合作社財務報表及經費處理準則

The Regulations are established in accordance with Paragraph 2 of Article 36 of the Cooperatives Act.

1The financial statements of a cooperative shall include the following:

21. The balance sheet, which shall be expressed as follows:

3(1) Assets: Current assets and non-current assets

4(2) Liabilities: Current liabilities and non-current liabilities

5(3) Equities: Capital stock for members, capital reserve, and accumulated surplus (or accumulated deficit)

62. The income statement, which shall contain the following account titles:

7(1) Operating revenue

8(2) Operating costs

9(3) Operating expenses

10(4) Non-operating revenue and expenses

11(5) Surplus (or deficit) for the period

123. The inventory, which shall contain the following account titles:

13(1) Original value: The acquisition cost incurred on the purchase of an asset

14(2) Amount of depreciation: The depreciation expense allocated for the year

15(3) Accumulated depreciation: The amount of depreciation accumulated over the years

16(4) Book value: The original value of an asset minus the accumulated depreciation

174. The surplus appropriation statement or deficit amortization statement, which shall contain the following account titles:

18(1) Surplus for the period: The annual surplus listed in the income statement

19(2) Dividend: The amount set aside from the total amount of the capital stock paid by members at the annual interest rate (in percentage) stipulated in the articles of association or resolved in the member’s (representative’s) congress

20(3) Distributable surplus: The surplus for the period plus accumulated surplus (or minus accumulated deficit) and minus dividends

21(4) Legal reserve: The amount set aside from the distributable surplus at the rate (in percentage) stipulated in the articles of association

22(5) Public interest reserve: The amount set aside from the distributable surplus at the rate (in percentage) stipulated in the articles of association

23(6) Compensation for directors, supervisors, clerks, and technicians: The amount set aside from the distributable surplus at the rate (in percentage) stipulated in the articles of association

24(7) Distributions to members: The distributable surplus minus the legal reserve, public interest reserve, and compensation for directors, supervisors, clerks, and technicians; such distributions shall be allocated according to the amount of transactions by members

The fiscal year of a cooperative is from January 1 to December 31 every year, except when special needs arise in the course of business.

The financial statements of a cooperative shall be prepared based on the fiscal year, except for the preparation of any other regular or irregular statements.

1The accounting affairs of a cooperative shall include the following:

21. Approval of source documents;

32. Preparation of bookkeeping vouchers;

43. Registration, verification, and sorting of accounting books;

54. Preparation, analysis, and interpretation of accounting reports;

65. Settlement of final accounts;

76. Sorting and retention of accounting files;

87. Handover between accounting personnel;

98. Other relevant accounting affairs.

In principle, accounting personnel shall be employed to handle the accounting affairs of a cooperative.

1A cooperative shall adopt the accrual basis of accounting. Any cooperative that adopts the cash basis of accounting on a usual basis shall make adjustments according to the accrual basis when settling final accounts.

2Under the accrual basis of accounting, as set forth in the preceding paragraph, revenues are recorded when they are confirmed to be receivable, and expenses are recorded when they are confirmed to be payable. Moreover, in final accounts, the entries of revenues and expenses are adjusted according to the years when they are incurred. Under the cash basis of accounting, revenues are recorded only when cash is received, and expenses are recorded only when cash is paid.

The basis of recording and the method of handling adopted by a cooperative in handling accounting affairs shall be consistent. In the event of a necessary change due to a justifiable reason, the reason, details of the change, and the impact shall be described in financial statements.

A cooperative shall handle its financial affairs in accordance with applicable regulations and the generally accepted accounting principles.

1A cooperative shall appoint different personnel to handle its financial affairs and to manage its property.

2A cooperative may require the aforesaid personnel to apply for bonding insurance or credit insurance.

1The directors and supervisors of a cooperative are non-paid positions.

2A cooperative may, at its discretion, offer pay to the chairperson of the board of directors or the directors for the period of handling official business in the cooperative, or to the chairperson of the board of supervisors or the supervisors for the period of performing supervision in the cooperative.

A cooperative may, at its discretion, offer an attendance fee to the directors and supervisors for attending a meeting of the board of directors, the board of supervisors, or the cooperative affairs committee. However, any persons who have received the pay set forth in Paragraph 2 of the preceding article shall not receive the attendance fee.

Any director, supervisor, or staff member of a cooperative who has made extraordinary contributions to the cooperative may be given a reward or remembrance upon approval from the cooperative affairs committee.

The domestic or foreign visits or inspections by any director, supervisor, or staff member of a cooperative shall be related to the business thereof, and a budget shall be allocated. However, this rule does not apply under special circumstances where approval from the cooperative affairs committee and regulating authority is obtained.

The cooperative affairs committee of a cooperative shall, according to business revenues, establish separate standards for any and all expenses paid by the cooperative in accordance with the Regulations. Such standards shall be adopted upon resolution by the member’s (representative’s) congress, and shall be reported to the regulating authority for recordation.

The Regulations shall apply mutatis mutandis to cooperatives unions.

The Regulations shall become effective on the date of promulgation.