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In September 2015, the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) issued a memorandum circular covering the Philippine Financial Reporting Framework for Cooperatives (Reporting Framework). This Reporting Framework, which will only be effective for financial statements ending on December 31, 2016, is based largely (except for certain accounting treatments incorporated or revised by CDA which it deemed distinct and unique for cooperatives) on the Philippine Financial Reporting Standards for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (PFRS for SMES).

In my recent visit to the shrines and castles of the Japanese cities of Osaka and Kyoto, I noticed that elementary pupils, in groups of five to 10, were being guided not just by their teachers but also by elderly persons who appeared to be explaining to them the history or the significance of the places we were visiting. I, of course, assumed that was what the older guides were doing as they gesticulated vigorously while talking (in Nihongo, I suppose). I believe this is how elementary educational field trips should be conducted—focused and in small groups, especially if they involve young and impressionable kids.

Like many mothers whose child will be joining the first batch of Senior High School students under the K-to-12 program this year, I have already embraced the new policy and placed my trust in our policymakers that these additional years will better prepare my son for his future.

Majority of businesses are either renting or leasing property. Lease implies a contract to use the property belonging to another party over a period of time for a specified payment. Leasing is mainly a financing medium used by a lessee to possess and use property and equipment as the cash outflow is made over the lease term. Leasing, in effect, allows companies to use their cash to finance their operations, instead of tying such funds up in the purchase of property and equipment. Moreover, leasing allows companies to avoid the issue of obsolescence and to some degree, its maintenance.

Imagine if majority of the working population are part owners of the company where they work. Imagine the enthusiasm and excitement this possibility can infuse into the workplace! Aside from an increase in productivity as a result of employees’ awareness of their share in the company’s profit, employee retention may also remain high and result in a stable succession. Employee ownership can be accomplished in a variety of ways: employees can buy shares of stock directly from the company, receive stock options at a specified exercise price, obtain shares through a profit-sharing plan, or this could be awarded as a bonus. Of these avenues, the employee stock option plan (ESOP) is, perhaps, the least popular route to increasing employee ownership. ESOP is a kind of employee benefit plan, similar in some ways to a profit-sharing plan. In an ESOP, a company sets up a trust fund, into which it contributes new shares of its own stock or cash to buy existing shares.

It is a common practice among Filipinos to consult a doctor or go to the hospital only when the disease has reached a serious stage. This sometimes puts the patient at risk of being diagnosed only when the illness already requires intensive care, or worse, when it is too late to save the patient’s life.

The year 2016 will be a period in history when we see the changing of the guards. We should be ready for the new administration at the end of next month. And in a parallel world of corporate finance, the listed or public companies in the country shall witness changes in their Independent Directors (IDs) if they start implementing the new rules regarding these officials. In December 2011, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued Memorandum Circular (MC) 9, which, among others, limits the term of the independent directors to a total of 10 years, with two years of a “cooling-off” period between two terms of five consecutive years for listed, public and mutual fund companies. As 2016 is the fifth year of effectivity for the Circular, we should start seeing its implementation in the coming months.

Going through audited financial statements nowadays is like reading through a long technical paper. It has become more difficult for management to prepare, more cumbersome for auditors to audit, and more complicated for users to understand for their management and investment decisions.