Day 1 of the NSAC Annual Meeting

I am attending the annual National Society of Accountants (NSAC) annual meeting in Denver.  For those of you who work with cooperatives who are not members of the NSAC, I would strongly encourage you to become a member. There are numerous education opportunities, resources, and great networking opportunities available. Also, if anyone of you reading this is attending, please stop by the CLA booth and put your name in for a $100 Visa gift card!

Some highlights of the sessions I attended today:

• Cyber Security – this has been a hot topic the last few years and cooperatives are no different.  It is very important that organizations have plans and processes in place to protect themselves because it is really not a question of if but when you will be attacked.  We have all heard the high profile cases in the news and the huge dollar amounts.  Here is a link to a recent article from CLA on this topic: Protect Your Agribusiness From Online Hackers and Cybercrime.
• Updating Bylaws – there was a very good presentation from a group of attorneys about updating a cooperative’s bylaws.  Many bylaws have not been reviewed since the original bylaws were created and much has changed with new regulations and technology.  And many times it is only looked at when it is too late, maybe when a merger/acquisition is in the works.  Reviewing the bylaws on a routine basis can help prevent some costly roadblocks and help keep the coop up to date with technology and regulations.
• Benefit Plan Fiduciary Duties – This has also been a hot topic recently (see Supreme Court Rules Against 401(k) Plan Trustees for Excessive Fees and Top 10 Employee Benefit Plan Considerations for 2015 for recent articles from CLA) because as the presenter mentioned, people will sue and go after those with deep pockets.  Anybody acting as a named fiduciary or acting in a fiduciary role has responsibilities that need to be understood and followed or they run the risk of civil and/or criminal charges.  The second article linked above in this bullet point lists these roles and some other ideas to consider.

David Enquist, CPA