CUNA Volunteer Certification School: Board of Directors Track
Topics & Objectives

Please note that the Topics/Objectives listed below are subject to change.

Governance

It’s up to the board to set the course of the credit union. To do that, a modern, progressive board must know how to effectively govern. Good governance is the cornerstone to the success of your board and credit union. This day’s
training includes:

• Duties, responsibilities, and functions of the board including: strategy, leadership, core values, communication, and director liability
• Governance strategies: One size does not fit all, but there are different governance models that are equally effective and adaptable. Robert’s Rules of Order is not the only game in town
• Best practices: There’s often quite a difference between what some think works and what works. Here we’ll examine some tested and proven strategies

Safety & Soundness

Understand the nuts and bolts of credit union business by examining:

• Current trends, risks, and strategies
• The budgeting cycle and finance modeling
• Building a useful board packet
• Asset-liability management (ALM)
• Credit union business risks
• The importance of risk transfer including: security, director liability, fraud, interest rates, liquidity, and ALM
• The basics of compliance including: important regulations, areas of NCUA focus, and how to ask the right compliance questions

CEO Oversight

The board only has one employee, the CEO. The board’s role in overseeing the CEO is critical to the mission and objectives of the credit union. During this session, you will discuss:

• The current CEO landscape
• Hiring and keeping the CEO
• Total compensation packages
• Executive employment agreements
• Assessing the CEO through goal setting, monitoring, feedback, and effective
communications

Strategic Planning

Strategic planning is about the big picture, and about setting the direction of your organization. It’s as much about what you won’t do as what you will. Strategic planning gets at the very heart of your credit union to establish what goals you have and how to get to them. During this session, you will examine:

• Establishing the culture, mission, and vision
• Trends of the credit union marketplace and your role in meeting your mission and members’ needs
• Keeping your members’ interests at heart, including mergers, branches, services, and community involvement

Board Operations & Development

Operations and development can easily be overlooked, but is important for the wellbeing of your board. Boards and supervisory committees must work together with one voice for the good of your credit union. This is not something that just happens when you put people in a conference room and call them a
committee. In this session, you will consider:

• Building your board and supervisory committee through diversity, recruitment, and orientation
• Board succession planning
• Creating one voice for your board through team building, communications, differing opinions, and building consensus