JUNE 30TH 2021 DEADLINE FOR NON-DEPOSIT TAKING SACCO’S COMPLIANCE

In a bid to ensure better controls, we help SACCO’s in the process of coming up/ reviewing various critical policies and defining their strategic direction aimed at better decisions on allocation of resources and in pursuit of growth.      

The following are policies that SACCO’s are required to maintain which we help them in formulation;

1. 1. Strategic plan
   2. Business plan
   3. ICT policy and procedures manual
   4. Disaster recovery
   5. Marketing policy
   6. Credit policy
   7. Human Resource policy
   8. Business Continuity policy
   9. Procurement policy
   10. Finance Policy

At Ronalds, we undertake trainings to ensure that SACCO’s are compliant with various rules, laws and regulations. This is to protect SACCO’s from unnecessary fines and penalties that come as a result of non-compliance. We are focused at making SACCO’s management acquainted with the emerging issues as far as regulations are concerned and being knowledgeable on how to carry out the exercises pertaining to the same.

Our Information Systems’ review is guided by the Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology (COBIT 5.0) management guidelines and Information Infrastructure Library (ITIL). It involves a review of the IT strategic plan, IT Policies and Procedures to ensure that a sound system of internal control and governance has been put in place over management of the IT environment.

Our IT controls review pays attention to the functionality and configuration of different financial and operational systems of the SACCO. This is assessed against key business requirements and design documents to identify any gaps and functional or technical issues. The functionality and configurations will also be compared to industry leading practices keeping the SACCO’s business process in perspective.

Ronalds LLP is not your ordinary accounting firm. Our approach to external audit is with a view of adding more value to the SACCO; departing from the traditional model and ensuring that the audit engagement is geared towards making the SACCO strong.

In developing our SACCO Audit programs, we recognize that each entity is different from the other and is formed of a unique culture and back ground that defines its existence.

At Ronalds, we help SACCO’s navigate risk management, internal controls and governance by conducting audit activities, leveraging on best-in-class methodologies, skills and technologies.

We help transform the internal audit function by adopting best industry practices to add strategic value to stakeholders, and improve operational efficiencies

Recent trends in the taxation for SACCOs has seen the government taking a more aggressive approach and bringing more SACCO revenues to taxation thus affecting the SACCOs’ bottom line and members’ take home dividends.

SACCOs need to be more prudent in their tax planning. It is therefore imperative that a SACCO considers engaging the services of a professional tax advisor in order to offer expert advice in how to realign their tax matters. This tax advisory will help the management manage the tax exposure related risks and utilize the opportunities in the tax laws.

Our expertise in SACCO taxation includes: Tax health check , KRA representation, Tax planning, Annual tax compliance, Tax training

 At Ronalds LLP we shall provide a detailed advisory on the entities’ compliance to the International Financial Reporting Standards. Since SACCO societies are entities with public interest; the SACCO societies ACT requires the management to adopt full IFRS in order to enhance accountability and encourage disclosure of the SACCOs’ financial activities and health.

We also provide advice on the specific and latest IFRS’s like IFRS9, IFRS15 and IFRS16. Under IFRS9 and IFRS16, we will guide SACCOs on the modeling, training, and implementation within their setup.

In carrying out a Governance audit we review a SACCO’s governance structure and its mode of operations. We also review the relationship between management, the Board of Directors, and other stakeholders.

Our Governance Audit determines if there is:

• Effective leadership.
• Commitment to vision, mission, and values.
• Clear definition of functions roles and responsibilities.
• Clarity of Management roles and board roles

SACCOs are faced with various risks that if not mitigated can cause adverse effects to the SACCO’s operations. We review the available risk register for completeness and level of compliance and perform a risk mapping for risk rating and prioritization during risk management.

In order to assess the SACCO’s controls over cyber-attacks, we utilize its in-house cyber security framework which represents the six core capabilities for the majority of institutions in the financial sector on cyber security. The framework provides a structure for the multiple components required to protect an organization – its products and services, its customers and staff, its processes and systems – from malicious cyber security threats.

Reconciliation in SACCOs has since been a subject of issues. SACCOs have had it difficult to perform bank reconciliations and Loan reconciliations among others. At Ronalds, we have endeavored to ensure all is easy, fast and accurate through training SACCOs and recommending appropriate softwares for the task.

We also do the reconciliations on behalf of the client once furnished with the necessary information and ensure that the specific reports for management decision making are provided to the client at the opportune time.

Cloud Accounting has a significant impact on the efficiency in Business Data Collection, Data Processing, Analysis of Business Data and Financial Reporting that is likely to impact positively on the performance of an Organization. This is because of timely decisions making that is informed by available accurate business financial information. If you want your business to work smarter and faster, cloud accounting software is a wise investment. Working in the cloud will give you a better overview of your finances, and improve collaboration with your team.

 Ronalds LLP is a partner with Xero, a leading Cloud Accounting Software, we have supported many organizations to transform to Cloud Accounting and SACCOs are no exception