Behind every successful company are numbers being crunched. And keeping a keen and watchful eye on them is crucial to any organization’s financial integrity.
At Baldwin EMC, a team of four make up the cooperative’s accounting department. This group is responsible for maintaining accurate and reliable financial records, including plant, property, and inventory, using diligent accounting procedures with standards required by the Rural Utilities Service. They work tirelessly to ensure that all of Baldwin EMC’s accounts – both payable (the bills the co-op has to pay) and receivable (any payments the co-op is owed, outside of member billing) are in good standing.
The stereotypical image of an accounting department tallying up spreadsheets and calculating numbers is only a small part of the job for the team at Baldwin EMC. They also serve as a cross-departmental resource, working closely with managers and supervisors throughout the cooperative to develop, manage and balance yearly spending budgets. Diligent maintenance of these departmental budgets is a key element of the cooperative’s financial stability.
Work orders, important documents that outline any work approved to be done by the cooperative’s engineering or operations departments, are another area in which Baldwin EMC’s accounting department is closely involved. Work orders can be anything from setting a new pole to installing equipment at a member’s home. On most occasions, work orders involve a cost that must be covered before the work can be done, and it rests on the shoulders of the financial accounting team to make sure any needed payments are received.
Baldwin EMC’s financial accounting department also spends quite a bit of time looking down the road. They’re tasked with analyzing proposed changes and projects, and how they’ll affect the cooperative’s future financial condition. A high degree of accuracy is required here, as miscalculations can have a significant effect.
As a member-owned electric cooperative, Baldwin EMC is led by a democratically elected board of trustees. Having a clear understanding of the financial condition of the cooperative helps Baldwin EMC’s board make prudent business decisions for the cooperative. This is another area where the financial accounting team plays an important role. On a monthly basis, they provide a detailed and accurate financial report that’s reviewed at the cooperative’s board meeting, which gives the co-op’s key decision makers valuable insight.
Every year, Baldwin EMC’s financial accounting team also works with an independent accounting firm to put the cooperative’s finances through a thorough audit, with the resulting report being printed in the co-op’s Annual Report, and also being made available to any member who makes a request to view it.