Registration is now closed for this event.

RKL's Credit Union Seminar

RiverCrest Golf Club and Preserve
100 Rivercrest Drive
Phoenixville, PA 19460

Wednesday, November 6, 2024 
8 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Fee to attend: $175

Join us for the RKL Credit Union Seminar and hear from RKL team members and other industry professionals on the latest accounting, legal, compliance and cybersecurity concerns affecting credit unions and earn up to six CPE credits. 

Agenda:

8 - 9 a.m. – Registration, networking and hot breakfast buffet

9 - 9:10 a.m. – RKL welcome, Barry Pelagatti, RKL

9:10 - 10 a.m. – Strategic Benchmarks: Your Peers’ Plans and Priorities for 2025, presented by Lee Wetherington, Senior Director of Corporate Strategy, Jack Henry (1 Business Management & Organization CPE credit)

What are your peers’ and competitors’ top priorities for 2025? Which threats keep them up at night? In which technologies are they investing and why? How many are focused on embedding fintech (inbound) into digital experiences? Which fintechs are credit unions embedding? And what about niche strategy? Join Lee Wetherington for a revealing look at where your peers are headed, why, and what new opportunities are presented by the ecosystem disruption reshaping financial services. Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Describe the strategic priorities and plans that peer credit unions and competitors have set for 2025, including growth areas, risk management, and operational focus.

• Assess the investment trends in technology among credit unions, focusing on adopting and integrating fintech solutions within digital experiences, identifying key fintech partners and the rationale behind these partnerships.

• Explore the concept of niche strategy within the credit union sector and evaluate how ecosystem disruptions create new opportunities for credit unions to differentiate themselves and capture new market segments.

10 - 10:50 a.m. - Compliance Update - Managing Third-Party Operational Risks and Small Business Lending Rule - "1071 Data Collection", presented by Mark Wolfrey, Senior Manager, RKL and Juliya Greenfield, Principal, RKL (1 Auditing CPE Credit)

In 2023, the FRB, FDIC, and OCC jointly published updated guidance on managing risks associated with third-party relationships, and in 2022 the NCUA issued a request to Congress, “Third-Party Vendor Authority” for the restoration of NCUA’s statutory authority over third-party vendors, including credit union service organizations (CUSO), which outlined many of the risks and concerns outlined in the 2007 NCUA Supervisory Letter and Joint agency guidance. As your credit union engages with fintechs and other services to expand and accelerate its member and product diversity, it is essential to understand and mitigate the risk.

In addition, the final rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau amends Regulation B to implement changes made by section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act. This rule will require financial institutions to collect and report data on small business credit applications, specifically those owned by women or minorities. As your credit union prepares for compliance, it is important to understand the requirements for this data collection. Attendees of this joint session will be able to:

• Strengthen your Third-Party Risk Management Program for current and new vendors for all stages of the relationship.
• Develop a program, plan and policy to manage third-party vendors that have direct or indirect contact with credit union members.
• Determine the contractual language necessary to ensure that the credit unions have the authority to conduct third-party oversight.
• Determine the applicability and effective date of the rule according to the compliance date tiers.
• Recognize the data fields required to be collected and reported.
• Interpret the additional requirements of this rule regarding the firewall and record retention.

10:50 - 11:10 a.m. - Break

11:10 a.m. - 12 p.m. – Workforce Strategies: Succession Planning and C-Suite Recruitment, presented by Stephane Smith, Partner, RKL Virtual Management Solutions and  Beth Rosenberger, President, Halsen Solutions (1 Business Management & Organization CPE credit)

C-suite succession is a common issue for many credit unions that lack detailed succession plans. This session will provide actionable strategies to create a culture dedicated to ongoing leadership development. It will cover how to create a strong pipeline of potential leaders and the important role of mentoring and professional development in preparing future leaders. We will also address the challenges of evaluating the current talent pool and the obstacles that arise when there are no internal successors for C-suite positions. Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Recognize why succession planning should be embraced as an ongoing process, integral to an organization's stability and growth.
• Identify best practices for attracting high-caliber external candidates to establish a pipeline of potential future leaders.
• Mitigate potential challenges when evaluating the current internal talent pool.

12 - 1 p.m. – Lunch

1 - 1:50 p.m. – Cyber Resiliency for Credit Unions, presented by Michael McAllister, Partner, RKL (1 Information Technology CPE credit)

In today's rapidly evolving and increasingly sophisticated cyber threat landscape, it is crucial for credit unions to prioritize cybersecurity and resilience. With access to large amounts of personally identifiable information, credit unions are prime targets for data breaches and malicious cyber attacks. This session aims to empower credit union leaders with the knowledge and tools needed to strengthen their institution's cyber resilience. It will provide strategic insights to help fortify their organizations against the ever-changing threat landscape. Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Explain the distinctions between cybersecurity and cyber resilience and understand the importance of creating a plan to detect, respond to, and recover from IT security incidents.
• Recognize the importance of building cyber resilience to protect customer data.
• Identify governance structures and risk management frameworks that foster cyber resiliency.

1:50 - 2:40 p.m. – Current Legal and Regulatory Issues Facing Credit Unions, presented by Christopher Pippett, Partner, Fox Rothschild LLP (1 Business Law CPE credit)

This session will discuss the most common legal and regulatory issues faced by credit unions, including addressing NCUA Supervisory priorities, board/executive management relations, succession planning for executives and boards, continued class action litigation and problems arising during a regulatory examination or a governmental investigation. Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Implement necessary steps to address NCUA Supervisory priorities and avoid other regulatory challenges.

• Determine the appropriate course of action to take during a regulatory examination or governmental investigation.

2:40 - 3:30 p.m. – Accounting and Auditing Update for Credit Unions, presented by Barry Pelagatti, Partner, RKL (1 Accounting CPE credit)

In 2024, relatively few new accounting standards affected credit unions, much to the relief of many. Therefore, this year's session will discuss the second year of the Current Expected Credit Loss (CECL) standard. Topics will include lessons learned, evolving best practices, credit quality issues such as resetting variable rate loans as we approach the fifth year since COVID-19, loan modification tracking and disclosures, and best practices for lease accounting. Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Recognize the impact of the CECL accounting standard in its second year, including insights gained and the emergence of industry best practices.
• Analyze credit quality issues related to variable rate loan resets, especially in the context of the five-year mark since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and grasp the significance of loan modification tracking and disclosure requirements.
• Review and apply lease accounting best practices, ensuring compliance with the latest standards and effectively managing the reporting and disclosure of lease obligations.

3:30 p.m. – Closing remarks

Questions? Email info@rklcpa.com