Ten Years of On-Time Filing

Date
20 March 2019

We’ve seen great strides made over the years in the number of Agency clients that send us their annual filings on time. Recently, we recognized thirty-six co-ops—about seven per cent of our clients—for 10 years of on-time filing. Like all of our clients, these co-ops have their auditor file an Annual Information Return (AIR) on their behalf, while they accept responsibility for sending us all the other documents that make up a complete filing. How have they managed to meet the deadline for ten years? We reached out to a few of them to ask for the secret to their success.

Amanda, the manager at Rossland Ridge Co-op in Oshawa, attributes this achievement to an exceptional board of directors. As she put it, “The board and management work closely together to ensure that the co-op is in good standing.” The co-op’s main goals are to keep their capital reserve strong and to ensure that members fully benefit from living there. Rossland Ridge’s commitment to their membership shows.

We also spoke with Graeme, a Longview Co-op board member in Toronto, who outlined the importance of careful oversight. He told us that his co-op’s success begins with “the right attitude of accountability to members and ensuring that, as a Board, we are aware of all our obligations and responsibilities.” The Board of Longview Co-op works closely throughout the year with their co-ordinator. The directors are aware of the role that they play and that this role must be an active one. Being an engaged board means working together, holding regular meetings, completing the budget according to schedule and submitting all required reports on a managed timeline. Longview Co-op takes great pride in its transparency and regularly shares Agency reports with the membership. This allows the members to compare their co-op’s performance against others.

Both co-ops credited their success to awareness of timelines, well-defined expectations for volunteers and collaborative work between their staff and an energetic board of directors.

Congratulations to all the 10 year on-time filers! 

Got a story to tell? We want to hear from you! Tell us how your co-op is doing by e-mailing us at info@agency.coop.

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Co-ops without Paid Managers

Since 2007, the percentage of co-ops without paid help is down by more than half to a mere 2% of Agency clients. Another 12% just have a lonely bookkeeper.