Meeting with a Cooperative GM

Had this meeting with a cooperative GM a few months back.

He was proud of what they'd built over 400+ members, a growing loan portfolio, years of steady operations.

Then I asked him three questions.

"Alam mo ba which loan products are actually making you money?"

He paused.

"Can your treasurer show the board a cash flow projection for the next 90 days?"

Another pause.

"Is your CAIS ready for submission on or before the deadline?"

He smiled, the kind of smile that means 'we're working on it.'

And that's ok. That's honest. Most cooperatives are run by dedicated people doing their best with what they have.

But here's the thing.

Your accountant and auditor looks backward. They validate what already happened. That's their job, and they do it well.

But who's looking forward?

Who's telling your board here's where we're headed, here's the risk, here's what we need to decide now?

That's the gap. And it's more common than most boards want to admit.
Your cooperative might need CFO-level support if:

1. Your loan portfolio is growing but monitoring is still manual passbooks, handwritten ledgers, Excel files nobody fully trusts.
2. Board reports are prepared the night before the meeting. Pag dating ng meeting, nagmamadali pa rin.
3. You have CDA compliance gaps that keep getting pushed to "next quarter."
4. Your GM is doing finance work that should belong to someone else.
5. You're expanding services but there's no financial model backing the decision.

You don't need a full-time CFO to solve this. You need the right system and the right support.