Read your Bylaws... More than likely your ByLaws outlines how the SH can call a meeting. In our building its with a petition signed by ?? number of SH.

Also, EmailPower. Transparancy Rules. Get everyone in the Email loop, Make sure that your Emails are not personal, stick to the subject and the business at hand.

AliceT

Our financial statement is also overdue, and our board also tends to ignore requests for information. Just two days ago our board president accused me of "wasting [her] time" when I wrote to advise about two problems that came to my attention. She said that since I came up with the answers myself later on I should not have written her. Her email was filled with bold print and underlining to make her points. Nevertheless, I'll ask why the financial statement is overdue and keep you posted.

Follow up to North Riverdale financial statement entry:
The board president replied: she turned it over to the property manager to answer, and the property manager passed the ball to the accountant, saying that since our annual shareholders meeting was delayed until June, our financial statement was likewise delayed so that he could prepare the statements of the coops with ASMs earlier than ours. The reason the ASM was delayed was the accountant couldn't be available until June - 3 weeks late.

This is a circular argument. Our ASM was supposed to take place the 2nd Tuesday of May; the financial statement was due in April.

The property manager now says the By-law calling for the financial report in April is "only a guideline" -- essentially, who cares about the shareholders!

Has anyone got any suggestions please?

Well, you can always write a formal letter to the Board, copying the property manager, the accountant, the NY/NJ (whichever state you're in) State Attorney General and the NY/NJ Secretary of State. Be sure to be brief, rational, objective, and factual. Use bullet points, such as the fact that your by-laws state your annual meeting is to be held the second Tuesday of May, and the financial statement was due in April. Summarize your communications with every party to date without name-calling, hyperbolizing, or editorializing. End by asking for a definite date when a) the ASM will be held; b) the financial statement will be mailed.

Make sure the cc: at the bottom lists the Secretary of State by name and title.

Try it; you have little to lose.

To Suggestion: Thank you for your excellent suggestion regarding late financial reports. Some boards seem to think they can abide by only those sections of the bylaws that are comfortable.

We typically complete and publish our annual report in May of each year for the preceding year. It just makes it easier for our outside auditors to complete and submit all our annual tax documents and then prepare the annual report.

But, a word of caution is in order. Our co-op is in superb financial condition, with virtually no hidden agenda or surprises.

So our shareholders are aware of the “program” and we have no adverse comments given the many years we have employed this schedule for publication of the annual report.

Of note is that shareholders have the option of communicating to the corporation’s attorney if one opines that something is untoward or amiss.

Without being strident in emails or letters, a paper trail is always the best vehicle.

Dear AB,

I am a corporate accountant by trade. My co-op kept on receiving late audited financial statements until we switched to Zeidman, Lackowitz, Prisand & Co., LLP (whom I met at an event). We are very happy with their work, access for questions and timing. Our annual meeting is in late June and our financial statements have already been delivered to the shareholders.

I was impressed by your knowledge of finances as evident in your note. From my experience, there are many innocent things that can hold up a Financial Statement. I would be VERY concerned if they are not available by the annual meeting. I would also be very suspicious if they are not available in advance. Handing them out at the annual meeting (if that is the first time you are seeing them) does not give the shareholder time to consider the results.

That being said, I am all in favor of having a healthy sense of skepticism however having a sense of skepticism that exceeds "healthy" can be damaging to the corporation in that it breeds distrust and makes serving on the Board very undesirable. If you have tried working with the Board to address your concerns to no result, then by all means be more proactive however if the Board has a bunker mentality for no valid reason, that is not good.

Steve,

thanks for your input. Shareholders have pressed the board and mngt and we recieved our statement last week. Shareholders have also requested a special meeting to remover several current board members due to their lack of action and lack of communication. Hopefully a new board will lead to a new managing agent at the next annual meeting coming up.