CFOs share expertise at Regional CUNA CFO Council Roundtable

<p>FARMERS BRANCH, Texas – How do I monitor OFAC compliance? When will NCUA move to quarterly call reports? How do I apply for Reg-Flex? These are some of the questions fielded at the recent Regional CUNA CFO Council Roundtable held at Texas Credit Union Center, where 44 credit union chief financial officers from eight states came together to swap information and expertise. The purpose of the one-day conference was to discuss financial management strategies and explore the economic outlook for 2002. “I was very pleased with the information I received at the conference,” said Dorena Finley, CFO at Chocolate Bayou Community FCU in Alvin, Texas. “Leadership training is never focused on accounting because it is a back office function. It was nice to talk with colleagues about common problems. Specifically, I asked about OFAC compliance and found out that software programs exist that I was unaware of.” Hosted by the CUNA CFO Council, in conjunction with the Texas and Oklahoma Credit Union Leagues, the Texas event was the second regional CUNA CFO Council Roundtable; the first was held in Pennsylvania last year. Participants listened to individual presentations and queried speakers on four topics: Regulatory – led by Don Klein, NCUA Region V Director of Supervision; Investments – led by Bruce Fox, Senior Vice President-Chief Investment Officer for Southwest Corporate FCU; Accounting – led by Chad Stanislav, TCUL Vice President of Financial and Technology Services; and Asset/Liability Management – led by Debbie Rightmire, TCUL Vice President of A/LM. Over lunch, CFOs slipped into seats at roundtables of their choice, where they discussed the above topics as well as bankruptcy and liquidity issues. Conference facilitator was Scott Waite, SVP/CFO at Patelco Credit Union in San Francisco, who also chairs CUNA’s CFO Council Executive Committee. Regional roundtables allow CFOs to attend meetings that are closer to home, that focus on more state-specific issues, and that provide greater schedule flexibility, according to Waite. “Regional roundtables are a means of extending value to CUNA CFO Council members throughout the year, beyond the annual conference,” he said. Regional roundtable locations under consideration for the next 12 months include New Jersey, New York, and California. Although you don’t have to be a CUNA CFO Council member to attend regional roundtables, Waite said membership offers additional benefits, such as an active listserv. As an offshoot of the regional roundtable, TCUL is leading an effort to form a “local” CFO Council within Texas. “Oklahoma has a strong CFO Council, and we’ve heard the need from CFOs in Texas,” said Amber Hughes, TCUL Director of Chapters & Council Relations. “We purposely kept the regional gathering small the first time and charged a minimal fee ($30) to help build relationships among those attending.” The CFO Council is one of the last Texas credit union councils to form. Some 800 credit union officials participate in TCUL Councils, according to Hughes. -</p> <p>[email protected]</p>