social audit” and the guidelines to follow in acquiring external auditors. Through the training, the participating organizations should be able to prepare and revise their financial reports according to the requirements of RA 9520.

       The training activities were validated by the ACPC ICB Staff headed by Director Melito M. Montenegro. Seventy-five percent of the participants gave an overall rating of “excellent” for the training activities, saying that their learnings are very useful for their organizations. They also said that the roles, responsibilities and accountabilities of each officer and staff in the organization were defined clearly in the training. <\p>

       The six organizations were identified by ACPC as partners in the DMLDP. The objective of the DMLDP is to link the cooperatives and their products with the buyers or processors within and outside the province. Financial assistance was provided to the cooperatives for production or expansion of production capacity so that they could supply the requirements of the buyers with whom they have marketing contracts.