Every credit union has recruited good volunteers and hired employees who possess the right mix of attitudes, character and talent to maintain the credit union’s success. Yet most volunteers and many managers do not possess a financial background nor have they had financial training. As a result. they do not participate fully in financial discussions and decisions.

The worst case for board members is not understanding adequately negative financial trends that, if not handled, threaten the organization and may put their personal wealth in jeopardy.

After Dan worked for the regulator in Florida, meeting with many boards of directors, audit committees and management teams, he worked at the Florida CU League. It was there that he developed a single-day training program for Supervisory/Audit  Committee members.

The financial portion of that training became what a meeting planner labeled “The Financial Statements in Plain English.” The title stuck.  He saw the value of the conceptual or ‘virtual’ approach, talking about the balance sheet and income statements without numbers. We use blocks of information — a box representing shares, one for loans, and other categories of line items, in relative sizes – to demonstrate how they categorically influence each other. The format was so successful other consultant/trainers have adopted it. Dan has taught this material 25-years for the National Association of Credit Union Chairmen, seven years at the National Director’s Convention in Vegas, and countless more times at association and private workshops across the US.

It is not about the numbers; it’s about what they mean.

Pressure to see that directors improve their financial knowledge, in particular, the ability to read the balance sheet and income statement, is evident in NCUA’s changes to Rules and Regulations, in particular 701.4. This part of the Trilogy gets that done. The study guide for this part of the Trilogy includes 10 reasonable questions a director should ask to learn more from management or fellow board members.

Ratios play a big part in understanding how well a credit union is performing and it’s financial position. Directors need only a few ratios on a regular basis to tell them how things are and to stimulate the right questions that lead to a demonstration of their duty of care. I cover those requirements in the Trilogy. In addition, one must be able to use that information to make decisions that affect future performance and status, or for an oversight-board to better understand the ALM decisions management  makes.

What all that means is, the content of these courses are a must for volunteer board and committee members, and a significant benefit to non-financial staff.

Modern-day board governance, where a board delegates a lot of authority to the Executive, requires of the board more, not less financial awareness. And while wide-ranging strategic planning at the board level includes no financial projections, boards benefit greatly by knowing conceptually what the financial outcomes may be.

Here are the courses in the CU Financial Trilogy:

• The CU Financial Statements in Plain English –is my popular approach to simplifying a complex topic. Non-financial people, volunteers and staff alike, tell me how the financials seem to come alive for them after attending my training. CPAs compliment the clarity of narrative descriptions instead of some generic set of numbers. You may not have the time to provide this much insight on-site. The study guide includes 10 reasonable questions directors should ask to learn more.

• Typical CU Ratios and What They Mean — every director has the fiduciary duty of care which includes having a feel for the financial condition and performance, and knowing what questions to ask. Your new directors will leave with an understanding of your ratios, a new level of confidence, and asking fewer low-level questions.

• Asset/Liability Management for Beginners — boards and executives benefit when new directors are on a foundation of ALM basics. We’ll cover key terms and introduce analysis techniques typically employed by staff and outside services. We’ll explore fundamental ALM stresses and strategies.

Here’s what you receive with your subscription to the Trilogy:

• Unlimited access by all who volunteer and work for your credit union
• Access to all three courses for a year
• A log in or User ID and password that you choose during the purchase process
• Unlimited downloads of the study guides for each course
• Automatic renewal annually

Here’s a few ways to put these courses to work for you:

Online courses provide an opportunity to raise the level of knowledge of volunteers and staff using self-directed, self-paced material on our site. The courses you subscribe to are available to all your people 24-hours a day, whenever it is convenient to them, accessible through any browser.

As part of your in-house ‘school,’ you can schedule a date by when a group will have taken a course, or all three, and conduct a discussion about it. The discussion enhances their learning, ensures the courses are taken, and you will see how much they learned.

“These courses were concise, informative, well presented
and the length of each course was just right.”
~ Lyndell Maxwell, COO, TMH FCU

Another method is to convene a class and take each of the courses together. Have an experienced financial person in the class to can field questions and reinforce the lessons. The courses average 35-minutes. Allow another 20 minutes per course for the discussion period and Q&A. The subscription allows access for a year; try several scenarios to raise every one’s financial literacy.

Economical

Put pencil to paper: what’s the economic value to you? What is likely to be the per-student investment this year? Compare that to sending students to a seminar, conference or workshop. And, while we’re happy to make ‘house calls,’ compare this investment against having an instructor come to you.

Make the CU Financial Trilogy essential part of your orientation program for new directors.

Watch your students’ confidence soar; hear the difference in discussions and debates as soon as they take the courses.

Buy it today, all three courses for one year …  $397      

 

Download the Study Guides for each of three courses:
Right click to save on your computer or come back here whenever you need one:

Course 1- Financial Statements Course 2-Understanding Ratios Course 3-ALM Basics