NORTHVILLE TOWHSHIP, Mich. – Long-time credit union advocate Mark Lynch who has served as deputy chairman of the Australian National Credit Union – the country's largest – and as volunteer and resources manager for the Credit Union Foundation Australia, has been tapped by the Michigan Credit Union League to coordinate a new governance consultancy service being offered by the League to credit unions. Lynch, who currently lives in the U.S., has delivered presentations to 30 credit union leagues on the issue of credit union governance and his perspective on credit union taxation. The Michigan League's new program is designed to help CUs perform a self-assessment on how efficiently their leadership is functioning and what areas could be improved. The Governance Consultancy Service is divided into five categories: governance assessment; comprehensive governance program that examines and addresses all governance issues including training; consultancy service that allows CUs to address a range of specific governance issues at their initiative; strategic planning program; and social accountability or social audit program. With regulators demanding improvements in governance policies, MCUL Strategic Solutions Consulting VP Alan Babcock said the League felt the program would be of great benefit to credit unions. Lynch said credit unions don't have to be experiencing problems or facing a crisis to benefit from the Governance Consultancy Service. "In fact, a proactive approach to effective governance is far preferable to waiting until problems begin to surface," he said.