Dear reader,
This Guide for founders of cooperatives is a comprehensive overview covering the fundamental aspects of incorporating a cooperative. The Guide is destinated for persons considering or already planning to establish a cooperative. The Guide is also useful for a cooperative that has recently started its operations. The guide for founders of cooperatives is a reference for advisers of cooperatives, for firms of accountants, for developers and for everybody interested in or concerned by the legal form of a cooperative as an enterprise.
The Guide was thoroughly updated in October 2020, including the revision of the chapters The Finances of the Cooperative and The Cooperative as an Employer. There is a lot of new information in the chapter Administration of the Cooperative. Illustrative tables and graphs were added.
The updated version was written by Mr. Kari Huhtala, Director of Cooperation, Mr. Matti Ketola, Business Expert, Ms. Anne Kontkanen, Chief Legal Officer, from Pellervo Coop Center, and by Ms. Merja Hiltunen, KTM Auditor, Mr. Jarmo Hänninen, Chief Executive Officer, and Mr. Jukka Pötry, LL.M., from the society Osuustoiminnan Kehittäjät Coop Finland.
- Should we found a cooperative – and do business together?
- Conditions for the success of a cooperative
- From plan to action
- The Finances of the Cooperative
- Marketing is vital for any business
- Taxation
- Insurance cover
- Administration of the Cooperative
- Practical measures in order to incorporate a cooperative
- Cooperative as an Employer
- Clear rules (model rules for a cooperative)