Joint Circular No. 029-CV/LB guiding the improvement of financial management during the movement to improve cooperative management.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Guidelines for improving financial management during the campaign to improve cooperative management

Respectfully sent to:- Administrative Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities and regions of Vinh-Linh,

Through the campaign to improve cooperative management and the first technical improvement round in the delta and midland areas, many cooperatives have mobilized cadres and members to check financial settlements, determine capital and assets of the cooperatives, and have discovered and resolved many cases of abuse and embezzlement among members. They have also recovered a significant amount of money and rice for the cooperatives. On the other hand, they have established financial management and accounting systems, set up financial income and expenditure plans, and corrected accounting records. After the campaign, some cooperatives have organized the implementation of principles, systems, and measures proposed, initially bringing financial management and accounting work into order, making members more enthusiastic and trusting in the cooperatives, contributing to enhancing the success of the campaign to boost agricultural production.

However, in some cooperatives, when implementing the campaign, there was insufficient attention given to mobilizing cadres and members to check financial settlements, or only superficially carried out without grasping the situation of the cooperatives' assets and capital, failing to establish financial management systems and financial income and expenditure plans. After the campaign round, some cooperatives did not organize the implementation of the proposed principles, systems, and plans, even allowing cases of embezzlement to occur. These shortcomings limited the results of the campaign and had a negative impact on members' sense of ownership and their enthusiasm for production.

The Central Party Secretariat's directive on continuing the new phase of the campaign to improve cooperative management emphasizes the importance of financial management, guiding the proper use of cooperative funds, implementing transparent financial systems, and resolutely combating corruption and waste. Adhering to this directive, during the first and second rounds of the campaign in the delta and midland areas, many provinces concentrated accounting and financial staff to assist cooperatives, organizing financial inspections, and correcting financial management and accounting work. However, due to insufficient understanding of the Central Party Secretariat's directive and lack of appropriate working methods, in some places, there were still instances of underestimating the requirements for improving cooperative financial management and accounting work. Because of inadequate assistance and guidance, cooperatives failed to thoroughly check and settle financial accounts, did not grasp their own capital and assets, and unresolved financial issues were not discussed and resolved by the masses, leading to member dissatisfaction and affecting production. In some cooperatives, although financial settlements were made, there was insufficient attention paid to establishing and implementing financial income and expenditure plans and specific management systems, resulting in a lack of responsibility and democracy in financial management.

To assist localities in implementing the Central Party Secretariat's directive, the Ministry of Finance and Agriculture has developed a plan attached to this circular aimed at guiding requirements, contents, directions for improving cooperative financial management and accounting, methods of implementation, handling violations of accounting and financial management principles and regulations, and resolving issues in the financial management and accounting phase of cooperatives.

The ministries request all levels to strengthen guidance on improving cooperative financial management and accounting during this campaign to improve cooperative management.

It is crucial to ensure that local authorities responsible for directly guiding or participating in serving the campaign further understand the significance and importance of financial management and accounting phases; avoid undervaluing these phases; overcome reluctance towards difficulties, mobilize cadres and members to actively correct financial management and accounting, and firmly bring financial management and accounting into order, principles, and regulations.

We request the Administrative Committees to base on the Ministry of Finance and Agriculture's plan for improving cooperative financial management and accounting, and according to the actual situation of the locality, to develop specific plans and issue directives to relevant departments and levels to directly guide the improvement of cooperative financial management.

It is necessary to organize for staff assigned to serve the campaign to improve cooperative management to study and fully understand the content of the plan for improving cooperative financial management and accounting to effectively perform tasks of inspecting and guiding cooperatives to improve financial management and accounting.

While guiding the improvement of financial management, it is essential to pay full attention to two requirements: settling financial accounts, understanding the situation of cooperatives' assets and capital, and decisively resolving past cases of abuse and embezzlement; simultaneously, assisting cooperatives in building financial income and expenditure plans and correcting accounting work. These tasks need to be completed well and efficiently before the concentrated campaign begins. Therefore, in exceptional cases, if any cooperative, due to previous disorganized financial management, has complex issues requiring extensive time to verify and conclude, temporarily leave them aside for later resolution. Thus, in the short term, it is necessary to help cooperatives build financial income and expenditure plans for the future, while establishing specific management systems (internal rules) for financial income and expenditure of cooperatives, and immediately correct accounting work, not hindering the business and production activities of cooperatives; subsequently, provinces and counties must dispatch staff to assist cooperatives in decisively resolving past financial issues.

We request the Administrative Committees at all levels to study and develop specific plans to implement this circular in their localities. During implementation, any difficulties should be reported to the ministries for resolution.