Accounting with a heart By ANGELO G.

. GARCIA Manila Bulletin January 24, 2012, 11:05am MANILA, Philippines in many rural areas, cooperatives are common organizations that help its members meet their common economic, social, cultural needs and aspirations through jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise. Yet, many of these groups fall on the wayside because of the lack of the proper systems and manpower to correctly operate. Accounting is one of the most common pitfalls. Recognizing the need to improve the operation of cooperatives in their area, the Aklan Catholic College Junior Philippine Institute of Accountants (ACCJPIA) started a project called A CPA or the Assisting Cooperatives Proficiency in Accounting. A CPA is a bookkeeping, accounting and audit field exposure for members of ACCJPIA to strengthen their academic competence by applying what they have learned in the accounting program, as well as to develop volunteerism and citizenship in providing assistance. The members teach sustainability to cooperatives that lack proper accounting systems and therefore cannot provide auditable financial statements which is an annual requirement of the Cooperative Devel-opment Authority, explains ACCJPIA president Joeby Barrientos. It is our desire to help these cooperatives not only in terms of their accounting functions but also somehow help in their business operations as well that lead us to come up with such a beneficial project. ACCJPIA is a recognized and an accredited student organization of Aklan Catholic College. All 105 stu-dents enrolled in BS Accountancy are members. The organization aims to strengthen academic competence, instill optimal growth, eagerness and attitude, and develop camaraderie among each member. Its goal is to enhance the integrity of the accountancy profession, among others. ACCJPIA has been conducting projects in connection with sustainability of cooperatives and small business enterprises for so many years. FARMING AND ACCOUNTING The project specifically assisted the Agbalogo Farmers Multi-Purpose Cooperative (AFMPC), Aglucay Coconut Farmers MultiPurpose Cooperative (ACFMPC), Libang Samahang Nayon Multi-Purpose Co-operative and Libang Irrigation Association (LSNMPC) (all these in Makato, Aklan) and Boracay Aetas Multi-Purpose Cooperative in Boracay, Malay, Aklan. At first, the cooperatives lacked proper accounting system. They needed intervention of people who have knowledge in accounting and audit functions. The problem is that they dont have the capacity to hire such people who are accountingoriented because they are just small cooperatives composed of farmers and minorities (Aetas). Since accounting is an essential function in a business, cooperatives may not be able to conduct their operations efficiently, Barrientos shares. The group had to go through far flung areas to reach these cooperatives. Most of the time, they had to use their own allowances just to conduct the project. One of the areas is in Boracay, Aklan. When you go to Boracay, what you can see is the white beach, foreigners, wellaccommodating resorts; Boracay offers a tourist destination at its best. But behind those eye-catching scenes are neglected by the common people, the indigenous and the original inhabitants of Boracay the Aetas who are given less attention. We teach the Aetas from the very simple mathematics, to the basics of accounting through one-on-one practical tutorial. Though some of them were not able to finish school, they are really eager to learn. Aetas are really inspiring and we will never give up on them as long as they need our intervention, he explains. Since then, the cooperatives that they have helped have improved a lot from their accounting systems to entrepreneurial skills. ACCOUNTING INTHE REAL WORLD More than the assistance ACCJPIA gives to the cooperatives, the project has also helped student volunteers improve their craft. The accounting and auditing skills of the students were harnessed. What we learn in school is more ap-preciated when applied in the real world. We widen our social participation and responsibility while providing project enhancing the accounting profession and contributing to the attainment of the schools mission, Barrientos shares. Jebelyn P. De Jose, BSA 4 student and ACCJPIA executive secretary says the organization changed her life a lot. When I visited the Ati Community in Boracay to teach basic accounting, I found out that they lack education and its really hard for them to compete outside their community because of their status in the so-ciety. Thats why we are there to make them

feel that they are part of the community and that they have the confidence to tell everybody that they have something to contribute to the society. The organization has reaped many awards throughout the years including Campus Organization of the Year, the Project of the Year and Adviser of the Year for four consecutive years. More recently, because of A CPA project, ACCJPIA was named one of last years Ten Accomplished Youth Organizations (TAYO) by the TAYOAwards Foundation, Inc. The annual event recognizes the outstanding contributions of youth organizations to the country. They plan to put their R50,000 prize money to good use. They will continue to help and serve the coop-eratives and support more A CPAs programs such as the accounting clinic, livelihood projects, seminars on financial reporting of cooperatives, etc.