To date, we still haven’t found a way to avoid audits altogether. Not that we’d want to, of course. They’re not exactly fun, but they certainly help keep things in line. Still, it would be great if they could get easier somehow…
Fortunately, that’s the exact topic of this blog. We’re going to introduce a few things you can do to streamline your credit union’s regulatory exam process.
Our main tip is something that works best for credit union exams. It may work for other audits as well, but this one in particular is best suited for NCUA exams. If that’s not what you’re after, read on anyway! Some of the other material may still be of help.
The internet is full of various audit and regulatory examination tips. Heck, we’ve written more than a few blogs about them ourselves. The thing is, so many of the exam tips floating around out there are truly commonsense items. Once you’ve been through an audit or two, you kind of know the deal.
However, we live in a vibrant, exciting, ever-changing universe. And we want to keep our content fresh and our tips even fresher. So, with that in mind, we’d like to present two uncommon regulatory exam tips for your credit union’s next audit.
These two credit union exam tips are guaranteed to make your auditor or examiner smile. (Or maybe they’ll just give you a solid nod of approval.)
As a company that works to reduce risk, every aspect of cannabusiness puts us on edge. It’s not that we’re against it, but it is fraught territory for financial institutions.
But the fact is that many credit unions have considered cannabusiness and hemp banking. And for understandable reasons, too. It’s a growing industry with a lot of promise. Getting in at the ground floor would no doubt be very profitable.
But there are all sorts of federal issues surrounding hemp banking. Frankly, there are enough issues around it that we’re not ready to even weigh in yet. But here’s what we can do: we can let you know about newer developments in NCUA hemp banking guidance.
Thrilling stuff.
Credit unions generally don’t have massive spending budgets. They can’t just toss money at products and hope they work out! No, they must be sure that the money they spend is worth it. So, if a credit union is considering audit management software, they’ll want to know that they’re getting their money’s worth.
Essentially, credit unions need to calculate the ROI of their audit management software. Let’s take a look at how they can do that.
Credit unions deal with several audits per year. Some might even say “too many.” And each audit is a little like a math test in school:
- You must prepare for it
- You have only a limited time to complete it
- There are lots of numbers and equations involved
- You must show your work
- You can’t cheat
But just imagine if you could cheat. Just a little. Just enough to make it a little easier.
That’s what today’s blog is about. Actually, it’s more about the fourth option—showing your work—but we’re going to make it feel like cheating. How are we going to do that, you ask?
Automated audit working papers for credit unions.
There’s a common fear among workers in many industries. They worry that automation is going to come in, take their jobs, and replace them. While there’s a basis for that fear in some industries, we’re nowhere close to that in the realm of credit union audits.
So, what are the benefits of automating credit union audit processes? We’ll explore some of the more tangible benefits in this blog.
We’ve said it before, but we’ll say it again: audits aren’t exactly fun. Sure, there are some interesting aspects to it, but by and large, they tend to be tedious affairs punctuated by the occasional stressful deadline.
Various types of credit union automation software have hit the market in the last couple decades. Some automation solutions are surprisingly robust. And yet, audits still have too many moving parts and variables to be automated fully.
Someday…
Credit unions must perform several audits every year. Unfortunately, audits can be a major drain on your resources. So, how much does a credit union audit cost?
There’s a simple answer and a complex answer. Just for the sake of time, let’s cover the simple answer first.
Credit unions have to deal with many different kinds of audits every year. From the dreaded NCUA regulatory examinations down to technology compliance audits, there are several.
In last week’s blog, we looked at three common credit union audit risks. In this week’s blog, we’d like to offer two ways to mitigate those risks.
In case you don’t want to read the whole blog from last week, we’ll give you the highlights. The three biggest audit risks concern the following:
- Reviewing and storing information
- Staying on track through remediation
- Taking too much time to complete the audit
Of course, these aren’t the only risks credit unions face during audits. But they are among the more common. And, most importantly, they’re risks to which even the strongest credit union audit teams occasionally fall victim.
So, we’d like to introduce a couple ways to deal with those risks.
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