Implications of Board Composition and Responsibility on the Financial Sustainability of Agricultural Cooperatives in the South West Region of Cameroon

The study sought to investigate the implications of board composition on the financial sustainability of agricultural cooperatives in South West Region of Cameroon. It employs a total of 179 representatives of cooperatives from across all six divisions of the region. The study decomposes governance into auditing, accounting, and reporting, board composition and responsibility and internal control; while financial sustainability is decomposed into budgeting, business plans, strategic planning, income diversification, and treasury management. Using the principal component analysis and linear regression, the study finds that board composition and responsibility has a negative and significant influence on financial sustainability. The findings, equally, show that when the board and its responsibilities interact with levels of education, the influence of board composition given the level of education becomes positive and significant, indicating that an educated board matters for the sustainability of agricultural cooperatives. The study thus recommends the equipment of an efficient board of directors or management committee that is equipped with the necessary knowledge and expertise to carry out its obligations, which is required to improve the position, the enhancement of basic bookkeeping activities with periodic preparation and submission of annual financial statements.